Found in the Archives

Found this merlin, a small falcon, while searching the archives.

I was near a local creek when I heard a splash and looked back in time to see a merlin land on this rock after missing an American dipper that it was trying to catch.   It sat there long enough for me to get several frames.

And this past summer, in Cooper Landing, three juvenile merlins were observed trying to catch birds.

This one caught one.

They eat dragonflies, too.    Here's one ripping the wings off a hapless dragonfly:

Noisy New Kids on the Block

I heard them before I saw them.  Such is the way with kids.

It also helped that I was on the second story deck of my home.  That put me within twenty feet of them when they landed.

I looked up the the new top of a black spruce tree and there they were--three young merlins just out of the nest and trying out their new found flying ability.  I say "new top" because wind and heavy snow last winter broke off about ten feet of this tree.  The new top has become a favored landing spot for birds of all species because a nice bare branch offers a non-prickly spot for bird feet to perch.

These merlins arrived in full voice.  I recall a few years back, newly-fledged merlins announcing their presence with their frantic and shrill ki-ki-ki cries.  This lasted a few days, during which I am sure the young falcons went hungry as I witnessed one chasing a smaller bird up my driveway, in full  vocal pursuit.  Soon they hunted silently and I suspect more gainfully.

These youngsters will learn in time. 

They stayed long enough for me to go downstairs and gather three cameras, even going outside to get one from a vehicle.  I walked directly under their tree to do this.


One slipped silently away; two remained.

A second took wing, sans voice. 

And then there was one, perched in the tree top like a miniature peregrine falcon.

 

The third lingered, aware of everything in its domain.  Then it, too, left far more quietly than it had arrived.