JJ Gray. Beach in Pacific Grove.
"The common murre or common guillemot (Uria aalge) is a large auk. ... It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to breed on rocky cliff shores or islands." They fly fast but aren't agile aviators. As this one's physique suggests they are adept swimmers reaching depths of greater than 500 feet. This one is likely U. a. californica (Wikipedia)
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