See puffins on the Isle of May.
Located 9 km east of the Scottish coastal town of Anstruther, the Isle of May is 1.8 km long, 0.5 km wide, and 0.45 square km in area. It is a national nature reserve. The Isle of May is known as an important habitat for seabirds and seals. During the breeding season, more than 200,000 nesting seabirds live on the island, including 90,000 puffins, as well as guillemots, razorbills, Arctic terns, and cormorants. The island is home to 300 gray seals all year round, and more gray seals migrate here in autumn. Every year, 2,500 pups are born here.
During the open season from April 1 to September 30, there are three places to take a boat to the Isle of May:
1. Anstruther: The May Princess sails once a day with 100 passengers; there are also several speedboats a day, each carrying 12 passengers.
2. Dunbar.
3. North Berwick.
As the Isle of May is a national nature reserve, boats operating tours to the island must be licensed by the relevant authorities, and the number of visitors to the island is limited each day. In recent years, about 20,000 tourists have visited the island every year. Based on the 6-month open season, there are an average of 111 visitors per day. However, most tourists visit the island during the peak season from May to July, when the number of visitors is usually full, so be sure to book your tickets in advance during the peak season.
There are five birdwatching spots on the island, and the adorable puffins are the star seabirds on the island, attracting many visitors. At the birdwatching spots, you can see puffins standing calmly with their mouths full of prey, ignoring the crowds of onlookers and photographers. It is said that puffins have a penchant for showing off their spoils. After catching a mouthful of fish, they are in no hurry to return to the nest to feed their chicks, but will stand in a conspicuous place and show off in front of other birds. Puffins, known as "flying penguins and diving parrots," have three species: the Atlantic puffin, the horned puffin, and the tufted puffin. The puffins on the Isle of May are Atlantic puffins.