![]() ![]() Puffins have been a vital source of food through the centuries for Icelanders in the islands. On the Westman Islands, which hold about half of all Icelandic puffins, the puffins are both harvested and rescued. However, only scientists are allowed to land on Surtsey, to be able to observe the ecological processes unfold, undisturbed by human interference. Puffins have also started making their homes on the second newest island on our planet, Surtsey, which erupted from the ocean off the south coast of Iceland as a volcano in November 1963. Many puffins in that area are so tame that we can sometimes crawl slowly towards them and even gently touch them, without scaring them away. We humans are only visitors in their backyard. No puffins or birds are caught in Hornstrandir Natural Reserve Park. The puffins in Hornbjarg and Hælavíkurbjarg (Haelavikurbjarg) are more trusting towards people than in other places, due to the fact that these areas do not harvest puffins. Other puffin areas are the Vestmannaeyjar, (Westman Islands), Breiðafjörður (Breidafjord) and Lundey - Puffin Island, just 3 minutes’ sailing from Reykjavik, which has a puffin colony of around 20 000 birds. Hornstrandir is an ideal place to combine hiking and bird watching. The other two large bird cliffs are Hornbjarg and the Nature Reserve Park of Hornstrandir, both in the north-west of Iceland. Látrabjarg Cliffs (Latrabjarg) in the Vestfirðir (Westfjords), the westernmost point in Europe, is one of the three largest bird cliffs in Iceland. There are a number of places in Iceland where you can see the Atlantic Puffin. Puffins on Latrabjarg, Hornbjarg, Hornstrandir, Haelavikurbjarg, Breidafjord and Lundey ![]() The Atlantic Puffin is one of the four species of puffins and the one most commonly found in Iceland. The total population of puffins in Iceland is estimated to be between 8 and 10 million birds. Over half of the world´s population of the Atlantic Puffin breeds in Iceland, somewhere between 3 - 4 million pairs each year. Iceland is home to one of the world's largest colonies of puffins ![]()
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