Birds of St Paul: Thick-billed Murre

The Thick-billed murre (aka Brunnich's Guillemot) is quite the diver. They can reach depths of up to 600 feet. I really hope that their diving is better than their landing skills as I witness murres slamming head first into walls on more than one occasion. Murres seem to be accomplished cliff divers. I watched in horror as one plummeted head first off a cliff, flapping his wings wildly only to complete a dive any Olympic judge would give a 9.5. He surfaced and paddled a short way before running across the surface of the ocean, flapping until he gained the air again.

A group of murres is called a "bazaar" or a "fragrance" of murres and I can attest that they certain are fragrant when they gather together.