Pufflings

The mist finally cleared on Wednesday on Skomer to reveal a number of pufflings venturing out of their burrows for their first view of the world. I wonder what the first time parents must think when they see their chick develop into a creature quite unlike themselves. These youngsters have already started to fledge which they do at night to avoid predation by the great black-back gulls. They leave the island without being guided by their parents. Research by Oxford University is trying to discover how their migration and dispersal patterns arise from satellite tracking devices which have so far been attached to adult puffins.