Provinces and Territories · Drawing 02 of 42
Puffins on their island
Newfoundland and Labrador
The Atlantic puffin is the official bird of Newfoundland and Labrador. It nests in a burrow on an island, and people watch from boats so they don’t disturb it.
Look together
Can you find the puffin bringing fish?
An idea to try
Drape a blanket over a table to make a burrow. Your child plays a puffin bringing paper fish home to its chick.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
The Atlantic puffin is the provincial bird of Newfoundland and Labrador, where about 95% of North America’s puffins breed. The Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, south of St. John’s, holds the largest puffin colony in the western Atlantic. Puffins dig burrows in grassy slopes with their bills and claws, and the female lays a single egg. Parents bring back fish such as capelin, usually one or two at a time.
In the reserve, the public watches the birds from boats; landing on the islands requires a permit. Puffins spend the winter far out at sea and return to their colonies in spring. Talk with your child about this rule: we can admire an animal without going close to it.
Sources and context (3)
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. Source titles appear in their original language; some linked pages are in French.
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador — Official Bird: Atlantic PuffinProvincial bird; about 95% of North America’s puffins breed on the province’s coasts; largest colony in the western Atlantic (225,000 pairs on this page) at the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, 32 km south of St. John’s.
- Hinterland Who’s Who — Atlantic PuffinBurrows 50 to 200 cm long dug with bills and claws in grassy slopes; a single egg; capelin and sand lance, usually one or two fish carried at a time; return to colonies in April; winter far out in the North Atlantic.
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador — Witless Bay Ecological ReservePublic observation from boats; landing requires a permit; nesting in late spring and summer; more than 260,000 puffin pairs on this page.
Source review: 2026-09-24. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.