Puffins in
Newfoundland
Where to see Atlantic puffins in Newfoundland Witless Bay, Elliston, Cape St. Mary’s and beyond. Best timing, boat tours, free viewing, photography tips, and the honest Witless Bay vs. Elliston comparison.
🐦 Why Newfoundland for Puffins?
The Atlantic Puffin is the provincial bird of Newfoundland and Labrador and consequently, it is perhaps the most beloved wildlife symbol of the province. With over 500,000 Atlantic puffins returning to Newfoundland’s coastline every summer, this is one of the most productive puffin-watching destinations in the world. Moreover, the province’s accessibility sets it apart: at Elliston on the Bonavista Peninsula, you can watch hundreds of puffins nesting within metres of where you stand, completely free. At Witless Bay, a two-hour boat tour from Bay Bulls deposits you in the middle of North America’s largest puffin colony.
Puffins return to Newfoundland’s offshore islands and coastal cliffs from late May each year, driven by the same Labrador Current that brings the capelin the small baitfish that forms the core of the puffin diet and anchors the entire wildlife spectacle the province is known for. Furthermore, the fact that puffins nest in the same burrows year after year, reuniting with the same mate each season, makes them unusually easy to observe predictably at known sites.
The Atlantic Puffin locally known as a “sea parrot” for its comically colourful beak during breeding season is Newfoundland and Labrador’s official provincial bird. Every June and July, hundreds of thousands of them nest on offshore islands within easy view of the mainland coastline, making summer the ideal time for a visit.
🔬 Puffin Facts Worth Knowing
Understanding these birds makes the experience significantly richer. Puffins have a distinctive life history that sets them apart from most birds visitors will have seen before.
Additionally, puffin beaks change colour with the seasons. The vivid orange-red, blue-grey, and yellow beak that makes puffins so visually striking only appears during breeding season in winter, the bright colours fade to a duller grey. Consequently, the vibrant beak that appears on postcards and nature photographs is a summer phenomenon, making a June or July visit the only time to see puffins at their most colourful.
📍 Best Places to See Puffins in Newfoundland
Three main locations deliver the best puffin experiences in the province. Each has a different character from the massive offshore colony at Witless Bay to the uniquely intimate shore-side access at Elliston. Furthermore, each suits a different traveller profile and budget.
Home to North America’s largest Atlantic puffin colony hundreds of thousands of birds nesting on four offshore islands (Gull Island, Great Island, Green Island, and Pee Pee Island). The reserve was established in 1964 and is home to one of the most important seabird habitats on the western Atlantic. Boat tours depart from Bay Bulls harbour into the reserve, bringing visitors within 20–30 metres of the nesting islands where birds are constantly in motion launching off cliff faces, wheeling out to sea, and returning with beaks full of fish. Furthermore, the reserve is simultaneously one of Newfoundland’s best humpback whale watching locations, making most tours a genuine double wildlife experience.
Operators including O’Brien’s Whale and Bird Tours and Gatherall’s Puffin and Whale Watch run daily tours from late May through early September. Tours last 2–2.5 hours.
Elliston is the most accessible puffin colony in all of Newfoundland and one of the most accessible in the world. Puffins nest in burrows carved into cliff faces directly at the public viewing area, with birds frequently within 2–5 metres of visitors. No boat is required. No entry fee. You simply walk to the cliff edge and the puffins are there. The colony is smaller than Witless Bay, but the intimacy of the experience is unmatched. Moreover, Elliston itself is a fascinating community originally called Bird Island Cove, it is now additionally famous as the “Root Cellar Capital of the World,” with over 135 historic root cellars preserved along its rocky hillsides. The combination of puffins and root cellars makes Elliston a genuinely distinctive stop on the Bonavista Peninsula.
Cape St. Mary’s is one of the most dramatic seabird reserves in Atlantic Canada towering cliffs overlooking a sea stack where thousands of Northern Gannets nest within metres of a public walking path. Atlantic puffins are present on the cliffs as well, though they play a secondary role to the gannets here. Nevertheless, the overall seabird spectacle at Cape St. Mary’s is extraordinary the sight of thousands of gannets launching off a sea stack against an open Atlantic backdrop is one of the most spectacular wildlife scenes in the province. The reserve entrance costs approximately $10.50 per adult (Parks Canada).
The Cape Bonavista Lighthouse headland offers free puffin sightings from shore during the breeding season. While not as concentrated as Elliston (20 minutes away) or Witless Bay, Cape Bonavista uniquely allows puffin viewing to be combined with the Cape Bonavista Lighthouse experience and iceberg viewing from the same headland in May and June. Consequently, this is the ideal stop for travellers who want to see puffins, icebergs, and a historic lighthouse in a single visit without a boat tour.
⚖️ Witless Bay vs. Elliston Which Should You Choose?
