Ancient Murrelet in St. Joseph, MI

[Robert D. Hughes]

Hey everyone,

If you haven't heard already, the Ancient Murrelet, present off the Tiscornia Park pier in St Joseph, MI since Sat, Nov 14th was still there as of 12:30EDT today (Tues, Nov 24th).  Looks like we could be going for a record here!  That would be a darn good bird for the local CBC circle.........


Happy Birding! --Chris W, Madison, WI

I've been looking at the weather forecast for the next couple days and if you're going to look for the murrelet you should know that the winds will be from the west and northwest at 8-22 mph. Westerly winds on the other side of Lake Michigan are onshore winds so the waves will really be kicking up at St. Joseph. This could not only make looking for the murrelet difficult but also walking out onto the pier at St. Joeseph hazardous.

Bob H

[Jeff Skrentny]

This could not only make looking for the murrelet difficult but also walking out onto the pier at St. Joeseph hazardous.

This is an understatement...last Friday the winds were not that bad and we encountered 4-8 foot swells, one of which nearly knocked me down and soaked me up to mid thigh while I was at the end of the pier.  You can read more at http://www.ilbirds.com/index.php?topic=29384.0

Be careful out there.

[Sean Fitzgerald]

For those who are interested in more photos of the murrelet, Little Gull, Red-necked Grebe, etc from the 23rd.  I posted an account of the day there at: http://midwestbirder.blogspot.com/2009/11/tiscornia-park-photo-story.html
Enjoy!

Sean Fitzgerald
Naperville, DuPage Co.

[Elliot Schunke]

I'm thinking i'm making the trip up this Saturday.  Even if the Murrelet is not there, it still sounds like there's good birding to be had.

-elliot

[Nathan Goldberg]

My question about this bird is that, if it is usually on the ocean, what is it eating, is it in good condition, and will it most likely make the trip back to where it came from.

Nathan

[Fran Morel]

some good info in this blog......



http://berrienbirder.blogspot.com/2009/11/more-murrelet-musings.html

[Elliot Schunke]

^^very nice info.  thanks for posting the link!

[Craig Thayer]

  An amazing fact about Ancient Murrulets is that young birds are truly mariners after their first 1-3 days of life. They are born in burrows on islands off coast of Alaska and Briitish Columbia. After no more than 3 days in the burrow young birds fly at night to the sea where they begin immediately feeding on their own. They then are joined by their parents (they recognize each other via distinctive calls) who assist them with feeding for about 1 month. They then spend the remainder of their lives at sea (unless they become a vagrant like the St. Joseph bird)
   As indicated by the Berrien blogger inland records typically occur after major Pacific storms (as has occured several time already this fall.)
   We can be thankful that this bird has graced our presence the past several days !!!

Craig Thayer

P.S. HAPPY THANKSGIVING  !!

[Nathan Goldberg]

Thanks for that info, Fran. It seemed to answer every question, and now my mom wants to see it because it is related to penguins! (WOO-HOO!!!) Very informative.

Gobble Gobble!

Nathan

[Fran Morel]

An interesting fact I read today, is that within 18 hours of AMs leaving the nest, they were found 30 miles off the coast at sea......pretty amazing.

Fran

[Craig Thayer]

In my previous post I incorrectly stated that young Ancient Murrelets fly to the ocean when 1-3 days old. Actually they are flightless and run to the shore usually 2-4 hours after sunset. A quote written in 1915 by an author named H. Heath states "the young, beautiful creatures ..pour in a living flood down the hillsides". Each indivudual bird has it's own unique call so later when parents join the young in the ocean they find each other by recognizing each others calls !!! The young birds are fully grown about 1 month after leaving the colony


Craig Thayer

[Nathan Goldberg]

So do we think that this is a lost adult or a juvenile? It look to me like an adult, but don't juveniles get lost more? These guys seem to go through a lot before they are even adults. Wow.

[Robert D. Hughes]

My question about this bird is that, if it is usually on the ocean, what is it eating, is it in good condition, and will it most likely make the trip back to where it came from.

Nathan

The Bonaparte's Gulls at St. Joseph were eating very small fish when we were there on Saturday. I suspect this is what the murrelet is eating and why it's been at St. Joseph for so long.

Bob H

P.S. The juvenile Parasitic Jaeger was also eating small fish, via the Bonaparte's Gulls. I guess crime does pay sometimes.

[Elliot Schunke]

I went to St. Joseph today.  The Murrelet was not seen.  Although, there was a Western Grebe (a pleasant treat) there all day along with a couple Red-necked Grebes, and Red-throated Loons.  The Little Gull was present earlier in the morning but I didn't get a chance to see it.  I heard from a person who heard from a person that the Murrelet was there yesterday but I would call that report unofficial.

I did hear that there was an Arctic Tern (people there with photos) a ways south down the coast in Michigan, too, but I, unfortunately,  didn't have the time to check it out..

-elliot

[Michael Retter]

My question about this bird is... will it most likely make the trip back to where it came from.

I'd say almost certainly not.