Seeing Puffins Up Close at the Elliston Puffin Viewing Site
- truenorthbirding
- Feb 25
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 25
Exploring the Puffins in Newfoundland
Honestly, I have been struggling with how to start this blog, so I thought I would begin with one of my favourite places on earth, as well as one of my favourite birding memories, the Puffin viewing Site in Elliston, NL.
The Puffin Viewing Site in Elliston is famous for its proximity to a large nesting colony of Atlantic Puffins. The puffins actually nest on an island just across the water from the viewing site, but they frequently pop over to the mainland, landing within arms reach of onlookers. This has made Elliston one of the best places to see (and photograph) puffins on land. It is estimated that more than 2500 Puffins nest around the viewing site. They generally nest from May to September, but you can be guaranteed to see them between June and mid-August.
I had been to Newfoundland twice before, but was not able to make it to Elliston on these trips, so when an opportunity arose in June of 2024 to return to NL, I knew I had to make Elliston & the Bonavista Peninsula a priority.
The weather for my entire first week in NL was what locals call "RDF", rain, drizzle, and fog- and boy the fog was thick!
I ended up staying in a historic, 100 year old cottage in Catalina, which was about a 15 minute drive to the Puffin Viewing Site. The owner of the cottage (Brenda) was an amazing host, and filled the fridge with all the fixings for breakfast, including fresh eggs (from her daughter's chickens), bacon and touton dough. [On that note, you have try try toutons (pronounced towt'n) while you are in NL. They are a type of fry-bread, traditionally fried in pork fat and served with molasses, but I enjoyed pan-fried with butter and jam.]
Getting to the Elliston Puffin Viewing Site
The Puffin Viewing Site is located just east of the town of Elliston on Maberly Road. There is a parking lot directly across the street from the site. Access to the site is free, although they do have a donation bin at the entrance, which supports maintaining the site. There was a little shop & visitor centre at the entrance as well, although it was closed when I was there.
It was about a ten minute walk from the entrance to the actual viewing site. The paths were very muddy and slippery when I was there, and were definitely not accessible for wheelchairs, walkers, or strollers.
My visit was in early June, and it was raining, so it wasn't super busy at the viewing site. The fog actually lifted a bit once I got close, but even through the fog I could see thousands of Puffins. Just minutes after arriving, my first Puffin flew and landed right in front of me!
I had seen puffins before (flying, on the water and from a distance), but I was still surprised at how little they were!
I feel so lucky to have seen a handful of different Puffins, many who were collecting grass and leaves.
While I took all of these photos with my 200-500mm lens, I was pretty much zoomed out for every shot, that's how close they were. The birds did not seem to be too bothered by people, but luckily folks were very respectful of their space as well.
Not just Puffins!
While I went to the Puffin Viewing Site for Puffins (and it did not disappoint!), there were lots of other good birding opportunities. There were numerous Black-legged kittiwakes, Common Murres, and gulls in the surrounding cliffs. The American Pipets and Savannah Sparrows were very cooperative photo subjects.
In summary, don't be deterred if the weather isn't perfect! A little rain and fog might mean that you have the puffins all to yourself!
Have you been to the Puffin Viewing Site? Or do you have questions about visiting? Also happy to share my Airbnb's listing, just leave a comment, or send me an email!
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