By Skipper Bob Bartlett | Marine naturalist and whale watching guide, Trinity Bay, NL | 30+ years on the water
People come to Trinity Bay for the whales. They come for the icebergs. But I’ll tell you something, some of the happiest reactions I’ve seen on the water, bigger than a humpback breaching fifty feet off the bow, have been from guests catching their first glimpse of an Atlantic puffin.
There is something about a puffin. They have the flying style of something that was designed by a committee who couldn’t agree whether it was supposed to be a bird or a bowling ball. Their landings are…let’s say ambitious. And yet the moment you see that orange beak and those little orange feet against the grey North Atlantic, something happens to people. They laugh. They point. They reach for the camera. And then they want to know everything about them.
So here is everything I know about puffin watching in Newfoundland, from someone who has been watching them on Trinity Bay for more than thirty years.
What is an Atlantic Puffin?
The Atlantic Puffin is what is known as a pelagic seabird, meaning it lives on the open ocean for most of the year. It is an extraordinary swimmer. It essentially flies underwater, using its wings to propel itself after fish, but on land and on takeoff it looks like it has never quite figured out the whole bird thing.
Its beak is the giveaway. In winter it’s dull grey, same as most things in the North Atlantic in February. But in spring, as breeding season approaches, it transforms into that iconic vivid orange-red colour. They dress up for the occasion. I appreciate that in a bird.
Here are the basics worth knowing before you go looking for them:
- The Atlantic Puffin is Newfoundland & Labrador’s official provincial bird.
- Season: Mid-May to mid-September. Peak nesting activity June through August.
- Best time of day: Early morning and late afternoon when puffins are most active commuting between nesting burrows and the ocean.
- Flying speed: Up to 88 km/h (55 mph) in flight.
- Wingspan: Roughly 55 cm. Small for a seabird, which is why they flap their wings so frantically.
- Beak colour: Grey in winter. Turns vivid orange-red in spring and summer for breeding season.
- Nesting: Puffins mate for life and return to the same burrow every year. They lay just one egg per season.
- Fish capacity: A puffin can carry up to 10 small fish crosswise in its beak at one time.
- Nickname: Known as the ‘clown of the sea’ or ‘sea parrot.’ Names that become obvious the moment you see one land.
- Diet: Sand eels, capelin, herring, and other small fish. When capelin arrive in NL, puffins follow.
When is the best time to see puffins in Newfoundland?
Puffins are colonial nesters. They arrive at their breeding grounds in May, establish their burrows or return to the same one they used last year, lay a single egg, raise one chick through the summer, and then disappear back out to sea in September.
The window from June through August is when you’ll have the best chance of seeing them, because that’s when they’re actively commuting between their nesting burrows and the ocean, making dozens of trips a day with beakfuls of capelin and sand eels for their chick.
If you are visiting in June, you are in luck on multiple fronts. The puffins are active, the whales are here, and if you time it right, the icebergs are still making their way through Trinity Bay. You can have all three in the same day. I have had guests do exactly that and tell me it was the greatest wildlife day of their lives. I believe them.
For the full picture of what June looks like in Newfoundland, our guide to visiting Newfoundland in June covers weather, wildlife, and what to pack.
Where is the best place to see puffins near Trinity, Newfoundland?
Trinity Bay has a substantial local puffin colony, and during peak season there are thousands of puffins nesting there. Because the colony is farther from Trinity Harbour, we typically visit it on our 9 a.m. tours, which gives us the extra time needed to get there and spend time with the birds on the water.
If you’re planning to drive around, check out Elliston Puffin Viewing Site on your trip.
Elliston Puffin Viewing Site: The closest land colony
Forty-five minutes from Trinity, the small town of Elliston has one of the most remarkable accessible puffin colonies I have ever seen. You park, you walk five minutes to the clifftop, and there they are. Nesting on the open rocks, waddling around, coming in to land with a fish hanging out of each side of their beak. No boat required. No ticket. A donation box at the entrance, to which I strongly encourage you to contribute.
The colony is on a small island just offshore, close enough to see clearly with the naked eye and spectacular with binoculars. Early morning is best as the puffins are commuting hard, in and out all morning, and the light is good for photography. Elliston is about a 15-minute drive from Bonavista and 45 minutes from Trinity.
If you’re staying at the Trinity Eco Lodge, it’s an easy half-day excursion before or after a tour.
From the water on our whale and iceberg tours
On our whale and iceberg Zodiac tours from Trinity Bay, puffins are a regular presence on the water. They feed in the same waters as the whales and seabirds. When the capelin are running, you’ll often see puffins diving alongside humpbacks and gannets, all chasing the same fish. It’s one of the great spectacles in the natural world and we’ve got a front-row seat to it.
You won’t get the same up-close nesting colony experience as Elliston, but you will see puffins in their element; swimming, diving, flapping furiously across the water alongside everything else Trinity Bay has to offer. Several of our guests over the years have told me the puffin encounter on the water was something they didn’t expect and didn’t forget.
Can you see puffins and whales on the same trip?
The capelin is the key to understanding this. When capelin come in to spawn along the Newfoundland coast, every creature that feeds on small fish shows up at the same time. Humpback whales driving balls of capelin up from below. Gannets diving from forty feet overhead. Puffins and murres and guillemots working the surface. And us in the middle of it all on a Zodiac, trying to figure out where to look first.
I’ve been on the water for over thirty years and I still find it astonishing. The natural world in its unedited form, happening all around you, and you in the thick of it. That’s what our tours offer. Not a performance, not a simulation.
If you want to understand the whale side of this equation in more detail, our Newfoundland whale watching FAQ covers every species we encounter and what conditions bring them to Trinity Bay.
What is the best time of day to see puffins?
On the water, the time of day matters less. Puffins are feeding throughout the day when the capelin are running. However, we do visit a local colony farther away on our 9 a.m. tours.
If you’re going to the Elliston colony specifically to watch the nesting birds, early morning is the sweet spot. The light is better for photography, the puffins are energetic, and the crowds haven’t arrived yet.
Late afternoon is the second-best option. The birds are returning from their afternoon feeding runs, often with fish clearly visible in their beaks, and the angle of the light on the Bonavista Peninsula cliffs in the late afternoon is something a photographer would arrange specifically.
Plan Your Trip
If you’re planning on staying overnight, our Trinity Eco Lodge is steps from the wharf where the tours depart. Shannon and the team can help you build the right itinerary for your visit including pointing you toward spots the tourists don’t always find.
Newfoundland has no shortage of things that will stop you in your tracks. Come for the whales. Stay for the icebergs. But don’t be surprised if it’s the puffin that gets you!
