Marbled Murrelet
(Brachyramphus marmoratus)
Introduction
What is that small bird dashing and zigzaging at great speed over our lakes and ocean? As they turn they reveal their profile a small plump body with a thin-wing configuration. Unlike our Loons, Mergansers and other seabirds these small birds seem faster; in fact they are one of the fastest birds in BC. They are bundles of energy flying long commute distances every day at speeds approaching 80 km/h or higher. They forage underwater in both ocean and lakes for small fish and return to their nests to feed their chicks. Unlike other aquatic birds such as the ancient murrelet, that we see nesting in great noisy colonies on islands and rocky crevices, the Marbled Murrelet has solitary nesting habits and flies secretively inland to nest in the high mossy branches of secluded old growth forests. And, as you will see, the steady loss of that secluded habitat is a threat to this gorgeous little bird who has recently been placed on the endangered list.
Range
They are found in coastal waters adjacent to inland old-growth forested areas from the Aleutian Islands through southern and southeastern Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and central California (they are rarely seen in southern California or northern Mexico where old-growth habitat is scarce). In at least one reference, their range in British Columbia may extend “up to 100 kilometers inland”.
Characteristics
The size of the Marbled Murrelet is roughly between a Robin and a Crow. It is a small plump seabird with a thin-pointed bill, short neck, egg-shaped body and a short tail beneath which are its small webbed feet. Its 25 cm length gives it a blocky shape and its wings are, rather long and narrow.
The plumage of breeding adults involves warm-brown tones on the top of their head, back and wings with marbled light-cinnamon spots and patches which can appear to resemble a collar around their neck extending to their lower undersides.
Non breeding, winter plumage is more dramatic with dark gray-black tones above and white below. A white neck-collar extends down the throat, breast and underparts and a horizontal white strip, often referred to as a white shoulder patch appears above folded wings.
Airborne: When airborne, the stubby wings of the Marbled Murrelet beat very rapidly and they can travel at relatively high speeds. In a 2009 study of the flying speeds of 34 bird species in BC it was stated: “the highest average flight speed (85 km·hr) was for Marbled Murrelets”. A great many atmospheric and aerodynamic variables are at play, but it is noteworthy that the top speed measured in that study was logged at 105 km/hr by a Marbled Murrelet. When flying over the water they zigzag aggressively as they hunt.
On the water: When swimming on the surface their small web feet are used for propulsion and they usually move about with their slender black bill and stubby tail tipped upward. When food is plentiful these birds spend much of their time on the surface dozing and preening.
Underwater: They are able to dive for 60 seconds down to about 45 feet but most dives are around 30 seconds and thus, relatively shallow. Their web feet are too small for propulsion underwater but come into play for steering. Instead, they use their wings to “fly” through the water in pursuit of small prey which they swallow-whole while underwater.
Life Cycle
Marbled Murrelets live approximately 10 years. They do not begin breeding until they reach 2-3 years of age and, because they lay only a single egg each year, they are considered to have low reproductive output.
Marbled Murrelet courting takes place at sea commencing in late winter and the breeding season continues into early spring and summer.
Males raise their wings into a V-shape while making a whiny callout. A female then swims alongside and both birds point their bills towards the sky. The partners repeatedly swim side by side, and extending their necks, point the bills skyward and make soft calls together then dive and surface. In-flight chases are also common and these often lead to dives into the ocean where the chase continues underwater.
This courtship behaviour may be seen all year-round, which suggests the likelihood that monogamous pair bonds are maintained into the non breeding season.
Foraging and Diet
Marbled Murrelets are diving seabirds, and they spend a lot of time at sea foraging up to a half kilometre or more from shore. They also forage saltwater bays, sounds, inlets and fiords. If freshwater lakes are nearby, they will forage such waterbodies for juvenile and larval fish during the summer.
Their diet is mostly small fish up to 5“ in length, such as lance, capelin, and herring. The also hunt underwater for crustaceans such as euphausiid shrimp, mysids and amphipods and zooplankton.