This is the most common puffin planning question in Newfoundland. Both are excellent. The right choice depends on your budget, where you’re based, and what you want from the experience.
| Factor | 🟠 Witless Bay | 🟢 Elliston |
|---|---|---|
| Colony size | Hundreds of thousands North America’s largest | Thousands smaller but concentrated |
| How to visit | Boat tour from Bay Bulls harbour | Free shore viewing no booking needed |
| Cost | $60–$80 per adult | Free |
| Distance to puffins | 20–30m from tour boat | 2–5m from cliff edge on foot |
| Drive from St. John’s | 30 min | ~2.5 hrs |
| Whale watching same trip | Yes tour includes humpbacks | Not available |
| Best for families | Good (boat tour) | Excellent (free, accessible, immediate) |
| Photography | Birds in flight over sea, scale | Extreme close-up, burrow detail |
| Other attractions combined | Humpback whales, seabirds | Root cellars, Cape Bonavista, Trinity, Ryan Premises |
| Advance booking needed? | Yes book 1–2 weeks ahead in summer | No open access year-round |
| Overall verdict | Best puffin experience in NL | Best free puffin experience in the world |
On a 7-day Newfoundland itinerary, there is no reason to choose. Visit Witless Bay via Bay Bulls boat tour on Day 2 of your Southern Shore drive, then continue to Bonavista Peninsula and visit Elliston for the free shore viewing 2 days later. The two experiences complement each other perfectly Witless Bay delivers scale and drama from the water, Elliston delivers intimate proximity from land.
📅 Puffin Season Month by Month
Puffins have a narrower visible season than whales. They arrive in late May, peak through June and July, and begin departing from early August. Understanding this timeline prevents disappointment and helps identify the best window for photography.
⭐ Peak / best photography | 🐦 Good / present | Not present
June and July are peak puffin season for two reasons: first, the birds are fully engaged in breeding activity courtship displays, burrow maintenance, and feeding chicks making them highly visible and active. Second, their beaks are at full breeding colour in June and July the vivid orange-red, blue-grey, and yellow colouring that appears on every puffin photograph is a seasonal feature that fades by August. Additionally, June uniquely allows icebergs and puffins to be seen simultaneously on the same boat tour.
⛵ Puffin Boat Tour Operators
Both major Bay Bulls operators combine puffin and whale watching on the same departure there is no need to book separate tours. Consequently, a single 2-hour outing from Bay Bulls covers Witless Bay’s puffin colony, humpback whale watching, and the seabird spectacle of the reserve simultaneously.
The most established whale and puffin tour operator in Newfoundland. Daily tours into Witless Bay Ecological Reserve visiting puffin nesting islands and whale feeding areas. Multiple daily departures in peak season. Book in advance for July and August departures.
The name says it all Gatherall’s specifically focuses on delivering the combined puffin and whale experience at Witless Bay Reserve. Experienced naturalist guides provide identification and behavioural commentary throughout. Larger vessels make these tours more comfortable for visitors prone to seasickness.
Operates from the Bonavista Peninsula, offering an alternative puffin and whale watching tour for visitors already exploring the Bonavista area. As a result, visitors to Elliston or Bonavista town can also book a boat-based puffin experience without backtracking to Bay Bulls.
📸 Photography Tips for Puffin Watching
Puffins are one of the most photogenic birds in the world and Newfoundland gives you access to them in a way few destinations can match. Nevertheless, getting the best photographs requires understanding puffin behaviour and planning your visit accordingly.
Puffins are most active at dawn and dusk engaged in the most fishing flights and burrow activity. Midday birds tend to rest at burrow entrances. Additionally, the lower-angle morning and afternoon light produces far more dramatic photographs than harsh midday sun. At Elliston, arriving for the first hour after sunrise delivers the best combination of activity and light.
The brilliant orange-red, blue-grey, and yellow beak colouring that defines puffin photographs is only present during breeding season and at its most vivid in June and July. Furthermore, by late August the bright colouring begins fading back to winter grey. If beak colour is important to your photographs, plan for June or early July.
At Elliston, binoculars complement photography they let you observe individual puffins at burrow entrances or in the water below while you wait for the ideal moment to photograph arriving birds. A 8×42 or 10×42 binocular gives excellent views at the viewing distances typical of Elliston.
The most spectacular puffin photograph is a bird landing at its burrow with a bill full of sand eels or capelin multiple fish held crosswise in the beak simultaneously. This happens continuously during feeding hours. Position yourself near the boat’s rail on the side facing the nesting islands and wait these shots arrive regularly throughout any morning tour.
The puffins at Elliston are habituated to human presence but remain wild animals. Maintain the viewing area guidelines and resist the temptation to approach the burrows more closely. The birds are more relaxed and consequently more photogenic when visitors are calm and stationary rather than moving toward them.
On a Bay Bulls boat tour, 200–300mm effective focal length covers the typical distance to nesting islands well. At Elliston, 100–200mm can capture full-frame portraits of birds at their burrow entrances. Additionally, a fast aperture (f/2.8–f/4) helps freeze wing-beat motion in flight shots.
Plan Your Puffin Trip
Book your car rental early summer inventory sells out before June. A car is essential to reach Elliston and Cape St. Mary’s.
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