MARBLED MURRELETS
· Excellent swimmers and use their strong wings to literally “fly” underwater to forage at depths up to 100 feet.
· Have a distinctive high-pitched “keer, keer” call, making them easy to identify.
· Nests are primarily in mature coniferous trees. A small number of murrelet nests have been found in Alaska including, some on the ground on moss-covered ledges in areas with few trees.
· Average lifespan of 10-15 years.
· The male and female share in incubating the egg for 28-30 days. They exchange incubation duties under the cover of darkness presumably to avoid leading predators back to the nest.
· Soon after hatching, the chick is left alone on the nest, growing rapidly on a diet of small fish over the next 30 days. The parents take turns flying from sea back to the nest 3-5 times a day, returning with a single fish carried in their bill.
· The young murrelet must reach the ocean on its first flight. Landing anywhere short of the ocean means likely death for the chick, as Marbled Murrelets are unable to take off once grounded in the thick understory of the forest.
· Diet - Schooling fish, such as Herring, Capelin, Pacific Sand Lance, and invertebrates.
· Have a distinctive high-pitched “keer, keer” call, making them easy to identify.
· Nests are primarily in mature coniferous trees. A small number of murrelet nests have been found in Alaska including, some on the ground on moss-covered ledges in areas with few trees.
· Average lifespan of 10-15 years.
· The male and female share in incubating the egg for 28-30 days. They exchange incubation duties under the cover of darkness presumably to avoid leading predators back to the nest.
· Soon after hatching, the chick is left alone on the nest, growing rapidly on a diet of small fish over the next 30 days. The parents take turns flying from sea back to the nest 3-5 times a day, returning with a single fish carried in their bill.
· The young murrelet must reach the ocean on its first flight. Landing anywhere short of the ocean means likely death for the chick, as Marbled Murrelets are unable to take off once grounded in the thick understory of the forest.
· Diet - Schooling fish, such as Herring, Capelin, Pacific Sand Lance, and invertebrates.