Puffin Postcards From Lunga...

They are often nicknamed 'sea parrots' and their chicks are known as pufflings- I mean PUFFLINGS!, I couldn't have invented a cuter name if I'd tried!!

I spent an hour or so with the puffin colony on the Isle of Tiree in July and it was a wonderful experience. These little birds are so comical and yet so trusting, as you are able to get quite close as long as you move slowly and quietly, remaining respectful of the puffin's personal space.

Getting up close and personal with puffins is a surprisingly accessible experience- there are locations all over the UK where puffin colonies breed in the summer months- a lot of these island puffin-communities are reachable by boat, on organised tours. If you are at all passionate about birdlife or wildlife photography this is a great means for you to test out your camera skills and I'd really reccomend it.

Here's the round-up of where to find puffins in the UK..

• The Farne Islands: Northumberland

• Skomer: Wales

• Isle of May: near Fife

• South Stack Cliffs-RSPB: Anglesey

• Rathlin Island: County Antrim

• Hermaness and Sumburgh Head: Shetland

• Isle of Lunga: near Isle of Mull (*My top recommendation*)

Getting up close & personal... lying down and slowly moving towards the birds on my front provided the opportunity to get some great, natural shots of the puffins in their cliff-top environment.

Puffins are very secretive about their burrows- this is where the pufflings are born

Having a forage in the bushes!

Don't mind me, just puffing my feathers!

Attending to the feathers

Puffin tango in action!

Another day, another boat- a day in the life of a Lunga Puffin...