They dive quickly. Underwater they use their wings to propel themselves, steering with both wings and feet in rapid pursuit of prey. Dives are short and fairly shallow, usually lasting less than 60 seconds.
Marbled Murrelets generally forage alone. At times they may be seen in pairs or in flocks herding small fish together as a team to make capturing them more efficient. Occasionally they can be seen in large numbers taking advantage of tides, river outflows, rip currents where they attack large concentrations of prey such as Pacific Herring in April and May.
In addition to fish, they eat small shrimp such as northern prawn and squid such as opalescent inshore squid. In the northern part of their range, they often feed on zooplankton, tiny shrimp-like crustaceans called euphausiids, mysids, and amphipods.
Habitat - Nest
In contrast to most seabirds that nest in large, dense and noisy seaside colonies in rocky crevices and offshore islands which make them largely inaccessible to predators, Marbled Murrelets live much differently, as solitary birds with rather secretive nesting habits.
As you will see their nesting behaviour is so secret and so remote and hidden from view that it was only in recent years that we discovered how they lived. The internet is festooned with claims of discovery going back to 1955 and perhaps earlier. Here on the Sunshine Coast, according to a January 1, 2022 Coast Reporter article by Connie Jordison reporting on work done by “Friends of Caren” and the Sunshine Coast Conservation Association (SCCA): “In the early 1990s, researchers working with the group, John Field and Paul Jones, documented the first active marbled murrelet nest in the highlands of the Coast’s Caren Range”.
To bring that even closer to home, as one drives from Garden Bay towards Kleindale a stunning panorama of the 4000 ft high Caren Range rises ahead. This is the nesting home for our Marbled Murrelets.
Their nests are widely dispersed and high-up in the tallest old-growth coniferous forest trees that have branches covered in moss and lichen.
The presence to Moss seems to be a primary nesting requirement because the Marbled Murrelet does not actually build a nest so much as simply use its weight to nestle itself into the moss and lichen thus creating a shallow bowl about 4 inches wide and 1.5 inches deep in which the female lay will lay the pair's single egg.
Rarely, they may nest in depressions in moss and matted vegetation at the rocky-base of talus slopes near the Pacific Ocean. In both these nesting environments, its mottled breeding plumage is an effective camouflage
Development of Young
The female lays a single egg (about the size of a chicken egg) into a mossy depression (nest) where the egg is unlikely to roll away. The egg colouration varies from light-olive-yellow to light-blue-green, with small-darker markings.
Both parents participate in the incubation by taking half-day shifts that may change-over at twilight. Some 30 days later the egg hatches and both parents, still in their mottled brownish breeding plumage, participate in back and forth feeding visits between the ocean and the nest. The nestling chick is otherwise left unattended for the next 4-6 weeks. When traveling between their nest and foraging in waterbodies the parents avoid predators by flying only during dark twilight. They fly silently at high speeds, said to be greater than 80 km/h.
During this time, the adults feed the chick small fish (about 4 inches long), which they capture mostly at dusk and then carry the long distance inland to the nest.
Eventually the nestling moults into black-and-white plumage before leaving the nest. Once clear of the nest and feeling the lift in its wings for the first time it instinctively sets course directly to the ocean.
Endangered Species?
The Marbled Murrelet has been listed as threatened under the federal Species at Risk Act since 2003, based on Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assessments in 1990, 2000 and 2012. This species is categorized as blue (special concern) in British Columbia and is identified as a species at risk under the provincial Forest and Range Practices Act.
Like other birds, the Marbled Murrelet, its occupied nests, and eggs are legally protected from harm under B.C.'s Wildlife Act.
The Marbled Murrelet and its nests are also protected under the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act and Species at Risk Act.
Marbled Murrelet habitat can be protected under provincial legislation, particularly the Forest and Range Practices Act, Oil and Gas Activities Act, and Land Act.
