Puffin season has returned to Scotland’s west coast islands with wildlife tours, island adventures and sea journeys now drawing visitors across the Hebrides as spring turns into summer.

Across the west coast, islands are coming alive with nesting seabirds, dolphins, seals, sea eagles and basking sharks appearing once again in some of the country’s most dramatic coastal landscapes.

CalMac is encouraging travellers to plan island escapes around the wildlife season with experiences now running across Mull, Barra, Uist and the wider Hebrides.

Among the standout experiences this year are the tours run by Basking Shark Scotland which takes visitors into Atlantic waters around Barra, Coll and Mull searching for basking sharks, whales, dolphins and seabirds.

The company’s wildlife tours are guided by marine biologists and include opportunities to snorkel with seals, swim in clear Hebridean waters and land on remote islands filled with puffins and nesting seabirds.

One of the highlights is the island of Lunga in the Treshnish Isles where puffins gather in huge numbers during the breeding season.

Visitors can walk among the birds while also spotting guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, kittiwakes and shags nesting around the cliffs and coastline.

Tours around Mull also explore sheltered lagoons and white shell beaches where visitors can kayak, snorkel or simply watch the wildlife from the boat.

Further south in the Outer Hebrides, Uist Sea Tours offers wildlife boat trips around South Uist, Barra and St Kilda.

The trips regularly encounter bottlenose dolphins, seals, puffins and golden eagles while travelling through the waters around Uist and Barra.

The tours depart from Eriskay and are designed for smaller groups looking to experience the islands from the sea.

In North Uist, Hebridean Day Trips offers guided journeys exploring machair, moorland, wildlife and island culture away from the main tourist routes.

The tours focus heavily on local knowledge and sustainable tourism while helping visitors experience the changing seasons, bird migrations and Gaelic culture of the islands.

For many travellers, the attraction of the Hebrides at this time of year is not simply the scenery but the feeling that the islands are fully alive again after winter.

The wildlife season also provides an important boost for local tourism businesses across the islands with visitors travelling from across the UK and overseas to experience the west coast during one of its most active and colourful periods of the year.

CalMac says spring and early summer sailings can become busy quickly as wildlife tourism grows in popularity.

And with puffins now returning to cliffs and islands across the west coast, the season is fully underway once again.