Bird watching: merlin

Self-tutoring about birds: the tutor tells of discovering a merlin.

I’ve known for a few months that one or more falcons frequent the skies around here: I’ve been noticing unpredictable flight patterns by birds larger than a swallow, and pointed wings have caught my eye, from the sky, numerous times. The falcon(s) are small enough that I wondered: merlin or kestrel? At this time of year, both are present here.

Today I heard a long plaintiff series rather like kee kee kee…., then saw the bird circle, then settle in, a high tree. I hoped its call would be decisive, so came in and listened to that of a merlin and of a kestrel. I think the bird is a merlin. It’s dark-colored, which fits with how they are meant to look on the Pacific coast. Moreover, I think it’s too big to be a kestrel.

Source:

Hoar, De Smet, et al. Birds of Canada. Edmonton: Lone Pine Publishing, 2010.

allaboutbirds.org

allaboutbirds.org