With their distinctive black heads, large pale cheeks and brightly coloured bills, puffins are unmistakable creatures. Go into any National Trust or RSPB gift shop and these photogenic birds feature prominently on postcards and official merchandise. Yet most people never get to see these ‘clowns of the sea’ with their own eyes.
The main reason for that, of course, is that you’re unlikely tomost of their lives out at sea and only returning to the land for a few months of the year. The best time to see them is in the spring and summer, from April to July when they flock to the coast during the mating season before migrating south for the winter.