Most seabirds nest in large, seaside colonies. Not the Marbled Murrelet. This small, brown-speckled seabird species eats fish in the ocean. But each spring, it flies up to 50 miles (70 kilometers) inland to nest high in old-growth trees.

No one knows why this seabird nests so far from its hunting grounds. Despite intensive studies, scientists know very little about them. Until 1974, no one knew where they nested at all. In 1974, the first nest was finally found, high in a tree, in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains.

This nest stunned the world’s bird scientists. What an amazing ecological link between the ocean and the forests. And how surprising that these birds, whose heavy bodies are poorly-suited for forest flying, make daily commutes to their nests, up to 50 miles inland. They must return each day with fish for their growing chick. And when that chick fledges, its first flight must be a long, 50-mile beeline to the ocean.

Murrelets need tall, old-growth trees for nesting- only a tree 200-800 years old will have limbs broad enough for the bird’s 7-inch-wide nest. Unfortunately, these older trees are rapidly disappearing due to logging. Conservationists battled in court to protect these nesting areas. The birds’ prime habitats now have some legal protection from logging, in California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.

The murrelet is at risk from more than logging, however. Marine conservation issues will also affect it. For example: over-fishing, gill-net entanglement, and oil spills. Scientists are still hard at work, learning how to protect this amazing, but vulnerable, seabird.

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The male bowerbird builds an elaborate structure out of twigs, and decorates it with colorful items. He spends up to nine months each year in building and maintaining it.

In truth, this structure is not a “nest”: it’s not meant to protect eggs or chicks. The bower’s purpose is to woo the female bowerbird. Once the female mates with the male, she takes off on her own to build a small nest and raise the chicks. You will rarely see a female’s nest. But the male’s bowers are meant to be noticed, and are among the most spectacular structures built by any bird.

In some species, the male may simply do a bit of landscaping, clearing an area of forest floor of all leaf litter to create a “court bower”. But others, after clearing a court, will build spectacular structures inside it. For the Satin Bowerbird and Great Bowerbird of Australia, it’s a yard-long “avenue bower”, two walls of sticks arching towards each other, or meeting to form a tunnel.

For others, like the Vogelkop Gardener of New Guinea, it’s a “maypole bower”, a gigantic 2-meter-high house of twigs, big enough for a human to crawl inside. It may even contain rooms- all this built by a bird the size of a robin.

These amazing birds will then start decorating their bower. The Gardener decorates the bower entrance, first laying down moss, then piling stacks of colorful items like flowers, fruits or beetle-wings in color-coded stacks. The Satin Bowerbird chooses blue items exclusively. Satin Bowerbirds near towns have been known to steal blue bottle caps, bits of blue glass, blue candy wrappers, or even blue keychains – keys still attached – to decorate its bower.

When the female arrives to take a look, the male bowerbirds will perform specific calls and dances to woo and attract her. If she is impressed, she will mate with him and go off to lay eggs on her own.

The male will remain at the bower, in hopes of wooing more females. They’ll keep fixing up the place, and keeping the “court” around the bower clear. In outback Australia, this latter task is particularly important – in case of a bush fire, the cleared area can act as “defensible space” and may keep his hard work from being burned.

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