View allAll Photos Tagged Merlin
Super rare around here! I'm so chuffed!
Look, the trees in the orchard are budding and the trees are planning for spring, there are better days ahead. Davis, Ca. January 2021.
This is the lightest colored Merlin that I have ever seen. Information on the internet was not terribly helpful. Apparently this is a Prairie Merlin. If you have any Merlin wisdom to share I would love to hear it.
In my years of observing the action at the Alberta Grain Terminal. I have never seen a Merlin seriously hunt the Pigeons like the larger Gyrfalcons and Prairie Falcons. The two shots I posted this evening are unique for me because I have never captured this action and they were the first test of my new 7D Mark II. The action was very fast and far away, but I really like the way the camera handled it.
The Merlin made contact with two Pigeons, but could not bring them down. That would be a tall order from the altitude at which the action was taking place. A Pigeon has a length of 12.5". wingspan of 28", and weighs 9 oz. A Merlin has a length of 10", wingspan of 24", and weighs 6.5 oz. (Sibley). The Merlin was trying to drive the Pigeons down.
Merlins are quite capable of killing a Pigeon especially if they catch it on the ground or on a roost.
Alberta Grain Terminal. Edmonton, Alberta.
Member of the Flickr Bird Brigade
Activists for birds and wildlife
Merlin pairs have been seen teaming up to hunt large flocks of waxwings: one Merlin flushes the flock by attacking from below; the other comes in moments later to take advantage of the confusion.
I was excited to finally get a image of this merlin falcon! We watched this falcon try to catch a bird in mid air but the bird lived to see another day! That was too far away for photos!!! This photo was taken at Hammonasset State Park in Connecticut!
Merlin came into our lives on March 29 / 2015, only three days after our beloved doggy Rexelmann passed away at the age of 17.
It was my birthday and from the first second we saw him, we were deeply connected - we became a family❤
His former owner died from cancer. So, during Merlin's first 1,5 years on this planet, he witnessed quite a lot of drama and pain as well.
At the age of seven Merlin got poisoned and nearly died... last week, only two years later, he was diagnosed with an untreatable abdominal cancer😥
All in all, our little boy went through so much pain in his much too short life, but he never gave up!
Merlin loves every human being, he loves animals and is the funniest clown that we can possibly imagine❤
He is a role model, he taught us to accept life and fills our souls with hope... the hope that we will meet again.
Merlin will decide when it's time to walk over the rainbow bridge - as long as he wants to be with us, we'll watch over him... then it'll be his turn to watch over us❤
Enjoy life, it's a gift youtu.be/WR4_chcwvoM , dear flickr friends🎈
A Merlin (Falco columbarius) perched on a brush pile on the prairie landscape east of Tofield, Alberta, Canada.
21 April, 2023.
Slide # GWB_20230421_3450.CR2
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St-Hubert, Québec
One of the Merlins that I think nest nearby, just in front of my local grocery store. It's cool that I can go grocery shopping and then take a few pics.
The Merlin (m), a member of the falcon family, surveys the area. I even got a close insepction, or perhaps it was focussed on the squirrel a few feet behind me.
Well, she's way out there, but she is my first Merlin of the year and I don't see them very often. She was really busy cleaning her feathers. What's really odd is she was sharing this leafless tree with a male Kestrel. He was a branch or two over, and at first I thought they were a happy couple and he was just watching out for her while she tidied up. The more I watched, I realized she was likely a Merlin. It was surprising I thought they were so close together. I guess maybe they had full tummies.
I told him..or her I wasn't going to take the catch....still got that dirty look..lol !
Thank you very much for your kind comments, favorites and looking
Mr Merlin watches the witches add ingredients to their bubbling cauldron.
Witch 1 "I shall add some sugar and spice and everything nice" she says as she stirs vigorously,
Merlin "That sounds delicious".
Witch Two " Slugs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails" says the witch as she adds the ingredients and the cauldron simmers and spits.
Merlin Gulps "Puppy dog Tails! what sort of sick witches are these, luckily I am disguised in my ghost costume or my tail might be gone. That does it when those nasty witches are not looking I am going to pee all over their broomsticks".
This is the gateway to Merlin's cottage- the gate is a real beauty. The fence was covered by the lovely Ivy.
She flew in as we were leaving and the light was fading. My first Merlin of this year but that doesn't surprise me given we haven't been out as much as in previous years.
Merlins (Falco columbarius) are small, fierce falcons that use surprise attacks to bring down small songbirds and shorebirds. They are powerful fliers, but you can tell them from larger falcons by their rapid wingbeats and overall dark tones. Medieval falconers called them “lady hawks,” and noblewomen used them to hunt Sky Larks. Merlin populations have largely recovered from twentieth-century declines,
thanks to a ban on the pesticide DDT and their ability to adapt to life around towns and cities.
