Puffin pictured with mouthful of eels

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Providing for a hungry family of chicks is no problem for this puffin.


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Puffin with a mouthful of sand eels photographed by Steve Waterhouse



The bird crammed its small bill full of wriggling sand eels to feed his hungry family, on tranquil Skomer Island, off the coast of south Wales.
He dived into the deep water to snap the fish up, taking a break on land to rearrange his catch in his mouth before plunging in again.
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The plump puffin, which stood only 12 inches (30cm) tall, caught a whopping nine fish before showing off his catch to waiting photographers.
The greedy bird was captured on camera by photographer Steve Waterhouse, 53, who visited the island to admire the puffin colony.
Mr Waterhouse, a father-of-one from Plymouth, said: "It's an amazing part of the world and there are thousands of puffins in one place.
"I could watch them for hours, they're completely fascinating. I was blown away to be so close to them.
"They don't seem to have any fear at all and loved showing off for the camera. They'd happily pose for me in between their hunting sessions.
"I lost count of the number of times this particular bird went diving in and out of the water catching the sandeels.
"He picked them off one at a time, and arranged them carefully in his beak using the tiny hook to keep them in place.
"I had to laugh when I saw it - he looks very greedy indeed."
The island, which is one-and-a-half miles long and a mile wide, is home to half a million seabirds, including more than 10,000 endearing puffins.
The nature reserve, which is off the Pembrokeshire, only 250 visitors are permitted to visit the island each day, to minimise disruption to its wildlife.
 
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