At the age of 4-5 years, it will become reproductively mature and will be able to breed. It does not congregate with other puffins and does not return to land for 2-3 years. When it reaches the water, it paddles out to sea and may be 3 km (2 mi) away from the shore by daybreak. When the moment arrives, it emerges from the burrow and walks, runs, and flaps its way to the sea. The chick takes from 34 to 50 days to fledge and usually leaves the nest for the first time at night when the risk of predation is at its lowest. The chick sleeps much of the time and also moves around the burrow rearranging nesting material, picks up and drops small stones, flaps its immature wings, and pulls at protruding root ends. The chick is covered in fluffy black down and its eyes are open and it can stand as soon as it is hatched. The first evidence that hatching has taken place is the arrival of an adult with a beak-load of fish. The female lays a single white egg and both parents incubate it for about 39-45 days. Egg-laying starts in April in more southerly colonies but seldom occurs before June in Greenland. Apart from nest-building, the other way in which the birds restore their bond is by billing the pair approaches each other, each wagging their heads from side to side, and then rattling their beaks together. Often, one stands outside the entrance while the other excavates, kicking out quantities of soil and grit. Upon returning to breeding grounds Atlantic puffins soon start to excavate burrows on grassy clifftops or may reuse existing holes, and on occasion may nest in crevices and among rocks and scree. The male spends more time guarding and maintaining the nest, while the female is more involved in incubation and feeding the chick. Then, the slopes empty for the night as puffins fly out to sea to roost, often choosing to do so at fishing grounds ready for early-morning fishing.Ītlantic puffins are monogamous and mate for life. The colony is most active in the evening, with birds standing outside their burrows, resting on the turf, or strolling around. They also spend time standing by their burrow entrances and interacting with passing birds. On the ground, they spend much time preening, spreading oil from their preen gland, and setting each feather in its correct position with beak or claw. Each large puffin colony is divided into subcolonies by physical boundaries such as stands of bracken or gorse. In the spring, mature birds return to land, usually to the colony where they were hatched. They fish by sight and can swallow small fish while submerged, but larger specimens are brought to the surface. They swim fast and can reach considerable depths and stay submerged for up to a minute. When fishing, puffins swim underwater using their wings as paddles to "fly" through the water and their feet as a rudder. However, when out at sea, they prefer to stay solitary and bob about like a cork, propelling themselves through the water with powerful thrusts of their feet. They are sociable birds and they usually breed in large colonies. Atlantic puffins spend most of the year far from land in the open ocean and only visit coastal areas to breed.
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