A century ago, California Common Murre (Uria aalge californica) had disappeared from the Channel Islands. While they remained abundant off the coast of central through northern California, harvesting of murre eggs wiped out that colony on Prince Island, a small islet within what is now Channel Islands National Park.
Fortunately, after 100 years, the murres have returned to Prince Island. The first successful chick hatching was just two weeks ago on July 28th. Josh Adams, a seabird ecologist with the USGS Western Ecological Research Center says, “This is an exciting finding; certainly a historic one. The murres appear to have reestablished their former southern range, perhaps benefitting from present ocean conditions.”
The football-sized murres are distinct with their tuxedo colors (like penguins), and were first spotted perched on 100-foot cliffs on the island by Adams and fellow researchers. Documenting the colony with photographs, there is approximately 125 birds in the colony, and they estimate about half are incubating. The murres now bring the number of nesting seabirds on the Channel Islands to thirteen. But don’t mistake them for penguins–these birds can both fly and dive down to 500 feet underwater, using their wings to propel them underwater.
Seabird biologists will continue to monitor the burgeoning colony as the parents raise the chicks and teach them to dive and search for food on their own.
Full press release available here.
Photos courtesy USGS.
Thanks for posting this. This is interesting, and I think it’s so cool that the birds seem to have reclaimed this nesting ground completely by themselves, without any specific re-introduction or human involvement. Well none except for enforcing modern wildlife laws, and creating the protected environment of a National park.
I read an article a few years ago as I was travelling down the California Coast to do some hiking in the Redwoods. It was about this guy and how he backpacked the Channel Islands. The narration of his experience was so vivid and full of descriptions. It’s been on my wish list since.