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A few years back I took a trip to Alaska with my dad for one of the best adventures of my life.\u00a0 During that trip we saw a lot of incredible wildlife but one of my favourites was a little bird that looked similar to a penguin.\u00a0 Of course it wasn’t a penguin but a black and white bird with a very colourful beak called a puffin! The locals in Alaska used the puffin to advertise everything! Tee shirts, mugs and my personal favourite the No Smoking sign that had a puffin with a line through it, get it… “No Puffin”!<\/p>\n

These short, stocky birds fly surprisingly fast and can flap their wings at a rate of 400 beats per minute. They are capable at achieving flying speeds around 88 km\/h (55 mph).\u00a0 Although, they are able to fly, the puffin spends most of its time at sea. When they don’t feel like swimming, they will just rest along the rolling waves of the ocean.\u00a0 I had a chance to see the puffin swim at the Alaska Sea Life Centre and was very amazed with the way they swam. You see if you took away the water, I bet the puffins would take flight.\u00a0 This is because they actually fly through the water.\u00a0 They flap their wings as if they were in flight and steer with their rudder-like webbed feet.\u00a0\u00a0 This is a technique they have evolved to allow them to be proficient swimmers.\u00a0 They are capable of diving up to 61 meters (200 feet) although they generally only stay under water for 20 – 30 seconds. Swimming is an important aspect in the puffins life since they feed on small fish like herring.\u00a0 The next time you are swimming in the pool, I want you to dive underwater and flap your arms pretending they are wings.\u00a0 Let me know how well you swim!<\/p>\n

Puffin Fast Fact: <\/strong>The colourful beak of the puffin are used primarily for attracting a mate.\u00a0 These bright colours will fade into a dull grey colour after mating season.<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading and remember that this is a smoke free site so please:<\/p>\n

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A few years back I took a trip to Alaska with my dad for one of the best adventures of my life.\u00a0 During that trip we saw a lot of incredible wildlife but one of my favourites was a little bird that looked similar to a penguin.\u00a0 Of course it wasn’t a penguin but a black and white bird with a very colourful beak called a puffin! The locals in Alaska used the puffin to advertise everything! Tee shirts, mugs and my personal favourite the No Smoking sign that had a puffin with a line through it, get it… “No <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4024],"tags":[348,4026,169,4025,167,168],"yoast_head":"\n