20 USGS/BRD/ITR-2000-0012 



movement of thousands of murres into Barkley Sound, 

 British Columbia, was documented in July-September 

 1 979 and 1 980 when this area was used extensively for 

 at-sea chick rearing and prebasic molt (H. R. Carter and 

 S. G. Sealy, unpublished data). At this time, murres often 

 participated in multispecies flocks feeding on schools 

 of Pacific herring and Pacific sand lance (Porter and 

 Sealy 1981). In winter (November to March), murres 

 remained abundant on the continental shelf off 

 southwest Vancouver Island but few murres were present 

 in nearshore and fiord waters in Barkley and Clayoquot 

 sounds (Robertson 1974; Hatler et al. 1978; Morgan et 

 al. 1991; Vermeer and Morgan 1992; H. R. Carter andS. 

 G. Sealy, unpublished data). Only small numbers of 

 breeding and nonbreeding murres remained in nearshore 

 waters in Barkley Sound in May-June (Carter and Sealy 

 1984; Vermeer and Morgan 1992). 



In late summer, fall, and winter, murres are common 

 in protected waters and fiords in the Strait of Georgia 

 often at small fronts and near Pacific herring spawning 

 grounds (Brooks and Swarth 1925; Munro and Clemens 

 1931; Edwards 1965; Vermeer et al. 1983; Campbell et 

 al. 1990). Murres move out of the Strait of Georgia into 

 either protected waters in Washington or outer coastal 

 waters off the entrance to Juan de Fuca Strait between 

 February and May (Vermeer 1983; Campbell et al. 1990; 

 H. R. Carter and S. G. Sealy, unpublished data). 



In northern British Columbia, murres were observed 

 in all months, but peaked in Dixon Entrance and Hecate 

 Strait between April and May, and September and 

 October (Vermeer and Rankin 1984, 1985; Morgan et 

 al. 1991; Morgan 1997). Inshore waters around the 

 Queen Charlotte Islands had higher densities in winter 

 than in summer in 1972-73 and October 1976 than 

 from May to June 1977 (Robertson 1974; Vermeer et al. 

 1983). 



Movements 



Common murre movements from specific colonies 

 in California, Oregon, Washington, and British 

 Columbia are poorly known because few banding 

 programs have occurred at colonies. Large numbers of 

 murres (2,820; 94.6% chicks) were banded at Cape 

 Lookout and Three Arch Rocks, Oregon, from 1 930 to 

 1940 (Storer 1952; Tuck 1961; Bayer and Ferris 1987). 

 Most (73%; n = 53) band recoveries of hatching-year 

 birds occurred north of colonies in Oregon and 

 Washington. Band recoveries began in August in 

 Washington and September in British Columbia. No 

 band recoveries of hatching-year murres occurred in 

 Oregon after September. In central California, murres 

 have been banded annually at the South Farallon Islands 



since 1985 and sporadically in the 1970s (Sydeman 

 1993; Sydeman et al. 1997). In addition, many murres 

 that were oiled and cleaned have been banded and 

 released (Sharp 1996). Almost all band recoveries have 

 occurred on the South Farallon Islands (e.g., Sydeman 

 1993) or on beaches in central California (U.S. 

 Geological Survey, Bird Banding Laboratory, 

 unpublished data). 



A broad picture of murre movements can be 

 ascertained from at-sea surveys, colony attendance 

 patterns, and observations of parent-chick pairs at sea 

 from California to British Columbia. Hundreds of 

 thousands of murres are present along the outer coast of 

 Washington and southern British Columbia between 

 the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Clayoquot Sound in 

 July-September (Manuwal 1981; Wahl et al. 1981; 

 Speichetal. 1987; Vermeer etal. 1987, 1992; Campbell 

 et al. 1990; Morgan et al. 1991 ; Thompson 1997; H. R. 

 Carter and S. G. Sealy, unpublished data). These large 

 numbers exceed estimates of breeding population sizes 

 in Washington and British Columbia (Carter et al. 2001). 

 Thus, it is clear that a substantial northward movement 

 of Oregon murres (700,000 breeding birds) occurs into 

 this area, as also indicated with the limited banding 

 data noted above. In Barkley Sound, British Columbia, 

 parent-chick groups and other murres arrived in large 

 numbers in July 1979 and 1980, at least a month before 

 chicks depart from the Triangle Island and Cleland Island 

 colonies farther north along the west coast of Vancouver 

 Island (H. R. Carter and S. G. Sealy, unpublished data). 

 Thus, most birds likely originated from Oregon where 

 departure from colonies usually occurs between late 

 June and late July, earlier than at Washington colonies 

 (see above). Small chicks recorded in Barkley Sound in 

 late August and September probably originated from 

 British Columbia or Washington colonies. 



Some adult-chick pairs from Triangle Island also 

 move into Queen Charlotte Strait. On 2 September 1999, 

 a concentration of 390 common murres and 130 

 rhinoceros auklets was observed off the Murray 

 Labyrinth, in the south mouth of Schooner Channel, on 

 the eastern side of Queen Charlotte Strait (G. W. Kaiser, 

 personal communication). Unlike smaller groups farther 

 at sea, these birds were flightless and included many 

 chicks noticeably smaller than adults. From October to 

 March, large numbers remain in northern Washington 

 and southern British Columbia, although local 

 movements occur within this area (see above). No 

 evidence exists of a major movement of murres from 

 Alaska into southern British Columbia or northern 

 Washington between July and September, when murres 

 are rearing chicks and undergoing the flightless prebasic 

 molt in Alaska, or from October to March, when murres 



