Though the marbled murrelet was first described in 1789 its nest remained undiscovered until 1974.
Marbled murrelet nest.
They locate their nest in a depression on a mat of moss lichen or debris accumulations on large branches.
But their nesting habits are nothing short of remarkable.
The marbled murrelet brachyramphus marmoratus is a small seabird from the north pacific.
A strange mysterious little seabird.
The marbled murrelet usually nests in trees 200 years old or older.
No other north american member of the auk family alcidae nests in trees.
Murrelets generally nest in solitude although multiple nests sometimes occur within a small area.
Although it is fairly common off the northern pacific coast its nesting behavior was essentially unknown until the 1970s.
Marbled murrelets nest in oregon from mid april to mid september.
It nests in old growth forests or on the ground at higher latitudes where trees cannot grow.
With the discovery of a murrelet nest in a tree a major evolutionary leap in seabird biology was revealed.
It is a member of the auk family.
Marbled murrelets make tree nests on large moss and lichen covered branches high usually over 40 feet above the ground in mature and old growth coniferous forest normally in the largest tree in the area.
In the pacific northwest now known to nest high in trees in old growth forest several miles inland from coast.
Despite their seaside lifestyle marbled murrelets travel up to fifty miles inland to nest hundreds of feet in the air in old growth forests.
Both sexes incubate the egg in alternating 24 hour shifts for 30 days.
Marbled murrelets are seabirds that forage in marine waters but nest in forests.
The sexually mature adult murrelet at age 2 or 3 of an average 15 year lifespan generally lays a single egg on a mossy limb of an old growth conifer tree.
M arbled murrelets produce one egg per nest and usually only nest once a year however re nesting is documented.
Nests are not built but rather the egg is placed in a small depression or cup made in moss or other debris on the limb.
They typically lay their single egg high in a tree on a horizontal limb at least 4 inches in.
Incubation lasts about 30 days and chicks fledge after about 28 days after hatching.
Lo and behold the nesting habitat of marbled murrelets was finally discovered coastal old growth coniferous forests of the pacific northwest.