Oh, Those Merlins!

Merlins are small hawks related to falcons. They pushed the , crow family out of their nest last year....and this year made babies. Three days ago I woke up to a commotion outside. Merlins all over the place whining and wailing and swooping and swerving. Flight training! The 3 kids had left the nest! Ye Olde Maple Tree was their jungle gym. They were thrashing and almost crashing as they tried to perch on twigs.

That same morning, there was an announcement on local tv that a certain area of the Green Mtns was open to hikers again because the falcons had left their nests and were no longer vulnerable to human interference.

Mother Nature's timing amazes me.

And I will be glad to have them move on now. They eat my little bird friends. Truth be told, I shouldn't even have a bird feeder out there.

.....although I read that merlins usually take their prey in flight. That makes me feel only a little better.

Done