As for the centuries-old “old-growth” habitat, well, that part of the story doesn’t look so good. Since the1800’s the logging of old-growth areas (trees older than 250 years) has proceeded such that, on Vancouver Island, most of the old-growth has been cut. The practice of replanting old-growth areas is called second-growth but these “plantations” are not destined to become old-growth because they are re-logged when the trees reach 50-80 years old. Thus, there is very little old-growth still standing on the south-west coastal areas of B.C., and there seems very little likelihood that we will ever see an increase of old-growth forest.
The following quote is from ancientforestalliance.org: “According to mapping based on BC government data from 2012, about 74% of the original, productive old-growth forests on BC’s southern coast have been logged, while about 8% are protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMAs). Since then, more than 50,000 hectares of old-growth forests have been logged. For high-productivity sites at low elevations with the grandest trees, the situation is even more dire, well over 90% or more have already been logged and only about 3% of the original are under protection in parks and OGMAs.” The following 54 second video will transfix you; you may need to watch it several times and pause occasionally to really absorb the magnitude of the losss of our Old-Growth habitat.
The Marbled Murrelet, has nested in our old-growth forests for thousands of years but since 1800, logging has removed most of that habitat. And there are other changes such as its food sources. Take for example, the Pacific Herring which is creating much concern ? A well-known Garden Bay neighbour, Joe Harrison, pointed this out in a letter to the editor of Coast Reporter on May 20, 2022.
Joe packs a lot into those few words! We’d like to add a little math. For the Marbled Murrelets hunting Pacific Herring in Oyster Bay it's only an 8 km flight to their nests in the protected old-growth of Spipiyus Provincial Park, that high ridge of the Caren Range that towers over Kleindale. But if you do the geometry and include the 4000 m climb, it works out a 9 km flight path. And all that climbing will slow the murrelelt down a bit. So climbing at say 60 km/hr, it would take the murrelet about 9 minutes to get to its nest; which means very fresh herring for the single chick in the nest.
Below you will see a government map depicting old-growth in red. The tiny red, blob we point to wih the green arrow, is the remaining old-growth stands, in our area. The larger map shows this red blob to be our Spipiyus Park otherwise known as Caren Range Park.
The question remains, what is being done by our governments to protect Caren Range and other remaining old growth? It seems an impossible task to find the answer. The most recent document (2024) from our BC government is 32 pages and titled "From Review to Action”. It speaks of goals, recommendations and timelines but is almost entirely about the processes involved in re-designing our B.C. Ministry of Forests. That report can be accessed here:
Victoria Natural History Society video circa 2023 that will require one coffee and two cookies; Enjoy!
References:
Hinterland Who’s Who: https://www.hww.ca/wildlife/birds/marbled-murrelet/
Government of BC, Conservation Projects and Partnerships: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/plants-animals-ecosystems/species-ecosystems-at-risk/implementation/conservation-projects-partnerships/marbled-murrelet
A NEW FUTURE FOR OLD FORESTS, From review to action, A Report Out on Actions Toward Resilient Ecosystems, Communities and Economies in B.C. Released in May of 2024:
Coast Reporter Article: https://www.coastreporter.net/local-news/threatened-marbled-murrelet-gets-provincial-protection-for-coast-habitat-4904043
SFU, Breeding Birds Atlas: https://www.sfu.ca/biology/wildberg/bertram/mamurt/research.htm
BEHAVIOUR AND HABITAT SELECTION OF lMARBLED MURRELETS NESTING ON THE SUNSHINE COAST, by Irene A. Manley, B.Sc., University of Victoria,1992: https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape7/PQDD_0022/MQ51408.pdf
Cornell Lab All About Birds
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Marbled_Murrelet/photo-gallery
Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series, Amended Recovery Strategy for the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in Canada:
American Bird Conservancy: https://abcbirds.org/bird/marbled-murrelet/