Murre chicks found dead on Agate Beach

Numerous dead Common Murre chicks have been discovered this week along edge of the surf at Newport's Agate Beach. The chicks were hatched at the nearby murre colony at Yaquina Head. The deaths are believed to have been caused by juvenile brown pelicans. (Photo by Steve Card)

NEWPORT - Young brown pelicans are likely responsible for the many dead Common Murre chicks being found near the surf line on Newport's Agate Beach. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representative attributes the deaths to pelican action taken out of hunger, not aggression.

Roy Lowe, a project leader with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the problem at the Common Murre colony at Yaquina Head likely began this week and that juvenile brown pelicans looking for dead fish to eat are probably responsible.

"As they walk around looking for dead fish, they may push the Murre chicks off of the rocks or decide they can eat the chicks," Lowe said. "Most often, this is by inexperienced juvenile pelicans that are hungry and haven't learned the ropes for securing enough food at sea. It is not aggression, but hunger that drives [this behavior]."

Lowe says the Murre can live for 26 years and will likely re-nest in the area, but he believes they're done breeding for the year. Murres usually come to the area in late April and leave in July. "Most of the chicks are gone now, and based on the size of the chicks, they'd only be here another week or so."

Pelicans are a common sight at Yaquina Head during the summer and fall, but they usually leave for the winter, Lowe said. In the past few years, there have been a huge number of pelican births. Beachgoers should give brown pelicans a wide berth on the beach and shouldn't feed them, as it interferes with their ability to search out their own food, Lowe said.

The big problem for Murre isn't the predation, but that adults are forced from the rocks, leaving the eggs and chicks vulnerable to other predators, like ravens, crows and gulls, or the chicks themselves are forced off of the rocks.

No specific efforts will be made to remove the dead chicks from the beach. "If it was a disease outbreak, we would remove them, but this is just part of the natural cycle," Lowe said.



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