Where Puffins Swim and Dive

A morning of perfect weather

Where puffins swim and dive

And auks swarm like bees by a hive

Without wind enough to move a feather

Calm reigns throughout the morning

There is not a cloud

Where puffins swim and dive

And auks swarm like bees by a hive

With birds standing tall and proud

The warm sun vanquishing memories of rain

Puffins, puffins, left, right, and center

Where puffins swim and dive

And auks swarm like bees by a hive

Is a grumpiness cure

For all those who are down

In the sky over the rookery of Shiant

Where puffins swim and dive

And auks swarm like bees by a hive

To reasonable numbers birds are defiant

Below the flock it seems to rain but not...

And of everything there is two

Where puffins swim and dive      

And auks swarm like bees by a hive

Reflected in the ocean blue

Is every tiny detail

Going for a row

Where puffins swim and dive

And auks swarm like bees by a hive

And slowly you meld with the flow

And get close enough to touch the birds

One morning this week, I woke up to a stunning day. It was flat calm and I was intent on going for a row. Uncle Kevin and I went over to the rookery in the dingy. I was inspired to write this poem a few days afterwards. During the row, as well as the day before, we got a few fantastic pictures.

This picture shows Sila in the rookery. Although you cannot see it in this photo, the air above the rocky shoreline is full of birds. Just above Sila, in the picture, is a shoreline. This is where the rookery was. The rocks are home to guillemots, and razorbills, while puffins took the grass nearby.

As we rowed out, I got this picture of the boat and some cliffs behind.

We were five feet from this Razorbill before it hopped into the water and swam off. Here is a boring looking picture. But if you start looking carefully, you will see tons of birds with orange beaks, puffins, on the grass as well as guillemots and razorbills.

Here is the picture zoomed in on a cluster of puffins. In the bottom right corner, you can see two razorbills. In the top right corner, there is a guillemot landing.

Here you can see a few puffins standing outside their burrows.-Porter