What Do Marbled Murrelets Eat

These stocky little birds dive for zooplankton and fish using their wings to fly underwater.

What do marbled murrelets eat.

Dives generally last less than a minute and are fairly shallow. Marbled murrelets are long lived seabirds that spend most of their life in the marine environment but use old growth forests for nesting. 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. Throughout their range marbled murrelets are opportunistic feeders and utilize prey of diverse sizes and species.

They dive for food using their wings to propel them underwater. In the winter they are black with white underparts and in the summer they are brown with mottled white and brown on their throat chest and abdomen. Marbled murrelets are now endangered because so much of the old growth forests they need to raise their young have been cut down. They do not form dense colonies.

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. Murrelets require old mature forest habitat for their nests. Marbled murrelets eat mostly small fish and zooplankton which they capture underwater with the bill usually not far from land. What do they eat m arbled murrelets feed mostly on fish up to 8 or 9 cm in length and on shrimp like crustaceans such as euphausids and mysids.

It nests in old growth forests or on the ground at higher latitudes where trees cannot grow. They dive quickly opening the wings to fly underwater steering with both wings and feet in rapid pursuit of prey. Mottled in milk chocolate brown during the summer adults change into stark black and white for winter. Unlike most other seabirds marbled murrelets are solitary.

While no definitive study has determined their diving range a similar species the cassin s auklet dives to 150 feet. Marbled murrelets are small seabirds that weighs about 200 grams. Courtship foraging loafing molting and preening occur in near shore marine waters. 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.

Murrelets typically conduct short dives of 30 seconds. The marbled murrelet brachyramphus marmoratus is a small seabird from the north pacific it is a member of the auk family. Its habit of nesting in trees was suspected but not documented until a tree climber found a chick in 1974 making it one of the last north american bird species to have its nest. In british columbia schools of juvenile pacific sandlance and herring are an important.

Marbled murrelets eat small fish primarily herring capelin and sandlance in our area. 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 are frequently seen in pairs in all seasons suggesting that they mate for life.