Marbled Murrelet on the water.

This species is different from most seabirds – instead of nesting in large colonies on the coast, Marbled Murrelets raise their chicks in large trees 1 – 40 km inland, and are non-colonial. Like other non-burrowing auks, Marbled Murrelets don’t build a nest, so they need trees big enough to have large branches with mossy spots that can hold an egg. Because of this requirement, Marbled Murrelet populations in the Lower 48 have been severely reduced by coastal logging, and populations in Alaska and British Columbia are extremely vulnerable to current logging.

Marbled Murrelets are difficult to count because they aren’t colonial, but current estimates suggest that there are about 200,000 in Alaska, 50,000 in British Columbia, and 17,000 – 20,000 in the Lower 48. A closely related species occurs in Siberia. Marbled Murrelets are still one of the less well-known seabird species, but interest generated by conservation concerns has produced a great deal of research over the last decade.

A rare look at a Marbled Murrelet nestling.

Marbled Murrelets at night.
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