Figure 171. Seasonal occurrence of the Thick-billed Murre in California. Records peak from mid September through October and the late fall/winter period accounts for most of the rest. The small peak in the first half of May depicts a single record of four individuals in Humboldt County waters on 12 May 2002.

 

Figure 172. The Thick-billed Murre, a rare and irregular vagrant to California, shows a special affinity for Monterey Bay and has been recorded only once in the state’s southern half. This bird, photographed on 19 September 1989 at Moss Landing, Monterey County, was part of a minor fall/winter incursion to the state (1989-113; Jon L. Dunn).

 

Figure 173. Distribution of 45 Thick-billed Murres accepted through 2003. Monterey Bay accounts for all but a handful.

 

Figure 174. Compared to the Common Murre on the left, note the Thick-billed Murre’s blacker upperparts, extensive black on the sides of the head, decurved culmen, and whiter flanks. These birds were photographed on 16 October 1995 on Monterey Bay, Monterey County (1995-111; Ron Saldino).

 

 

 

 

 

THICK-BILLED MURRE Uria lomvia (Linnaeus, 1758)

Accepted: 45 (83%)	Treated in Appendix H: yes
Not accepted: 9	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 1	Color image: none

This alcid nests on coastal cliffs and islands and has a holarctic distribution. The Pacific coast breeding range extends south to northwestern British Columbia, with a small, isolated population off northern Vancouver Island. The species regularly winters in the North Pacific south to the latitude of northern British Columbia, but birds sometimes wander well to the south, exceptionally reaching southern California. The regular winter range in the Atlantic Ocean extends south to around Long Island, and the species has been recorded as far south as Florida. The species also occurs casually in the southern Great Lakes region and west to Iowa, although most inland reports are more than 75 years old.

The state’s first Thick-billed Murre was a beached, worn, and oiled female found on 27 August 1964 in Pacific Grove, Monterey County (Yadon 1970a). A number of later records pertain to birds in similarly dire condition. The species is primarily a fall visitor to the state (Figure 171), and three out of every four birds (34 of 45) have been found on Monterey Bay (Figure 173). The earliest fall date is 11 August (two different birds at Monterey Bay in 1974; see also Appendix H), birds sometimes stay into February, and a wintering individual remained at Monterey Bay until 9 April 1990. Most years pass without a record, and the species hardly “invades” during periods when it does occur. The greatest number of birds recorded in a season is seven in 1989/1990; all but one of them were observed on 19 September 1989 on Monterey Bay. In addition to the lingering bird mentioned above, only six Thick-billed Murres have been recorded during spring, four of them together on 12 May 2002 in seas off the Humboldt County coast. Exceptionally far south was a bird found on 21 May 1994 off the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles County.

Yadon (1970a), Roberson (1980), and Stallcup (1976, 1990) provided helpful information on murre field identification.