A seabird that s also a forest bird the marbled murrelet fishes along the foggy pacific coast then flies inland to nest in mossy old growth trees.
What do marbled murrelets.
Courtship foraging loafing molting and preening occur in near shore marine waters.
Peak activity occurs from mid june to late july in california and the second week of july to mid august in oregon.
The marbled murrelet brachyramphus marmoratus is a small pacific seabird listed as threatened under the endangered species act in california oregon and washington.
Marbled murrelets are long lived seabirds that spend most of their life in the marine environment but use old growth forests for nesting.
The primary cause of marbled murrelet population decline is the loss and modification of nesting habitat in old growth and mature forests through commercial timber harvests human induced fires.
They do not form dense colonies.
Murrelets require old mature forest habitat for their nests.
Although it is fairly common off the northern pacific coast its nesting behavior was essentially unknown until the 1970s.
These stocky little birds dive for zooplankton and fish using their wings to fly underwater.
Even where numerous it is usually seen on the water in pairs or aggregations of pairs not in large flocks.
Mottled in milk chocolate brown during the summer adults change into stark black and white for winter.
The real victim of this phenomenon is the marbled murrelet a federally threatened seabird whose eggs are a food source for steller s jays the marbled murrelet nests in old growth forest in california oregon and washington.
The close association of the marbled murrelet and old growth coastal forests and the science and conservation work done make the murrelets truly an iconic bird in redwood national and state parks.
Marbled murrelets make tree nests on large moss and lichen covered branches high usually over 40 feet above the ground in mature and old growth coniferous forest normally in the largest tree in the area.
Less commonly they make ground nests in a depression in a rocky talus slope boulder field or similar area sometimes on moss matted.
Throughout their range marbled murrelets are opportunistic feeders and utilize prey of diverse sizes and species.
Due to loss of old growth forests many of the remaining california dwelling murrelets nest in protected state parks areas with an abundance of campgrounds.
Marbled murrelets nest from mid april to late september.
Murrelets feed in the pacific ocean and salish sea sometimes venturing far from shore in search of herring anchovies smelt sandlance eels and other small forage fish.
Unlike most other seabirds marbled murrelets are solitary.
Rarely seen by humans they.
Marbled murrelets do not breed until they are at least two years old.
Marbled murrelets are semicolonial in nesting habits.
And about that arcane nickname even though scientists didn t know that marbled murrelets lived up in the old redwood trees before the early 1970s.
A strange mysterious little seabird.
