How we found Haida Gwaii's first marbled murrelet nest in more than 30 years

Scrambling through dense salal in the dark, weaving between the majestic western red cedars of northern Haida Gwaii, I could barely imagine where we were just days before—crossing Dixon Entrance off the coast in an open skiff, pushing head-on through ocean swells and salt spray.

The top 3

  1. Top 3 Seabirds with Decades-Long Nesting Mysteries: The Marbled Murrelet's nest was a mystery for nearly 200 years until 1974, the Ringed Storm-Petrel's breeding grounds were first located in 2017, and the Abbott's Booby's rainforest canopy nests make it uniquely elusive.
  2. Oldest Continuously Used Bird Nests Globally: The oldest known continuously used bird nest is on a Greenland cliff, reused by Gyrfalcons and Peregrine Falcons, with a Bearded Vulture nest carbon-dated to nearly 700 years old, and a Golden Eagle nest over 500 years old.
  3. Most Critically Endangered Seabird Nesting Habitats: The African Penguin is now the world's most threatened penguin species, while albatrosses and petrels, including the Tristan and Waved Albatrosses, are among the most imperiled seabirds, with the newly discovered New Caledonian Storm-Petrel also critically endangered.

Sources

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