Puffin

The Atlantic Puffin, the official bird of Newfoundland, is a relative of the extinct Great Auk. This small little bird with black & white contrasting colors and a brightly colored beak spends most of its life at sea but comes inland to breed each spring. The largest breeding colony of puffins, found at the Witless Bay ecological reserve, can be viewed from sea only and best observed from a tour boat such as Gatheralls or O'Briens operating out of Bay Bulls. An alternative viewing site to a much smaller puffin colony is found from along the coastal cliffs of Elliston, home to one of the largest land viewing sites of Atlantic puffins in North America.