…are certainly uncommon in cyberspace, as the majority of cameras are concentrated on large cities, weather or special places and happenings throughout the world. So it has been with delightful interest to have discovered and followed the happenings of one Puffin hole, or nest, that Shetland’s RSPB group placed near their offices at Sumburgh Lighthouse.

Admittedly, these last several weeks have been a bit boring to watch the streaming camera. The empty hole, both shown from the outside and inside (camera 1&2), has been quite dull and no real activity of Puffins could be watched. I almost gave up until last weekend when I noticed a light-colored stone that had appeared near the base of the interior view. What was this, I asked, and expectations rose that it possibly could be an egg.

Sure enough, two days ago I saw the faint outline of a Puffin lying down on the floor of this nest and this morning I could finally see the Puffin in activity. It sometimes came in the nest to squat down and warm the egg and sometimes it would appear outside the nest; probably to get some fresh air, stretch its legs and checkout what was happening on the cliff below the lighthouse buildings. How exciting!

Now, Puffins are really beautiful and amazing birds and it’s easy to secretly adopt this mother Puffin. One good suggestion in promoting awareness for the species and concern for Puffin survival, could be a small sub-group, or club, of people promoting Puffin adoption of previously ringed birds. Why not start with the little one that is on its way? As you link-up to this Puffin webcam, I would like to ask readers a couple of questions:

What name should the mother Puffin be given?
Any guesses as to when (date) the egg will hatch?
What should we name the baby Puffin when it does hatch?

With these questions, I would also like readers to support this wonderful webcam project, learn more about Puffins and the Shetland RSPB’s work and take an opportunity to explore more Shetland webcams on their new information site at www.shetland.org.

Happy Puffin watching…