I feel privileged to have caught this extremely rare and candid shot of a special returning Puffin that has landed back for breeding showing bioluminescence picked up from the South Wales surf.
The Puffin variant, with the scientific name `Stultus Aprilis`, might be the only image taken before it heads into the burrows for breeding.
Puffin return to land to breed this time of the year after spending the winter out at sea. They come in their thousands to Skomer Island along with a few other places like it`s neighbour Skokholm, but some birds wander around the coast to other locations too.
At this time of year, the warming currents can bring in bioluminescent plankton, creatures in the sea that can emit light when disturbed by the motion of surf. I happened to catch this Puffin at an undisclosed location showing evidence of bobbing in the surf the night before.
Their behaviour, which can affect the colouration of their bill, has given them their own scientific name.
This very rare photo of the variant Puffin.
A true one-off!
