Scotland is home to about 80% of the puffin population of the British Isles, with colonies in places such as Shetland, Orkney, the Isle of May, Fair Isle and the Treshnish Isles. This image was captured at Hermaness national nature reserve

The Atlantic puffin belongs to a family of seabirds known as auks (Alcidae), along with 25 species including guillemots, razorbills and little auks

The puffin’s distinctive bill and matching orange feet are only present during the breeding season. Much as stags shed their antlers at the end of the rut, puffins lose their colourful outfit for most of the year

Always curious, puffins are attracted to any loose material close to the burrow. They cannot resist investigating twigs, stones, flowers and camera equipment. This image, of an adult puffin carrying a substantial mouthful of nesting material, was taken on the fertile soil of Skomer, where puffins often line their burrows with wildflowers, from bluebells in early spring to red campion and thrift later in the season

To scratch those hard-to-reach itches, puffins use their feet, but a team of experts recently observed two puffins – a few thousand miles apart – each employing sticks as a tool to get to those difficult places. This was the first time wild seabirds had been observed using tools and suggests a higher level of cognitive ability than had been thought

Puffins diving in numbers from the cliffs is a sure sign that a great skua is on patrol. A first group will launch itself from the edge then, in a cascade similar to a Mexican wave, the rest will follow as the skua makes its way along the coast

Puffins have a wingspan between 47cm and 63cm (18.5ins to 25ins) which they will sometimes raise high over their backs when returning to the colony, partly bending their legs and tilting their body forward. When this posture is held for several seconds, it may be seen as a form of appeasement by puffins returning without fish. It is also used by immature birds seeking to join the ‘club’

After months in the Atlantic, they gather on the sea in small groups known as ‘rafts’, near their breeding grounds. The first birds to return are the more experienced, probably over four years old, who dash for their familiar burrow. The subadults follow and, finally, the non-breeding youngsters a month or so later, on their first return to the colony, where they will join a thoroughly integrated, mixed-age community

Pufflings will be quite active in their burrows during the 38 to 44 days prior to fledging. They will display their inquisitive nature, walking through tunnels, playing with loose nesting material and pulling at roots. They will attack any intruders without question, whether unwelcome predators or another puffin that has mistakenly wandered in. Research suggests parents cannot recognise their chick by either sight or smell so, if one chick displaces another, they will feed it as if it were their own. They will show no mercy to a researcher’s finger, though

This puffin is about to fly from the mouth of the burrow, leaving its partner, which can just be seen over its right shoulder, to attend the egg

Like other species of auk (and numerous seabirds), puffins are very social and often gather in large groups whose collective terms include: a colony, a puffinry, a circus, a gathering and, perhaps the most peculiar, an improbability

The University of Oxford’s department of biology has tracked the movement of puffins from four different colonies in Iceland, Norway and Wales, monitoring where they fish, how often they feed their chicks and what prey they are eating. Puffins are not the most energy efficient of birds in flight and are therefore sensitive to any changes in their feeding grounds. Their studies conclude that a reduction in food supply near the colonies is the main cause of population decline

Puffins billing in the warm summer light of Skomer. Pair bonding begins on the rafts at sea, near their breeding colonies, but it doesn’t end there. Puffins display their affection in many forms. Their best-known courtship ritual, affectionately known as billing, is a beautiful display of love and affection

Late June is a delightful time to be on Fair Isle, when the coast is ribboned with freshly blooming sea thrift. I time my trips to coincide with the colourful explosion. This image is framed using the beautiful pink that blossoms on the summer machair

Hermaness national nature reserve, on the island of Unst, overlooks Britain’s most northerly point, Muckle Flugga, whose dramatic cliffs are home to thousands of breeding seabirds including the Atlantic puffin

Kevin Morgans is a professional wildlife photographer based in Merseyside. He spends much of his life travelling with his camera, immersing himself in the remote locations his subjects call home. In 2021, he won in the portfolio category in the Bird Photographer of the Year awards for his work with puffins, a keenly contested international accolade

