Animals

How a puffin patrol in Iceland is saving the iconic seabirds

Volunteers help disoriented baby birds — and scientists too

A photo of a puffin taking flight while five other puffins sit on a rock ledge and look

Atlantic puffins spend most of their lives at sea, but they come ashore in summer to mate and raise chicks.

TCYuen/Moment/Getty Images Plus

By Jenny Krumrine

A small, rocky island off Iceland is home to the world’s largest breeding colony of Atlantic puffins.

When breeding season is in full swing, around 1.5 million adults pair up and nestle into burrows on the grassy seaside slopes above Heimaey island’s rocky cliffs.