Who is Aldar the Puffin?
Aldar the puffin is the main character in the book - Aldar, A Puffin's Tale - by Steve Allanson. The book is a mix of natural history, fiction, and illustrations including original artworks by Tracy Barnett It is intended to appeal to a wide audience, including nature lovers, wildlife enthusiasts, and those who enjoy a captivating story.
Aldar, A Puffin's Tale was written to bring the natural history of this fascinating seabird to a wider audience by weaving the science into the drama of the life of one puffin.
The book follows the life of Aldar, an Atlantic puffin, and is said to tap into the enduring appeal of anthropomorphised characters in the natural world.
Be prepared for something of an emotional roller coaster as you follow Aldar through his adventures.
You can get the book on Amazon - HERE
or you can get the Special Edition directly on this website (£2 donated to the RSPB for every sale of the Special Edition) - HERE
Who is Aldar the Puffin? - This is Aldar.
- Details
- Category: Aldar's Tale
On a moonlit night Aldar was dozing on the surface, still partially alert for predators or human ships but only semi conscious. He was snapped sharply into full wakefulness by the thunderous sound of rushing water. Instantly awake he saw, no more than 10 metres away, a great spout of sea rising into the night and shining brightly with reflected moonlight. At the same time something rose out of the depths and broke the surface like a new island forming instantly in the sea. It continued to lay there, moving only slowly and after deciding it didn’t pose an immediate threat Aldar swam closer. At the moment he was next to the creature, he could see that it was alive, a great eye, almost as big as the Puffin, broke the surface and stared straight at the tiny puffin. In an instant there was a connection between the two creatures, not prey or predator but fellow hunters of fish, fellow voyagers of the great oceans of the world.
Image by Tracy Barnett (Facebook page here) excerpt from "Puffin, Aldar's Tale" which you can pre-order HERE.
Fish
Fish
Fishhhhhh…
Puffling stared at the opening to the burrow wondering when either of his parents would return with food. He was very hungry by now. They had always returned in the past, not as fast as he would have liked, but always coming in the end. The thing Puffling remembered most of all in his short life, though, was hunger.
It seemed like an eternity now since he had picked up the last of the fish his father had dropped on the rough earthen floor of the burrow and swallowed it whole. He could still taste the salty fleshiness of it.
He was sure one or other of them would return soon. He was sure of it.
…
Fishhhhhh…
It was night now and still no-one had come with food. He thought he had been hungry before but now he knew what real hunger felt like. His young body was crying out for nourishment. This was a hunger that gnawed at his little belly and preyed on his mind constantly.
He was growing dreadfully frightened now, fear that grew with every moment, fear that they would not come. Where were they? What could have happened to delay them?
Puffling slept fitfully, never quite escaping the emptiness in his belly nor the growing terror in his mind.
…
Fishhhhhh…
Puffling woke and realised it was full day outside the burrow once more, he could hear the usual sounds of the colony, the grumblings of the adult Puffins, the cry of the Kittiwakes, the background roaring of the sea crashing against the base of the cliff so far below the burrow.
Anger replaced the fear for a moment now, where were his parents with his food? How dare they leave it so long? His belly ached and spasmed with emptiness. He pecked at the walls of the burrow, wondering if that would assuage his hunger but the bitter, earthy taste only made him retch. He grabbed a beetle which scurried past and hungrily crunched and swallowed it. It did nothing to change the all pervading hunger.
…
Fishhhhhh…
Night again now and Puffling had dozed through most of the day. His belly was now painfully bloated and he could taste the acid in his throat as his body tried desperately to gain sustenance from anything it could.
Puffling was utterly terrified now, he could not understand what had happened to his world, his regular supply of life sustaining food. He was also becoming dehydrated as his sole source of water was the fish his parents brought him. His mind was no longer clear, he saw images of fish and smelled their presence in the burrow but whenever he clambered weakly along the tunnel there was none. Reality and starvation driven dreams merged in his mind and he was no longer sure which was which.
The burrow had been unbearably hot during the day, at least it was cooler now. Puffling pecked at any speck of anything that might be food. He was desperate.
…
Fishhhhhh…
Puffling woke in the night hearing a sound at the entrance to the burrow. For a brief moment he thought it might be one of his parents but soon realised it was just another bird sniffing the entrance and peering within to see if the burrow was empty. Maybe another Puffin or maybe a gull thinking there might be a meal inside. Puffling kept silent, he used to anticipate the appearance of his food bearing parents with loud, high pitched cheeps but somehow he knew this would only betray his unguarded presence to any predator.
He had given up hope now of being fed again and was fast growing weaker.
Puffling slept.
…
Fishhhhhh…
It is day again and there is no movement in the burrow.
Puffling never woke from that last sleep. His life cut desperately short as his parents realised they simply could not bring enough food to enable their hatchling to grow. They had taken the only choice they could and had saved themselves for the chance to breed another year.
No Fish…
How could this have happened?
It is one thing to read in a magazine or natural history book that “thousands of puffin chicks die of starvation each year”. It is quite another to enter the world of one lonely starving chick. If you have a tear in your eye and a lump in your throat at this point, so did I writing this and every time I read it for editing or amendment.
What happened before and after?
Please don’t stop reading at this point thinking, this is too sad I don’t want to read this. Let us discover also some of the wonder of these beautiful, crazy seabirds
Come with me now on a journey through the lives of puffins and through the story of Aldar, one puffin from Flamborough.