Scotland is home to about 80% of the puffin population of the British Isles, with colonies in places such as Shetland, Orkney, the Isle of May, Fair Isle and the Treshnish Isles. This image was captured at Hermaness national nature reserve

The Atlantic puffin belongs to a family of seabirds known as auks (Alcidae), along with 25 species including guillemots, razorbills and little auks

The puffin’s distinctive bill and matching orange feet are only present during the breeding season. Much as stags shed their antlers at the end of the rut, puffins lose their colourful outfit for most of the year

Always curious, puffins are attracted to any loose material close to the burrow. They cannot resist investigating twigs, stones, flowers and camera equipment. This image, of an adult puffin carrying a substantial mouthful of nesting material, was taken on the fertile soil of Skomer, where puffins often line their burrows with wildflowers, from bluebells in early spring to red campion and thrift later in the season

To scratch those hard-to-reach itches, puffins use their feet, but a team of experts recently observed two puffins – a few thousand miles apart – each employing sticks as a tool to get to those difficult places. This was the first time wild seabirds had been observed using tools and suggests a higher level of cognitive ability than had been thought

Puffins diving in numbers from the cliffs is a sure sign that a great skua is on patrol. A first group will launch itself from the edge then, in a cascade similar to a Mexican wave, the rest will follow as the skua makes its way along the coast

Puffins have a wingspan between 47cm and 63cm (18.5ins to 25ins) which they will sometimes raise high over their backs when returning to the colony, partly bending their legs and tilting their body forward. When this posture is held for several seconds, it may be seen as a form of appeasement by puffins returning without fish. It is also used by immature birds seeking to join the ‘club’

After months in the Atlantic, they gather on the sea in small groups known as ‘rafts’, near their breeding grounds. The first birds to return are the more experienced, probably over four years old, who dash for their familiar burrow. The subadults follow and, finally, the non-breeding youngsters a month or so later, on their first return to the colony, where they will join a thoroughly integrated, mixed-age community

Pufflings will be quite active in their burrows during the 38 to 44 days prior to fledging. They will display their inquisitive nature, walking through tunnels, playing with loose nesting material and pulling at roots. They will attack any intruders without question, whether unwelcome predators or another puffin that has mistakenly wandered in. Research suggests parents cannot recognise their chick by either sight or smell so, if one chick displaces another, they will feed it as if it were their own. They will show no mercy to a researcher’s finger, though

This puffin is about to fly from the mouth of the burrow, leaving its partner, which can just be seen over its right shoulder, to attend the egg

Like other species of auk (and numerous seabirds), puffins are very social and often gather in large groups whose collective terms include: a colony, a puffinry, a circus, a gathering and, perhaps the most peculiar, an improbability

The University of Oxford’s department of biology has tracked the movement of puffins from four different colonies in Iceland, Norway and Wales, monitoring where they fish, how often they feed their chicks and what prey they are eating. Puffins are not the most energy efficient of birds in flight and are therefore sensitive to any changes in their feeding grounds. Their studies conclude that a reduction in food supply near the colonies is the main cause of population decline

Puffins billing in the warm summer light of Skomer. Pair bonding begins on the rafts at sea, near their breeding colonies, but it doesn’t end there. Puffins display their affection in many forms. Their best-known courtship ritual, affectionately known as billing, is a beautiful display of love and affection

Late June is a delightful time to be on Fair Isle, when the coast is ribboned with freshly blooming sea thrift. I time my trips to coincide with the colourful explosion. This image is framed using the beautiful pink that blossoms on the summer machair

Hermaness national nature reserve, on the island of Unst, overlooks Britain’s most northerly point, Muckle Flugga, whose dramatic cliffs are home to thousands of breeding seabirds including the Atlantic puffin

Kevin Morgans is a professional wildlife photographer based in Merseyside. He spends much of his life travelling with his camera, immersing himself in the remote locations his subjects call home. In 2021, he won in the portfolio category in the Bird Photographer of the Year awards for his work with puffins, a keenly contested international accolade