Puffin Paradise and Root Cellars

Puffins at Elliston colony in Newfoundland

I awoke in a funk this morning, having had dreams about a world without animals.  I felt sad for the people of Newfoundland.  My whole life, I have been surrounded by creatures of one sort or another.  Here, we had yet to even see farmland or cattle or horses.  It is a life I cannot imagine.

We had been told that Skerwink Trail would be a great hike for us.  When we arrived, however, the parking was filled with over a dozen cars.  Not wanting to hike a busy trail, we drove on to the next hike, hoping it would be less crowded.  I just love it when we listen to God urging us on!

The Klondike hike begins in the small town of Elliston, so we drove the rough and bumpy road to visit this small community.  

Most towns have one name to fame.  We discovered that Elliston has two extremely unique ones.  Elliston is the “root cellar capital of the world,” having135 documented “man-made, frost-free, food preservers” scattered through the town and along the countryside, a tribute to the ingenuity of its pioneers.  Many of the root cellars have survived over two centuries.  They were used to keep food from freezing in the winter and cool in the summer months.

Elliston, Newfoundland

Elliston’s second claim to fame is an absolutely fantastic colony of puffins!  We had heard that we “might” see puffins here.  When we stopped at the visitor’s center, the young man told us that there were plenty out there today… in fact, an unusual number for this time of year.

Again, not knowing what to expect, we made the drive to the puffin walking trail.  and not wanting to be caught without proper gear like we had with the gannets, this time we brought it all… tripod, both lenses, binoculars, spare battery… everything.  Wow!  Were we glad that we did!

We began the walk up the trail.  The wind blew so stiffly that it swallowed David's words.  I had to hold my cap in my hand because I was unable to keep it on my head.  After walking about a quarter of a mile, we crested the small peninsula and found a small, flat-topped rock absolutely covered in puffins (in the photo below, it is the last flat-topped rock).  

We were much farther from the puffins than we had been to the gannets... probably 20 yards or more from our viewing position to the nearest bird.  Still the puffins charmed... we laughed and giggled like school children.  It was absolutely fantastic!

Puffin colony, Elliston, Newfoundland

Puffins are unique in the bird family.  They are one of a few birds with solid bones.  This makes them great divers but lousy fliers.  They sort of fly like little torpedoes, close to the ground, skimming the water.  We saw many of the young puffins flapping their wings until they were airborne for a few minutes.  Then they would hover back to land.

A quick check on the internet gave a bit more information… the puffins must flap its wings 300-400 times per minute to stay airborne.  It rarely lands gracefully, often crashing or tumbling onto the grass or sea.  They are, however, strong swimmers.  They catch an average of 10 fish per dive and as many as 60!

The puffins nest on grass-covered cliffs, making burrow into the cliff side.  Over 60% of all Atlantic puffins breed on the eastern shores of Newfoundland.  

Puffin burrows.

Here is a bit of what we saw… thankfully, with the tripod, I was able to take steadier video.  I admit that there is nothing really exciting in the movie, but it will show you a bit of "puffin busyness."

Soon the entire colony left the cliff and went to sea where they spend the entire winter.  After learning that the Bonavista side of the Klondike Trail was the most scenic, we drove to that end of the trailhead.  It was a glorious hike… God even provided wild blueberries for us to snack on while we were on the trail.

Klondike Trail near Bonavista, Newfoundland

Wild blueberries in Newfoundland

As an added bonus, we even saw a small farm on our drive to Bonavista, complete with horses.  I had to smile... it felt like so much more than just coincidence!  (Later we even saw a small dairy farm!)

Horse on Newfoundland farm

Proud of its heritage, the Elliston townspeople have garnered support from the entire community.  This quaint, tiny town has a wonderful visitor’s center, puffin information center, and plaques explaining different town buildings scattered around.  Its recently refurbished municipal campground is across from the harbor.  We spent the night here, hoping to take more photos of the puffins in the morning.

To our surprise, there were only two puffins on the cliff this morning when we arrived.  We saw a small group in the distance, floating in the water.  It was early, before 9 am, and brisk after the night’s rain… could the puffins have migrated this morning?  Folks at the visitor's center had told us that they are normally gone by now.  Would our gracious and loving God have compelled the puffins to stay just so that we could witness them?  I have no answer to this question, only praise.

View from Klondike Trail

Newfoundland and Labrador on Dwellable