puffins
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Puffins Return To Iceland
Puffins have returned to Iceland, reports RÚV, with sightings recorded on April 10 off Grímsey and in Borgarfjörður Eystri. One of Iceland’s traditional harbingers of spring, the birds were spotted by sisters Halla and Unnur Ingólfsdóttir in the cliffs south of the…
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Thousands Of Puffins Wash Ashore Dead
In recent weeks, thousands of dead puffins have washed ashore along the coasts of Europe, reports RÚV. Since January, tens of thousands of bird carcasses have washed ashore in Portugal, France, Spain, and the UK, the majority of them puffins. BBC and…
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Japan Requested Icelandic Puffins For A Zoo
Earlier this year, the Trade Council in Hokkaido, Japan, requested that Icelandic puffins be sent to a local zoo. The request, submitted in February, was rejected due to the status of Iceland’s puffin population, reports RÚV. Requests from foreign zoos for Icelandic…
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Lesser-Known Bird Paradise: Cosplaying David Attenborough At Grímsey
I’m on a boat heading to an island few people have ever set foot on, and even fewer have heard of. Hundreds of clumsy puffins are flapping my way. I’m headed to Grímsey. Like many places in Iceland with identical names (my…
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First Puffins Return As Breeding Season Begins
The first puffins to return to Iceland settled in Grímsey last weekend, reports akureyri.is. The small bird was unusually punctual, arriving about four days before the expected date. Puffins spend most of their lives out on sea, only returning to coastal areas…
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Against Puffin Hunting: Meet Seabird Researcher Erpur Snær Hansen
Erpur Snær Hansen navigates long hours and an uncertain future with the cutest study subjects “I haven’t taken a decent vacation in 15 to 20 years,” admits Erpur Snær Hansen, as he joins me on a call from Heimaey, the largest island…
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Puffin Population Declines By 70%
Iceland’s Atlantic puffin population has experienced a significant decline of 70% in almost thirty years, reports RÚV. This decrease is far greater than previously believed. Iceland is home to a substantial portion of the global puffin population. While the puffin population is…
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Puffin Saving Season Starts In The Westman Islands
It is time for the annual puffin saving by the people in the Westman Islands, reports RÚV. [su_pullquote]To celebrate reaching 200 RVK Newscast episodes on Youtube, as well as the new eruption at Meradalir, we’re having a volcano themed giveaway! Follow our…
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Islands Of Wonder: Winning The Weather Lottery In Vestmannaeyjar
No matter what the gods have thrown at the Westman Islands (known locally as Vestmannaeyjar)—eruptions, turbulent history, harsh living conditions—it seems only to have strengthened its inhabitants, creating a resilient population that lives with endearing optimism and a complete and utter lack…
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Puffin Hunting In The Westman Islands Shortened Again This Year
Good news for the local puffins of the Westman Islands! The Environment and Planning Council of the Westman Islands proposed that puffin hunting will only be allowed for one week this year. Last year, the hunting season also lasted for a single…
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Environmental Minister Wants To Protect The Puffins
In response to recent data showing troublingly low numbers of Iceland’s iconic seabird, Minister for the Environment Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson is looking into ways to protect the puffin and related species from hunting, Vísir reports. “I asked for more data on the…
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Puffingate: Much Ado About Nothing, Probably
The director of one of Iceland’s major hunting organisations says recent reports of British hunters bagging hundreds of puffins is “total nonsense”, RÚV reports, based on his own investigations into the evidence. It has been reported across UK media that British hunters…
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Puffins Being Shot By British Trophy Hunters
Activists and MPs in the UK are demanding that imports of puffin-hunting trophies be banned, as an effort to end the practice. Hunters from the UK are increasingly coming to Iceland to lay waste to the cute critters, as killing puffins is…
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How To Buy The Right Souvenirs…Without Being Tacky And Losing The Respect Of Your Peers
Going on vacation means diving into a new culture; a new society, with different myths and endless unforgettable impressions. It’s natural to want to take something home to remember it by. Et voilà—the souvenir shop is born. There are many in Reykjavík’s…
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The Kindness Of Strangers: Searching For Puffins In The Westman Islands
In the Westman Islands, opportunities for seeing puffins—the colourful seabird often associated with the north Atlantic—are manifold. You can enjoy the raw but very dead heart of the puffin for your glorious, carnivorous lunch. You can also buy stuffed puffins in gift…
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Iceland News: Rare Whales, Puffin Sex & Guns
Tourists on a boat by tour operator Whale Watching Reykjanes got a special treat yesterday when they spotted a rare Greenland whale just casually chilling in the water and even swimming up close to the boat, RÚV reports. The Greenland whale is…
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An Island Unto Themselves: A Solstice Adventure On Grímsey
The island of Grímsey is the only place in Iceland that’s in the Arctic Circle. Getting there was quite the journey. We left Reykjavik at 2:30am to arrive in Dalvík in time for the 9am ferry, which arrived at Grímsey at noon.…
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Grímsey: The Best Place In The World To Experience The Summer Solstice
One of the best places to watch and experience the summer solstice is Grímsey, a little-known, tiny Icelandic island, located North of the Icelandic mainland. Grímsey is known for being the only place in Iceland where one can cross the Arctic Circle.…
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Ask A Zoologist: Why Are We Able To See Puffins Only During A Few Months?
Puffins are in many ways a symbol of Iceland. While some eat them, others buy them as cuddle toys from one of the puffin tourist stores in downtown Reykjavík. Only a few people, however, know why they can actually only be seen…
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Beasts Of Iceland: The Puffin
After a mosey about the Golden Circle, you—our tourist reader—might be wondering, “How the hell does any animal survive on this godforsaken Atlantic rock?” It’s a fair question. With its lack of vegetation, merciless climate, and general all-around uncomfortableness, Iceland is not…
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The Wonder Of The Westfjords: One of Iceland’s Best Kept Secrets
Three hundred and twenty-one kilometres northwest of Reykjavík lies Látrabjarg, the westernmost point of Europe, and arguably Iceland’s best kept secret. Látrabjarg is set in Iceland’s wild Westfjords, a stunning peninsula blessed with unspoilt nature, mountain roads and monumental landscapes. Although it…
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Don’t Ask Nanna: To Say Nice Things About Iceland
Nanna, You’re always shitting on Iceland, can’t you say something nice about it for a change? Posi-Guy Hey Posi-Guy, Let me see what I can do. *Thinks. Sure Iceland’s cold, but at least it’s expensive. Nanna Hæ Nanna! What’s the best word…
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Puffins Gone Wild
Iceland is a must-visit place. Looking at the nature and the atmosphere of the country, we can see why that is. The weird thing is that something as unimportant as a puffin (no offense to pelagic seabirds) has become the country’s main…