After the thunderstorms … an avian tableau.
This young Merlin Sharp-shinned Hawk (right) is perched on a Douglas Fir high over Maple Leaf Life South.
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Update: Simone texts from eastern Washington, where she is flying falcons to protect crops, that our Sharpie is in fact a Merlin, she believes.
(Why? “Chunky body. Shorter tail than Shin. Fatter head than Shin, too. Hard to age Merlins sometimes but my guess adult but very hard to tell.”)
We believe her. She’s been a far better birder than we since we met her well over a dozen years ago. She was then … 14?
Merlins are rare in Seattle. From Simone’s 2011 post:
Merlins are much smaller than Peregrines, about the size of a robin, and usually hunt from the top of a prominent perch (i.e. the top of a tree), keeping an eye out for songbirds below. Merlins appear dark or even black and do not posses the “mask” of a Peregrine Falcon.
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This American Robin – plus at least one other adult robin and two Anna’s Hummingbirds – were not happy about it.
The robins have a nest – with two fledglings – about 50 feet away.
Earlier in the day a Pileated Woodpecker appeared briefly in the front yard – a first for us, and making our 49th 50th (Merlin) yard bird.
(We’ve got a long way to go, Dennis.)
For more posts on birds locally click here.
Saw a Merlin take a Robin out of the apple tree in my yard a couple years ago. Very fast bird, it was over in an eye blink.
There’s been a group of Merlin living in the Victory Heights/Pinehurst area for the last 5 or so years. They seem to move around by a block or two every year, this year they’re in Pinehurst around 17th Ave & 115th. They’re pretty active in the mornings and evenings, and birdwatchers often come from outside the neighborhood and set up spotting scopes to watch them. One nice lady let me take a peek at the Merlin through her spotting scope one evening while I was walking my dogs. They are beautiful birds!