Watching Puffins

Off Iceland's south coast, the Westman Islands hold some of the largest Atlantic puffin colonies in the world. From clifftop paths and small boats, thousands of the clown faced birds wheel overhead, fish flashing silver in their bills as they return to the burrows. Late evening in midsummer, with the sun barely setting, the colonies are at their loudest and busiest. May through early August is the season; by mid August the colonies empty as the birds head out to sea. Big colonies are also easily visited at the Farne Islands in England, Skomer Island in Wales, and Mykines in the Faroe Islands.