Common Murre

Uria aalge
Murres belong to a family called Alcids, or Auks. Using their wings to propel them through the water, these deep diving birds will regularly descend to two to three hundred feet. They have been known to go as deep as 550 or even 590 feet. They often stay down for a minute per dive.
Common Murres nest on narrow ledges along steep rocky cliffs in dense colonies. There, they usually stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their neighbors. They lay a single large egg that requires three and a half to five and a half weeks of incubation by both parents. Most chicks fledge after about 3 weeks from hatching. When they leave their cliff-side nest site, they are not yet strong flyers, but they must be able to glide to the ocean surface and avoid avian predators. Usually, the male parent takes on the responsibility of feeding the young birds, and teaching them to fend for themselves. This process often lasts one to two months, depending on food availability.
While some authorities recognise up to eight subspecies, five of them are more widely accepted by today’s taxonomists.
- U. a. hyperborea lives in Norway and northwestern Russia east to Novaya Zemlya.
- U. a. aalge lives in eastern North America, Greenland, and Iceland through Faeroes and Scotland to Norway and the Baltic Sea.
- U. a. albionis lives in Ireland and Britain through Brittany to western Iberia.
- U. a. inornata lives in Japan north through Sakhalin and Kuril Island to Kamchatka. Also east through the Bering Sea, the Aleutians, and western Alaska and south to northwestern British Columbia.
- U. a. californica lives on the coast of the Western United States from northern Washington south to California.
The birds I have met were mostly in northern California. But my most intimate encounters came in Crescent City, where they foraged in the harbor at close range.
11 Photos

Common Murre(Uria aalge) |
Description: Found in the protected waters in the fisherman's marina in Crescent City California. |
Date Taken: 2015:06:14 12:36 |
Location:
Crescent City |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: D3X0222-CommonMurre |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Common Murre(Uria aalge) |
Description: Launching into underwater flight mode. Found in the protected waters in the fisherman's marina in Crescent City California. |
Date Taken: 2015:06:14 12:36 |
Location:
Crescent Harbor |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: D3X0227-CommonMurre |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Common Murre(Uria aalge) |
Description: Found in the protected waters in the fisherman's marina in Crescent City California. |
Date Taken: 2015:06:14 12:39 |
Location:
Crescent Harbor |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/4000 |
File Name: D3X0247-CommonMurre |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Common Murre(Uria aalge) |
Description: Wing stretching, this bird was found in the protected waters in the fisherman's marina in Crescent City California. |
Date Taken: 2015:06:14 12:46 |
Location:
Crescent Harbor |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/6400 |
File Name: D3X0303-CommonMurre |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Common Murre(Uria aalge) |
Description: Found in the protected waters in the fisherman's marina in Crescent City California. |
Date Taken: 2015:06:14 12:53 |
Location:
Crescent Harbor |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/5000 |
File Name: D3X0362-CommonMurre |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Common Murre(Uria aalge) |
Description: Nesting on Steamship Rock along the Mattole Road which leaves then rejoins US-101 south of Eureka and north of Weott in the 'Avenue of Giants' in Humbolt County California. It passes the westernmost point in the US (except Alaska & Hawaii). |
Date Taken: 2015:06:15 10:55 |
Location:
Cape Mendicino |
Camera Information: NIKON D3X, 400 mm, f/7.1, 1/2500 |
File Name: D3X0681-CommonMurre |
© 2015 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging.com |


Common Murre(Uria aalge) |
Description: The last time I met this bird in Crescent City California near the boat basin of the harbor, it was wearing its winter garb. |
Date Taken: 2019:08:11 13:06 |
Location:
Crescent Harbor |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/18.0, 1/800 |
File Name: CommonMurre_D5X2406-CrescentCity |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Common Murre(Uria aalge) |
Description: The last time I met this bird in Crescent City California near the boat basin of the harbor, it was wearing its winter garb. |
Date Taken: 2019:08:11 12:51 |
Location:
Crescent City Harbor |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/18.0, 1/800 |
File Name: CommonMurre_D5X2246-CrescentCity |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTree-Imaging |


Common Murre(Uria aalge) |
Description: The last time I met this bird in Crescent City California near the boat basin of the harbor, it was wearing its winter garb. |
Date Taken: 2019:08:11 12:51 |
Location:
Crescent Harbor |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/18.0, 1/800 |
File Name: CommonMurre_D5X2233-CrescentCity |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Common Murre(Uria aalge) |
Description: Some birds take flight *down* below the water's surface. Crescent City California near the boat basin of the harbor. |
Date Taken: 2019:08:11 12:50 |
Location:
Crescent Harbor |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/18.0, 1/800 |
File Name: CommonMurre_D5X2226-CrescentCity |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Common Murre(Uria aalge) |
Description: From the lookout high above Roosevelt Beach, and within view of the Heceta Head Lighthouse, I could see a sea lion colony with mostly Steller’s Sea Lions, and a nearby cormorant colony, with mostly Brandt’s Cormorants, and a few Common Murres. |
Date Taken: 2022:04:02 15:55 |
Location:
Roosevelt Beach |
Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: CommonMurre_8500278-RooseveltBeach |
© 2022 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |

Click map markers to reveal further information