How Can Puffins Fly Both in the Air and Underwater? Wild Birds Revealed

The Wild Birds Revealed video series is made possible by OM SYSTEM. Atlantic Puffins are a delight to watch, with their tuxedo-like plumage, waddling gait, and enormous, colorful bills. But... Read more »

Pets & Animals Sep 8, 2025 0 28 Add to Reading List

The Wild Birds Revealed video series is made possible by OM SYSTEM.

[Russell Laman voiceover]: Puffins straddle two very different worlds… They’re not the strongest fliers above the waves, but unmatched swimmers beneath them.

Much of their story happens too fast or too far out of sight to notice. But high-speed video and still photography slow the action, revealing the elegance hidden in every wingbeat.

Underwater cameras and a little creative disguise, let us follow puffins into the depths of their world.

We’re Russ and Tim Laman, wildlife filmmakers and photographers, on assignment for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. And this is Wild Birds Revealed.

[voiceover]: OM SYSTEM offers birders and nature photographers lightweight, weather-sealed gear with strong image stabilization and powerful super-telephoto lenses…all built for handheld freedom to capture amazing moments. [Tim Laman onscreen]: Wow, we got a beautiful morning here up on the coast of Maine. And we’re heading out by boat to one of the puffin nesting islands to hopefully get some shots of them out there. [Russell voiceover]: In this episode, we are trying to reveal what makes puffins so extraordinary… Their short, stubby wings. They must do double duty…lifting them into the air and then propelling them through the sea.

In the air puffins have barely enough wing area to stay aloft. That’s why they have to flap so fast. Puffins have to beat their wings up to 400 times a minute, and fly basically in a straight line.

[Tim Laman onscreen]: One of the behaviors I want to capture with the puffins is the takeoff from the water, because they’re not very powerful fliers in the air, so they have to run along the surface and flap their wings against the water. So there’s spray flying, and I know it’s going to create a dramatic photo.” [Russell voiceover]: This is where the still camera reveals what the eye can’t.

When you stop the action, you can see just how hard puffin’s wings are working to get their heavy bodies airborne. And when they land, they sometimes faceplant into the water, unable to make a smooth landing.

Compare a puffin’s wing with an American Herring Gul. The puffin’s wing is narrow and short. It provides a lot of power when used as a flipper underwater. But in thin air, that small wing area makes it hard to generate lift.

By contrast, the American Herring Gull has longer, broader wings with wider tips. All that wing area lets it cruise and twist at will.

But they’re far too big to function in water. So gulls can only fish from the surface, they can’t dive like a puffin.

[Russell oncreen]: “We really want to try and film puffins underwater. And we have kind of a crazy idea of how we’re going to get close to them. So we’ve attached a stuffed animal puffin to this hood. So I’m going to wear the puffin on my head. And then hopefully as I swim through the water, it’s going to look like the puffin’s floating on top of the water. And hopefully it’ll let me sneak up on the puffins. Maybe they’ll even be curious and come check it out.” [Russell voiceover]: This isn’t the first time we’ve tried to use a decoy…last year I attached a Common Eider head to a bike helmet, to try to get close to puffins. And I really wasn’t fooling anybody.

But this year, as soon as I jumped in the water, the puffins swam right up, curious to check out the puffin on my head, and I was able to capture the moment we’ve been after…. puffins flying underwater. Wings pumping, with wingtips sleeked back into sharp points.

Their wings become flippers, slicing through the water with power and minimal drag. No longer clumsy fliers, down here they’re hunters. Fast, graceful, and agile, able to turn, bank, and swoop at will.

I loved seeing them poke their heads underwater and scan for fish, then dive in pursuit, so much like a hawk hovering over a grassy field.

Puffins primarily eat small fish, carrying their catch with the help of small spines on the roof of their mouths.

With wings that can fly above and below the water, they are perfectly adapted for life on the coast.

[Russell voiceover]: Thanks for tuning in to Wild Birds Revealed. Be sure to check out our other episodes on the Cornell Lab YouTube Channel and the All About Birds website.

End of Transcript

Atlantic Puffins are a delight to watch, with their tuxedo-like plumage, waddling gait, and enormous, colorful bills. But behind those adorable looks lies a rare set of skills. Puffins are adept at living in two worlds: flying through the air and then diving deep underwater to catch fish.

In this episode of Wild Birds Revealed, nature photographers Tim and Russell Laman visit a Maine puffin colony with the goal of filming these mercurial birds not just in the air but underwater as well.

Using high-definition video and still photos, they uncover the details that allow puffins to succeed in two different environments simultaneously. Always inventive behind the camera, Tim and Russell devise a clever way to get close to puffins in the water—one that’s almost as cute as the puffins themselves.

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About the Series

Wild Birds Revealed is a three-part video series that uncovers hidden details of Osprey, Tree Swallows, and Atlantic Puffins. It features Tim and Russell Laman, award-winning wildlife filmmakers who challenge themselves to get difficult slow-motion and still shots, then delight in the detail and discovery that these incredible images allow. Through their striking imagery and friendly in-the-field narration, this project is both a visual adventure and a celebration of avian life.

Wild Birds Revealed is made possible by OM SYSTEM: lightweight, weather-sealed gear that combines industry-leading image stabilization with powerful super-telephoto lenses—all designed for handheld freedom. The still images that Tim and Russell captured for this episode were created with the flagship model, the OM SYSTEM OM-1 Mark II. OM SYSTEM supports the growth of the birdwatching and photography community through highly mobile, reliable camera systems that deliver exceptional expressive power to enhance every outdoor journey.

About the Filmmakers

Tim and Russell Laman are wildlife filmmakers whose work includes documentaries for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Geographic, BBC, Netflix, and more. Their work is inspired by the powerful role imagery plays in shaping how people see and value the planet. In their film and still photography, their aim is to spark curiosity, awareness, and action.

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