Marbled Murrelet

by Steve Engel

Marbled Murrelet
Brachyramphus marmoratus

A seabird in the Alcid family, the Marbled Murrelet is related to the puffin but is smaller and lacks the colorful bill and headdress of that bird.  Alcids are a family of diving seabirds well-represented by 16 species in the eastern north pacific.  Members of the group are sometimes referred to as northern penguins because many sport striking black and white plumage and all “fly” underwater using their wings when foraging.   

Identification
Marbled Murrelets are a chunky, robin-sized bird with a short, thick neck, short tail and long, narrow wings.  In summer Marbled Murrelets are dark brown above and heavily mottled below.  In winter and in juvenile plumage they are white below (smudgy in juveniles) with dark gray to black head and back. 

Range and Habitat
Marbled Murrelets are found in near-shore waters from the Aleutian Islands to Southern California.  They frequent quiet marine waters such as the Inside Passage of British Columbia and Southeast Alaska or bays and coves along the open coast.  Recent debate has focused on whether or not its broad range encompasses distinct populations or should be considered as one population.      

Behavior
Marbled Murrelets are often seen in pairs on the water.  When approached by ship they typically spread their wings slightly and dive, or lift off from the water and accelerate away with rapid wing beats as they skim just above the surface.  In the latter instance they begin flight with feet spread wide for additional lift, briefly exposing their bright white upper-tail coverts.  As they gain speed and streamline their posture the feet are tucked in and the white coverts “zip” closed.  Flight is direct and fast, they have been clocked at 100 mph.           

Nesting
In the far north and west parts of their range, where there are no trees, Marbled Murrelets  nest on the ground on cliffs or steep hillsides.  However, throughout most of their range they are unique among seabirds in that they nest in the tall, old-growth trees of the coastal rainforest where they find moss-draped branches of sufficient size that offer a platform for their single egg.  This nesting behavior of the Marbled Murrelet was unknown by ornithologists until 1974.  Nest sites are situated singly, high in the forest canopy, as much as 200 feet above the ground.  Several pairs may utilize a suitable grove of large trees.  Nesting has been documented over 30 miles inland, a distance the adults must cover hundreds of times during incubation and feeding of the chick.  When the chick fledges at approximately 35 days old it leaves its tree-top home and flies to the ocean under the cover of darkness, to take up a life at sea alone.

Conservation
The stronghold of Marbled Murrelet populations is northern British Columbia and Southeast Alaska where productive marine waters and extensive nesting habitat still exist.  Estimates of population size there are around 800,000 individuals.  Washington, Oregon and California population estimates total slightly over 20,000 individuals with an annual decline in population of  4- 7 % being observed in recent decades.  Marbled Murrelets were once considered as numerous off our coast.  Loss of suitable-age forest habitat for nesting is considered the single biggest concern in seeking to stabilize populations.  Increased nest predation by crows, ravens and jays – species that typically become more abundant with increased forest fragmentation is also a major concern.  Ocean productivity, entanglement in near-shore gill-net fisheries, and oil spills are also among the threats they face in areas of their range.  A recent status review of the Marbled Murrelet’s Threatened listing under the federal Endangered Species Act resulted in the Bush Administration pressing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to not consider the lower coastal populations as distinct population segments from the Alaska population.  Because Alaska populations are still healthy, moving towards a single management strategy for all Marbled Murrelets in U.S. waters could result in removal of protections for the lower coastal populations.

REFERENCES
Birds of Oregon:  A General Reference.  Edited by Marshall, Hunter, Contreras
Lives of North American Birds. Kaufman
Rare Bird, Maria Mudd Ruth