Rare images show baby puffin taking first steps outside in the Scottish Highlands

A baby puffin has been captured on film taking its first brave steps into the big, wide world, in rare pictures taken by an amateur photographer in the north of Scotland.

Ian Herd, 49, snapped the shots as the puffling ventured out of its nest while being chaperoned by a parent.

The summer months, from June to August, are when parent birds rear their chicks, with both the mother and father sharing responsibility for incubating eggs and feeding their offspring.

Puffins nest in burrows, which they dig out with their claws, and in cracks in the cliffs, to protect their young from predators.

The puffling ventures leaves the safety of its burrow for the first time, with parent in tow for protection

The Atlantic puffling leaves the burrow with its parents and flaps its wings to build up strength before flying off to sea.

Ian, who pictured the bird in Caithness, in the Scottish Highlands, said: “It is coming to that time of the year now when the parent bird will entice the young out of the burrow.

“They want to get them into the outside world and flapping their wings so they can build up some muscle strength.

“A week or two before the puffling fledges they will journey to the edge of the burrow but always with a parent.

The youngster is almost the same size as its parent, but retains its juvenile plumage

“They have to be very careful because gulls can see it as a good opportunity to get the puffling.

“It is a big risk for them to go to the edge of the burrow.

“I think in the next seven to ten days the puffling will fledge. It’s getting ready to go off to sea.”

Once it leaves the burrow, the puffling will have no contact with its parents, unlike razorbills or guillemots.

Puffins spend most of their lives at sea but return to land to breed, nesting in burrows or cracks in rocks

Ian, from Alness in, Ross and Cromarty, added: “The puffling will be totally independent.

“It won’t come back to land for three years, and will breed within five.”

Puffins are some of Scotland’s most sought-after seabirds due to their strikingly coloured beaks, trademark waddling gait and unique behaviour.

The birds spend most of their lives out at sea, returning to land to breed.

Pufflings begin venturing out shortly before they are due to fly the nest, testing their wings and strengthening muscles before heading out to sea

Known affectionately by some as ‘clowns of the sea’ or the ‘sea parrot, the birds typically touch down in Scotland in late March or early April before heading off again in mid-August.

Th puffin is red-listed in in the UK as a species of conservation concern.

Estimates suggest around 580,000 breeding pairs scattered across the UK, with the majority in Scotland.

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Often nicknamed 'clown of the sea' or 'sea parrot', the puffin is one of Scotland best-loved seabirds

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