Amusing puffins, nesting sea turtles,
playful bear cubs and roaring waterfalls
FANCY BEAKS
Do you love puffins as much as we do? Then end of May is great to go to one of the natural puffin watching destinations. Beautiful birds have already nested at this time of the year and are in endless hustle to feed their only chick – therefore you will have plenty of encounters. We were lucky to pay a visit to Skomer island in Wales few years ago, and that was an unforgettable spring weekend – the beauty of the island took our breath away and puffins felt incredibly comfortable in our presence, they were popping out here and there within arm’s reach and were leisurely studying us with curiosity. Not even sure if it was humans watching puffins or vice versa.
Skomer Island is a real secluded gem, and it is rather difficult to get there unless you are driving. There are many other destinations in the UK and Ireland where you can see smaller colonies of Puffins, but commuting to any of those by public transport is not a breeze either. As a great alternative, the biggest population of puffins is breeding in Iceland – there are quite a few islands very close to the shore where you can enjoy the company of these beauties, with regular excursion during summer from Reykjavik and smaller towns
NESTING TURTLES
May is also one of the best month to see sea turtles nesting in the Caribbean. Amazing creatures leave the ocean at night to lay their eggs on the beaches of Yucatan (Mexico), Tobago, Cuba – just to name a few.
Within protected areas, researchers often observe this rather long and complex process in order to mark or fence the nest. Later on they periodically check the nests for depredation (destruction by predators) and finally see the little ones off when they hatch and rush to the sea 2 months later. Small groups of tourists are sometimes allowed to be present within the sacred moment under the scarce light of moon and stars (for obvious reasons you cannot take photos with flashlight, create noise or approach the animal too close). It is also good to be careful when choosing the sanctuary that offers such experiences. Do some research to make sure they are acting at turtle interests and not only represent local businesses that pretend to be good Samaritans but in reality harm the wildlife in their thrive for profits. If you are offered to dig the eggs out and bring them to a different place – it should raise a suspicion
PLAYFUL CUBS
Last but not the least wildlife characters of the month are bears. May in Canada is great to watch bears that are now awake and show up for the first time in the year to teach adorable cubs feeding on juicy plants and fishing for salmon. Canada boasts a full house of bear species – Black Bears, elegant Spirit Bears, Browns like Grizzly, or even Kodiak that lives exclusively within the islands of Alaska’s Kodiak Archipelago and is the heaviest brown bear. Polar bears in Manitoba is yet another exciting story!
Alternative destination to observe brown bears with their playful cubs is Finland. As a bonus, here you will most likely come across a wolverine or an arctic fox
WORLD’S GREATEST WATERFALL
During April and May Zambia’s Victoria Falls is at its fullest flow and creates best 5d sensations for us to enjoy. Why 5d? It visually stuns you with its magnitude, delights with hundreds of rainbows, it roars so loud that you can feel vibration with your whole body, it drizzles millions of tiny cool drops all over you, it smells fresh and grassy and finally, it creates one of those moments when you experience with all your gut how tiny and helpless a human being can be against the power and supreme of mother Nature.
Photo credits and copyrights: UpYourValley, Pixabay, Flickr, Max Pixel