Marbled Murrelet
Brachyramphus marmoratus
About
The petite, quail-sized Marbled Murrelet has been called the “enigma of the Pacific.” So much about this stub-tailed seabird is unusual and remains poorly known. The bird’s range extends from Alaska to California; in northern treeless areas, it nests on the ground, but in the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, it flies inland as far as 55 miles to nest high in trees. Its nesting habits remained one of North America’s great bird mysteries until 1974, when a tree surgeon working 147 feet up in a 200-foot-tall Douglas fir found an active nest. The only other bird in the alcid family that shares this nesting behavior is the murrelet’s close cousin, the Long-billed Murrelet, found in Asia.
Marbled Murrelet populations are in steady decline, due in part to the clearing of old-growth temperate rainforests, habitat shared with the imperiled Northern Spotted Owl. But nest predation by clever corvids like Steller’s Jays and Common Ravens can also adversely impact murrelets. These birds gather where people enjoying the Pacific Northwest’s forest leave garbage behind — the picnic areas and campsites more than 100 feet below nesting murrelets — making it all the more important to clean up and pack out what you bring in.
Threats
Seabirds are declining faster than any other bird group. The Marbled Murrelet faces many of the threats that endanger all seabirds, but the loss of its old-growth forest nesting habitat is unique among seabirds. Listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1992, the Marbled Murrelet is also listed as a Yellow Alert Tipping Point species by Partners in Flight, a result of the loss of more than 50 percent of its population in the past 50 years. (snip-MORE on the page)
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