Ancient Murrelet

Ancient Murrelet have distinctive nocturnal habits at their breeding grounds, arriving and departing under cover of darkness to avoid predators. They often engage in vocalization, with males emitting a rhythmic call near their nesting sites, which are small territories just a few feet in size. Aggressive interactions can occur between males over these territories. Both sexes participate in the digging and maintenance of their burrows. Intriguingly, younger ancient Murrelet, not yet of breeding age, visit the colony to learn the area and potentially prepare nest sites for future seasons.

It breeds from the Yellow Sea (islands off China), through the Russian Pacific coast and the Aleutian Islands to the Haida Gwaii archipelago of British Columbia, where about half of the world population breeds. Some ancient murrelets migrate 8,000 kilometres (5,000 mi) from Canada to winter near Japan and China, even though the climate is similar at the two ends. It is the only bird known to cross the whole North Pacific. They then start a return trip in February, flying four or five hours a day. Genetic evidence shows that the species originated in Asia and only recently colonized North America, so their migration takes them back to their original homeland. In 2007, surveys off the Olympic Peninsula found unprecedented numbers of Ancient Murrelets with chicks, strongly implying local breeding. Other ancient murrelets however fly south in winter as far as California, and odd birds are found inland in North America, carried by autumn storms. The most remarkable record of this relatively short-distance Pacific migrant was a bird found on the island of Lundy, in Devon, England in the spring of 1990. Even more remarkably, what was presumably the same bird returned to this British island for the next two springs as well.

The ancient murrelet is listed as of 'Special Concern' by the committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada because populations have been greatly reduced over the past century by mammalian predators such as rats introduced to their breeding islands by visiting ships in the 1800s. On one island, the number of breeding pairs was reduced from 200,000 pre-infestation to about 14,000 in the 21st century. In 2009, a five-year $2.5m Night Birds Returning project was instituted by Parks Canada, Haida Nation, Island Conservation and Coastal Conservation to restore Murrelet population by eradicating rats in the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. For success, every single rat needs to be killed as a single pregnant rat can repopulate an island in 1–2 years. In 2011, ground-based eradication was implemented on Arichika and Bischoff islands. Phase 2 consisted of using aerial drops of poisoned pellets selectively attractive to rats. This was conducted in fall of 2013 on Murchison and Faraday islands. Continued monitoring is required for two years before an area can be declared rat-free.