Isle of Skye Tour: Puffins and Seals
There was one disappointing fact about our trip to Iceland in the winter, we missed out on seeing Puffins! Okay, I will admit it, I didn’t even know what a Puffin was until we were booking and researching Iceland. When I saw a picture of Puffins I was in love! Puffins are so adorable and cute in a quirky kind of way. How could you not adore them 🙂 But, it was not to be since I soon discovered winter birds they are not. So my next question was, where are Puffins found? Our 3 week vacation set for Amsterdam and Scotland, I made it a priority to find out where to see Puffins in Scotland. We began to make our list of best places to see in Scotland and of course where to see Puffins in Scotland. We discovered the Isle of Skye had lots of attractions for us to experience. Castles, fairy glens, waterfalls and….Puffins, Scotland here we come! Our road trip across Scotland was amazing. But I was very excited to reach the west coast and take our Isle of Skye tour to find Scottish Puffins!
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Getting to our Isle of Skye Day Tour in Uig
Our second day on the Isle of Skye Scotland we headed to the town of Uig. We had some time to wander around. Because I of course did not want to be late for our seafari, aka boat trip to see Puffins on Skye . We actually made it to Uig an hour and a half early, so we checked out the fairy glen nearby. I fell in love with Scotland for so many reasons. Especially their landscape and this area of the Isle of Skye does not disappoint. There are so many Isle of Skye destinations to explore it can be overwhelming, plan plenty of time there.
As we made our way back down the hill, our view of the water below was stunning. We also could see the Isle of Skye ferry service as we pulled into the busy port. The ferry from Uig can take you to visit Skye, Firth of Clyde, Inner Hebrides, Outer Hebrides, Raasay and Small Isles and the Southern Hebrides. As we waited for our Skye boat tour, the line of cars increased, it was amazing to see how many they fit on the ferry!
We noticed restaurants and small stores with unique tourist items for sale. Several Skye boat trips and Skye tours operate out of the Uig port. On Skye boat tours you can experience not only seeing Scottish Puffins, but your seafari adventures can include other Skye birds and marine wildlife. Did you know there are dolphins in Scotland? How about whales in Scotland?
Where do Puffins Live?
That was my first question I asked as we joined our Isle of Skye day trip. We were given some more insight about this extraordinary bird as we passed small islands on our tour. The Atlantic Puffin (which are the Puffins UK species) live on islands and coasts along Scotland and make colonies high up in the cliffs. The best time to visit the Isle of Skye to see Puffins is in the Spring and Summer.
More on Isle of Skye Puffins
Puffins tend to be around 10 inches tall and only weighing about one pound. They are extremely fast flyers as we were soon to find out. Flying at speeds of 48 to 55 mph! Puffins live a long life, 20 years and more. However, they do not even reproduce until they are at least 3 years of age. They keep the same mate the entire season, and they only lay one egg a year. Both male and female take care of the egg until it hatches and also share the responsibility of the chick. The burrows that they make, being 2-3 feet long are used every season by the same Puffin. An interesting fact to know about Puffins, their beaks turn a dull color in the winter and only turn the bright orange in summer to attract their mate!
Puffins also are little bit on the dramatic side using many different ways to communicate with their walking, rubbing beaks together, stomping and even wrestling with each other. I just love Scotland wildlife!
First Up Seals!
The water was pretty calm for being out on the Atlantic and the Isle of Skye Scotland weather was in total cooperation for this Uig Puffin tour. As we approached one of the uninhabited islands our guide pointed out that there were seals sunning themselves on the rocks. Beautiful seals and not shy about giving us some great Isle of Skye photography shots.
Did you know there is more Isle of Skye wildlife to see besides dolphins, seals, puffins and whales? Your trip to Skye may include seeing Red Deer or Isle of Skye Otters. On Isle of Skye wildlife tours is the best place to see Sea Eagles on Skye and other sea birds of prey, such as the Red Hawk. The Gannets are a sight to see with a wing span of over 6 ft, the largest in all of Scotland. Or you may be lucky and even get a glimpse of a Pine Martin, a weasel who comes out mostly at night and is the size of a cat.
So check out some Skye wildlife tours while in Scotland!
Isle of Skye Must See Puffins
If you are looking for more Scotland places to see, go on any Isle of Skye tours on the water to see the stunning coastline! I was so taken with the views I did not even see this flying object diving right at us! No more asking where to find Puffins, they were everywhere! Our Skye guide was correct when he said he would guarantee us that he knew the best place to see Puffins in Scotland. He sure did deliver!
The Puffins were flying at such a high speed it was hard to catch them in flight for my amateur photograph status. But when they would just float in the water, I think I got some good shots.
Skye Trip
There are so many Isle of Skye things to do, but now you know where to find Puffins in Scotland, just look into some Uig boat trips, be prepared to take a lot of Isle of Skye photos and go enjoy a day off the beautiful coast of Scotland!!
