Every summer, on Heimaey—the only inhabited island in Iceland’s Vestmannaeyjar archipelago—children step into an extraordinary role: wildlife rescuers. Known locally as the ‘Puffin Patrol’, this tradition sees kids combing the town at night to find baby puffins, or pufflings, that have been lured inland by streetlights instead of flying out to sea.
With torches in hand and cardboard boxes at the ready, the children to carefully rescue the stranded chicks and take them to a specialist centre, where they are assessed. After a health check, the healthy pufflings get all-clear and the children and their families carry them to the cliffs, where they can launch them into the Atlantic to start their migration. Pufflings that need more care, stay in the centre for longer until they’re ready to be released.
Caritas and Dis
The film follows Caritas and Dis, two young islanders preparing for this year’s Puffin Patrol. From watching puffin parents return with beaks full of sand eels, to exploring puffin burrows and dancing through island festivals, their summer is filled with adventure, laughter, and responsibility.
“Every year us kids save hundreds and hundreds of pufflings. Without our help, they wouldn’t survive.”
Dis
As fledging season arrives, the patrol begins in earnest. Beneath the late summer skies, the children scour roadsides, gardens, and alleyways to find the pufflings before dawn. For every chick released safely into the ocean, a small victory is won.
“When you find a puffin, it’s like—yes! I found one! It makes me feel really happy inside.”
Caritas
For Caritas, who has overcome serious illness as a child, Puffin Patrol feels like training for her dream job:
“I’ve always wanted to be a children’s doctor. Puffin Patrol is really good training—helping the pufflings makes me feel like I’m already learning how to care.”
Caritas
Dis, meanwhile, sees the patrol as a way of shaping her own future:
“I really hope to be a vet. The Puffin Patrol helps me a lot, so in the future I already know how to take care of an injured bird.”
Dis
Told with warmth and humour, My Life: Puffin Patrol is a celebration of childhood, community, and the magic of growing up in harmony with nature. It’s a film that proves—sometimes the smallest hands can make the biggest difference.
BigWave on the BBC
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