Subject: Re: Fledging Murrelets
Date: Jan 14 16:32:05 1998
From: "S&C Richardson" - salix at halcyon.com


What is it: 15 years or so since "we" FIRST learned where Marbled Murrelets
nest?

Can I count on the fingers of (a) one or (b) two hands the number of people who
have actually seen a young Marbled Murrelet fledge (videotape sightings not
included)?

Granted, lots of people and money are now dedicated to this former ultimate
mystery bird of North America, and our collective knowledge is growing by leaps
and bounds. But we're a long way (I believe) from conclusively answering some
of the questions recently posed here on Tweeters.

Richard Rowlett:
> I fear there might be some speculation and mis-information
> circulating around here when some of the answers are probably plainly to be
> found in literature which I don't have easily at hand.

In some cases, yes, but that literature is in its infancy.

Further, Richard imagines:
> the Marbled Murrelet biologists who are intimately involved and have
conducted
> extensive coastal at sea surveys targeting this species probably have a
pretty
> good fix on this matter of 'abandonment'

As has been discussed on Tweeters before, the period in late summer that
juvenile Marbled Murrelets can be distinguished from adults during at-sea
surveys is frustratingly brief. Now, if a juvenile is identified with an adult
or two close by, one might assume that those adults are the parents of the
chick. But that's all it is: an assumption. Without individually-recognizable
adults and young, a definitive statement cannot be made.

> If it is generally true, and Marbled Murrelet chicks are abandoned by their
> parents, then this is quite the contrast from some of those flightless "tiny
> little ping-pong balls of downy fluff" (Ancient Murrelet chicks) that I have
> seen 'with their parents' (I presume parents) 150 to 200 nmiles off (south
of)
> Attu, Agattu, and Buldir in mid-late June to mid-July.

Interesting observation and reasonable assumption re: parenthood.

Ancient Murrelets, however, leave the nest when 2 days/nights old, while
Marbled Murrelets grow up on a branch for several weeks. The lives of these two
species have some parallels, but they also are dramatically different. My
limited experience with Ancients tells me that at least some chicks are led to
the water by a parent in near-constant communication (although something tells
me this may not be the "rule," it is what I have observed).

I'll readily admit skepticism about the abandonment hypothesis for Marbled
Murrelets (if it's formal enough to label as such). But to go much beyond that,
I'll just be adding speculative fuel to the fire.

Oh, to be in Monterey next week, probing the minds of those intimately-involved
murrelet bio's! Alas, it is not to be. But I do promise to dig a little deeper
into "the literature" on murrelets instead.
--
Scott Richardson
northeast Seattle
salix at halcyon.com

Remember:
Female Belted Kingfishers have a rusty "belt," which the males lack.
Both sexes have a blue breast band.