Clean Up Crumbs For Birds

BirdNote^®
Clean Up Crumbs For Birds
Written by Ariana Remmel

This is BirdNote.

Redwood forests attract millions of visitors every year. Unfortunately, the food left behind by people brings trouble for wildlife.

         [Marbled Murrelet]

Marbled Murrelets are secretive little birds that spend most of their lives at sea — but they breed in the redwoods! Thick, moss-covered branches are like ready-made nests for the murrelet’s single egg. After hatching, the chick’s speckled down keeps her camouflaged in the canopy while both parents fetch fish to feed her.

         [Marbled Murrelet]

Much of the Marbled Murrelet’s historic range has been destroyed by logging and wildfires. And while North America’s remaining redwood forests are protected public lands, predators are moving in.

         [Stellar’s Jay or Common Raven]

Stellar’s Jays and Common Ravens are just two opportunists that thrive on our food scraps. And once they’ve eaten our leftover trail mix, their next meal may be a murrelet egg or chick.

The ‘Keep It Crumb Clean’ campaign is a state park initiative that’s educating people about the importance of leaving no food unattended. That means storing food in secure containers, disposing of waste in animal-proof bins, and cleaning up all food — even crumbs!

         [Marbled Murrelet]

BirdNote has inspired millions of people to take action for birds. Learn more and join us at BirdNote.org. I’m Ariana Remmel.

###bb Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Producer: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin

Common Raven ‘QP13 1638 - Deserts temperate bird Common Raven’ recorded by Gordon Hempton for Quiet Planet.
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Marbled Murrelet ML633881862 recorded by Andrew Spencer and ML74563211 recorded by Gregory Budney. 

BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2026 BirdNote July 2026
Narrator: Ariana Remmel

ID# actions-12-2026-07-16    actions-12

Reference:
https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29905  
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/marmur/cur/introduction 
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Marbled_Murrelet/overview 
https://www.nps.gov/redw/learn/nature/marbled-murrelet.htm