Meet the Marbled Murrelet
In honor of Bird Day on May 4, we want to introduce you to one of the lesser-known denizens of our local redwood forests: the marbled murrelet.
Approximately the size of a robin, marbled murrelets are primarily seabirds, with webbed feet and short powerful wings to propel them through the water. But during their summer breeding months, pairs of birds head inland to the forests. There they take turns nurturing a single chick in a mossy nest 100 feet or higher on the large limbs of redwoods or other large trees.
These tiny torpedoes can fly at 60 miles or more per hour, which comes in handy since they fish in coastal waters for herring, smelt, anchovies and invertebrates, then zoom ashore to feed their young at dawn or dusk when they’re less likely to be seen. Even with their speed and natural secrecy, however, they’re facing challenges.
The first marbled murrelet nest in North America was only discovered in 1974, in Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Santa Cruz. Less than twenty years later the species was added to the federal threatened list and the state endangered list. Oil spills and gill-net fishing pose hazards in the water, while the shrinking of old-growth forests leaves them exposed to predators on land. POST’s acquisition of properties like CEMEX Redwoods is critical to preserving habitat that helps these birds survive.
Jays, ravens and crows like to prey on marbled murrelet eggs and chicks when they can find them. They are also scavengers, happily feeding on food that humans leave unattended. As more and more forests become small and fragmented, these birds are easily able to scour smaller areas looking for scraps. And despite the camouflage effect of the marbled murrelet’s plumage, the more time the scavenger birds spend in these areas, the more likely it is they’ll discover a marbled murrelet nest.
There are simple things you can do to help. First and foremost is keep nature natural. When you’re enjoying the great outdoors hiking, cycling, riding or camping, remember to secure your food, clean up after yourself and don’t feed the wildlife.
You can also visit our Heart of the Redwoods page to learn more about the campaign to save our local redwood forests. Together we can conserve more areas like CEMEX Redwoods to help the marbled murrelet—and the rest of us—who depend on these protected lands.
San Gregorio Ranch Gets a Very Unusual Feathered Visitor
Local birders alerted us that at least one Harris’s Sparrow, whose normal winter habitat is a narrow strip of the Great Plains, has taken up at Cascade Ranch in the near POST-protected properties Whaler’s Cove and the Cowell-Purisima Trail. Rancher Nando Muzzi runs Cascade Ranch under a conservation easement held by the California Coastal Conservancy.
The handsome Harris’s Sparrow appears to have come west to enjoy some bugs, which are, in turn, feasting on rotting Brussels sprouts. (Yummy!)
Since the big sparrows are rarely seen anywhere near California, birders have been coming from far and wide to add the species to their “seen” lists. Both Mr. Muzzi and the property owner (and former POST board member), Steve Blank, are being kind enough to let birders onto the property to check old “Harry” out!
Some interesting facts about the Harris’s Sparrow: It’s the only bird in the world that breeds exclusively in Canada. It does so along the edge of boreal forest and tundra in north-central Canada. Sadly, the boreal forest is being hit hard by climate change, so the bird may be attempting to adapt.
In winter, the sparrows observe a very clear hierarchy to determine who gets first access to food: The oldest males get the worm — or seed, or bug. California is a very unusual place for them to end up, but since the birds often winter in agricultural fields and pastures, Cascade Ranch must have looked like the right spot to be.
If you do go ogle the Harris’s Sparrow, stop and take in the view at Whaler’s Cove or do the easy, beautiful coastal hike on Cowell-Purisima Trail!
You can also learn more about this and other birds on Cornell University’s incredible ornithology website.
Living Among Lions on the San Francisco Peninsula
Via Wikimedia Commons
A map of mountain lion sightings in residential areas in the San Jose Mercury News suggests that the cats are coming from the greenbelt of open spaces on the west side of Highway 280 — which includes several POST-protected parcels. One puma was spotted in Windy Hill. (POST Conservation Project Manager Abigail Adams also recently spotted a paw print on a POST easement near San Gregorio.)
That’s a good thing. More open spaces, along with a ban on hunting in California, are beginning to boost the predators’ numbers. Officials estimate there are 6,000 of them in the state.
Admittedly, it’s scary to spot a mountain lion on your block or to find one napping in your tree. But you are more likely to be killed by a deer than by a mountain lion, according to Zara McDonald of the Felidae Conservation Fund. The cats, by predilection, avoid humans whenever they can. In fact, some trackers have found evidence that humans have come within 50 feet of a mountain lion without ever knowing it was there.
When a puma ends up on Alpine Road, it’s probably looking for a mountainous throughway of another sort: Wildlife corridors are a vital ingredient for keeping puma populations healthy. When they can’t find natural throughways, pumas sometimes revert to highways and suburban byways, neither of which are good news for people.
Take another look at the Mercury map: You’ll see that almost all of the sightings are on the boundary of an open space or in a stretch of developed land between large open spaces.
So treat the cats with some respect if you happen to see one — and be sure to follow the experts’ best recommendations for not having a conflict with it.
You can make your home less appealing to a wandering mountain lion by avoiding feeding any wildlife that it might prey on. Make your best effort to keep deer away by landscaping with plants they don’t like to eat. Keep pets indoors. Motion-activated lighting can also repel the cats.
To steer clear of mountain lions in wilderness areas, avoid hiking alone or wearing headphones. Keep children and dogs close to you. Never approach or run away from a mountain lion, if you see one. Instead, make an effort to appear bigger by raising your arms. If all else fails and you are attacked, fight back! One 60-year-old woman likely saved her husband’s life by repeatedly jabbing an attacking puma with a ballpoint pen!
POST
Jeff Powers
Paul Ringgold
Meghan Scanlon
post4laura
