The Xantus’s murrelet feed by moonlight looking for small fish and crustaceans. The entire population is concentrated within a fairly small region off the coasts of southern California and Mexico. During the breeding season, Xantus’s murrelets use the steep slopes and cliffs of islands for nesting. They prefer areas with sufficient vegetation for cover. Away from the breeding season, the birds move far out to sea, preferring the deep waters beyond the continental shelf. This is a small auk, only 10" in length is listed “Endangered” in Mexico and “Threatened” in California. The entire population is estimated at 10,000-19,999 mature individuals and declining. These murrelets were decimated by predation as feral cats and rodents spread across their island homes in Southern California and Baja California, Mexico. While efforts to remove nonnative predators from murrelet breeding grounds have largely been successful, other human activities have put the few remnant populations at grave risk. In 2005, when Chevron announced plans to build a massive liquid natural gas facility only 700 yards from the world’s largest known murrelet breeding colony at Mexico’s Los Coronados Islands, the Center for Biological Diversity sprang into action to protect this nocturnal seabird from the dangers posed by high-wattage artificial lighting, chlorine discharge, and tanker activity associated with liquid natural gas terminals. In coalition with scientists and conservationists on both sides of the border, we filed a petition with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, an international agency established under the North American Free Trade Agreement, requesting an investigation into Mexico’s violation of its own environmental laws in approving this “energy maquiladora.” The Commission agreed to our request, and soon thereafter, Chevron abandoned its plans to construct the facility. Now the murrelet is on track toward federal Endangered Species Act status, thanks to a 2011 Center for Biological Diversity agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service compelling action on protecting the bird. Rendered in Vue 10 Infinite. Models: Songbird ReMix Xantus's Murrelet (me/freebie for Seabirds2)