Click below to listen to the calls of the Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus). You will here the classic "keer" call as well as the murrelet's impersonation of a duck playing a kazoo (that's what I call it). There are also a few squawks of Steller's jays toward the end of the recording. (Note: at about 1'20" the calls repeat until the end of the recording).

This is a good time of year to start learning the calls of this unusual seabird before it moves closer to our Pacific Coast shores...and then into the mature and old-growth coastal coniferous forests to nest. If you are hiking in these forests, you are likely to hear Marbled Murrelets before you see them. They are fast-flying, camouflaged, and active in the early morning, around dawn when they fly to and from the ocean to their nesting branch high up (and out of sight) in the trees.