Puffin
Made to order in Salado, TX · Ships in 2–4 business days
Price range: $49.99 through $64.99
An Atlantic Puffin silhouette with a beakful of fish, measuring 9" high × 7" wide, laser cut from 1/8-inch steel with a flat horizontal base for post caps, deck railings, fence rails and planter ledges. Choose Raw Steel, which arrives bare and rusts naturally outdoors to a warm brown patina with no paint or upkeep, or Black Powder Coat, the same piece finished in black. Cut to order in Texas (free US shipping over $85).
- 30-day returns
- Damaged or wrong item replaced or refunded
Gallery photographs show bare or weathered raw steel. A black-finish photograph is not supplied.
For most of the year there is no puffin to look at.
They come ashore in April and they are gone by August. The rest of it — eight months, the whole autumn and winter — is spent out on the open North Atlantic, well past sight of land, sleeping on the water. No burrow, no colony, no rock. Just the bird and the sea.
And the bill people love it for is not permanent either. The bright plates are grown for the breeding season and shed afterward. A puffin in January is a plain gray-faced thing with a small dull beak, and you would walk past it.
We had this one cut in its summer bill, with a load of fish crosswise, which is the puffin everybody pictures.
It can carry that many because the roof of its mouth and its tongue are lined with backward-facing spines. Each fish is held in place while the bird catches the next, and it is not unusual to see a dozen at once.
They dig a burrow into the turf of an island, lay one egg, and come back the following spring to the same burrow and the same mate. Year after year, in a place they left behind an ocean.
This one stands on a flat surface. A wall top, a rail, a windowsill.
Details
- Design: The Atlantic Puffin in summer bill with a beakful of fish
- Size: 9" high × 7" wide, approx. 8 oz
- Material: 1/8-inch American steel
- Finish: Choose Raw Steel (arrives bare, rusts naturally outdoors) or Black Powder Coat
- Mounting: Flat horizontal base for wooden fence rails, deck railings, post caps and ledges
- Made in Texas: Laser cut to order in our family-owned shop
How to Set It
1. Pick a flat horizontal wooden surface — a fence rail, deck railing, post cap or planter ledge.
2. Set the flat mounting base in place so the silhouette reads cleanly against the sky, water or yard.
3. Fasten through the base tab into the wood with two exterior wood screws for a permanent, wind-fast perch.
The Finish
Pick your finish from the Finish menu on this listing.
Raw Steel (Rusts Naturally): Your piece arrives as bare, raw steel — a clean steel gray. Outdoors, rain and dew turn it a warm rust brown, usually over the first few weeks, and the color keeps deepening with the weather. There is no paint or coating, so there is nothing to peel, fade or touch up. While the rust is forming, rust-colored runoff can mark pale stone, concrete or siding directly below it, so set it over wood, soil or mulch. Prefer the bare steel look? Keep it indoors or out of the rain.
Black Powder Coat: The same steel piece, powder coated in black. It arrives black rather than bare, does not develop the rust patina, and leaves no rust runoff, so it can go over pale stone, concrete or siding. Wipe it clean with a damp cloth. If it ever gets chipped, a dab of black exterior metal paint touches it up.
Processing & Shipping
Cut to order in our shop in Texas. Please allow 2–4 business days before your order ships. Orders of $99 or more ship free within the United States; under that, shipping is a flat $14.92. We ship within the United States only.
Returns
100% satisfaction guaranteed. If you are not happy with your piece for any reason, email [email protected] within 30 days of delivery and we will make it right with a replacement or a full refund.
About Our Photos
Some listing images are created or edited with AI-assisted tools to show the piece in an outdoor setting. The design and size you receive match this listing.
About Shadow Birds
Every Shadow Birds piece is cut from solid American steel and made in Texas. Browse the shop for more birds, Garden Folk, Seasonal & Holiday designs and Critters.
Questions? We're Glad to Help.
Send us a message anytime. Ordering several for a family, a memorial service, a garden club or a store? Just ask — we are happy to set up larger orders.
They’d feel at home, too.
Chickadee
Road Runner
Chickadee & Chicks
