When do puffins arrive in and leave the UK?

A summer visitor in the records: sightings rise sharply from mid May, are near their peak by early June, and fall away after late August.

When do puffins arrive in the UK?

In the GBIF records, UK sightings of the Atlantic puffin rise sharply from mid May and are near their peak by early June.

When do puffins leave the UK?

UK sightings fall away after late August.

Atlantic puffin in the UK, month by month

Bars: this species’ share of all UK bird records in GBIF (CC0/CC BY 4.0 only), by month, scaled to the peak month. Based on 91,057 UK records (occurrence search API, country=GB, weekly). Dates come from sightings, not a survey, so treat them as a guide.

See the Atlantic puffin migration on the 3D globe →

About the Atlantic puffin

The Atlantic puffin, also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin, are found in the northeastern Pacific. …

From the Wikipedia article “Atlantic puffin” (revision 1375007520), CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened at a sentence end. Winter/summer areas: country containing the monthly hotspot of effort-adjusted GBIF records, using Natural Earth boundaries (public domain).

Other UK summer visitors: see the full list with arrival and departure dates.