RedKite

Atlantic puffin

The Atlantic puffin is quite a stocky bird with a very colourful stout beak.  It feeds off most small fish that come reasonably close to the shore, such as baby herring, sprats and any other baby fish it can find close to the coast.  It also particularly likes sandeels which seem to be in abundance. 

The Atlantic puffin has a black crown on top of its head, a white face and beautiful triangular eyes.  He has black back feathers and bright white breast feathers.  His beak is his crowning glory with a thick black stripe close to his face, moving out to orange and white stripes ending at the tip of his beak.

They are often seen in couples cuddling and also in groups perched on a rock.  They look wonderful in flight with black wings spread and the ends of their feathers spread apart navigating the winds, pure white underneath with bright orange feet.

The Atlantic puffin has the amazing ability to hold six or eight fish in its beak at once.  I am not sure how they manage to do this without losing some of them.

The baby puffins are plain brown and very fluffy and don’t look like a puffin at all.

If you know any more about puffins please write and tell me.  

 

Terns

The Chinese little Tern bird is very similar to European Terns with slightly different markings. It has longer wings and a long sharp yellow beak tipped with black at the end. The Tern has a white face and breast and grey back feathers. What makes it distinctive is it has a black cap of feathers on its head and orange legs. It is quite easy to spot from a distance and is found near water.  The Terns can be found slightly inland near rivers but are also happy near salt water pools.

They mainly eat water creatures such as fish, mussels, small crabs, worms and flies.  They fly across the water scanning for food.  When they spot something to eat they stop in the air and then drop straight down on it.  This is amazing to watch. 

The Chinese  little Tern is found in China, Japan and New Guinea.  Have you spotted any Terns near where you live?