Popped back to Greylake again today, hoping to see the merlin. She (I say she, it might be a juvi male), was a lot closer, but still a little too far out for any real detail and at the wrong angle... But slowly getting there. :@)
Had to try to get this beauty painted and on something other than a wire! Pretty happy with the results!
The Merlin pair, a member of the Falcon family, were evident by their persistent calls.
I was able to see the pair in a few couplings but mostly they seemed to be separated and making their plaintive calls ... perhaps part of the ritual they perform.
The merlin wasn't rescued in the traditional sense, but in the processing of the image. My previous post showed a squirrel in good light, and the photo looked good overall. Not so much the case here, but I really like the bird's pose so I tried to see if I could 'rescue' the image that was quite dark with a bright sky in the background. The camera settings were very inappropriate for where the bird landed. Oh well. It doesn't always go your way.
The reason the merlin is posed like this is because it was feuding with a magpie and the magpie had just dove at it and the merlin landed here. The chasing and nagging went on for over 30 minutes. Because of trees and branches and their tight quarters, I was not able to get both birds in the same frame.
The scientific name Falco columbarius refers to the merlin, a small, fierce falcon found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Once known as the "pigeon hawk," this raptor is a swift and agile hunter, often found in open areas and even urban settings.
Identification 👀
* Size and build: Merlins are small but powerful falcons, larger than an American kestrel but smaller than a crow.
* Color: Plumage varies by subspecies and gender.
Adult males typically have a bluish-gray back and wings, a faintly streaked breast, and a banded tail.
Females and juveniles are browner on their upper parts and have more pronounced streaking on their underparts.
* Distinctive markings: They possess yellow legs and a pale throat and eyebrow. Unlike other falcons, they lack a prominent mustache stripe on their face.
* Flight: Merlins fly with quick, powerful wingbeats and seldom soar.
Habitat and range 🏡
* Breeding habitat: During the nesting season, merlins prefer open to semi-open areas, including forest edges, woodlands, prairies, and tundra.
* Urban areas: In recent decades, merlins have adapted to city life, nesting in urban and suburban areas and hunting the abundant small birds found there.
Migration and wintering: Most populations are migratory, moving south for the winter. During this time, they occupy a variety of open habitats, such as grasslands, coastal marshes, and farmland.
* Holarctic distribution: Their range spans the Northern Hemisphere, covering northern North America and Eurasia.
Diet and hunting 🍔
* Primary prey: Merlins are carnivores that specialize in hunting small- to medium-sized birds, such as sparrows, finches, and shorebirds. House sparrows are common prey in urban environments.
* Hunting technique: They hunt by ambushing their prey, often flying low and fast to surprise it. Most prey is caught in midair after a high-speed chase. Pairs sometimes hunt cooperatively.
* Varied diet: They also feed on large insects, particularly dragonflies, as well as small mammals like voles and bats, and even reptiles.
Reproduction 👩❤️👨
* Nesting sites: Merlins do not build their own nests. Instead, they reuse abandoned nests built by other birds, such as crows, ravens, or magpies. They may also nest in tree cavities, on cliff ledges, or on the ground.
* Clutch: The female typically lays 4 to 5 rusty brown eggs.
* Parental care: The female performs most of the incubation, which lasts about a month. The male provides food for the female and nestlings.
* Fledging: Young merlins fledge about a month after hatching but remain dependent on their parents for several more weeks.
Conservation status ⛑️
* Global status: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has designated the merlin as a species of "Least Concern".
* Recovery from pesticides: Merlin populations experienced significant declines during the mid-20th century due to pesticides like DDT. Since the ban of these chemicals, populations in North America and Europe have largely recovered.
* Threats: Current threats include continued exposure to environmental toxins and habitat loss in some areas. However, their increasing ability to adapt to urban settings has helped to offset some of these concerns.
Stuck inside with the fresh snow and pandemic, so I am going thru some pictures I took in Spring 2018. This image was taken 17 June 2018 in the Firerock campground, beside Elkwater Lake, Cyprus Hills, Alberta. I had labelled it as a kestrel, but now looking back thru I think it is either a juvenile sharp-shinned hawk or a merlin. I favor merlin from the lack of yellow in the eye.
I love the name of this bird, called "Merlin". He's a rare bird around these parts and doesn't live here full time. So excited to get another lifer!
A Merlin taking off from a snag near Spring Creek NFH in Skamania Co, WA, March 11, 2019. Highly cropped.
Merlin took into the sky with the meal-to-be: a little sanderling and flew off to find a quieter place to proceed with her dinner... @ Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve
(Falco columbarius)
Murtosa
Portugal
A rare winter visitor
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All my photos are now organized into sets by the country where they were taken, by taxonomic order, by family, by species (often with just one photo for the rarer ones), and by the date they were taken.
So, you may find:
- All the photos for this order FALCONIFORMES (74)
- All the photos for this family Falconidae (Falconídeos) (74)
- All the photos for this species Falco columbarius (2)
- All the photos taken this day 2017/11/12 (12)
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