Merlin jess digitally removed (Photo by Donald Drife)
The Merlin is a Blue Jay size falcon. The females are noticeably larger than the males. The males are more colorful possessing a blue-gray back as opposed to the brown back of the female. Like all falcons, they have pointed wings, that they beat rapidly, and a long tail. They lack the brownish color of a Kestrel and never hover to hunt. Their faint “sideburns” and the narrow tail-bands distinguish them from the larger Peregrine Falcon. The “sideburns” on Peregrine Falcons are distinct and their tail-bands are much wider than a Merlin’s.
Merlin showing jess (Photo by Joyce Drife)
The photographs are of a captive female bird kept at the Outdoor Discovery Center in Holland, Michigan. This group sponsors many fine educational programs for all ages including birds of prey photo shoots.
Merlins (Falco columbarius) are increasing their breeding range in Michigan. There are two areas near Grayling, Michigan where I regularly see them. However, I have not found a nest or seen young but the birds are around all summer.
Merlin captive female (Photo by Donald Drife)
Historically, they probably nested in the Upper Peninsula. The first nests found were in the mid-1950s. Their population crashed (along with most raptors) in the 1960s due to DDT and other pesticides. The first Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas survey, during the 1980s, recorded Merlins from 72 townships statewide. The second Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas survey, 2002 though 2008, recorded them from 231 townships. A nest was found as far south as Ottawa County. Old breeding records show that Merlins nested in northern Illinois in the early 1800s. Hopefully, this species will continue to expand its range into southern Michigan.
Don Drife
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Works Cited
Haas, S.C.G. Merlin (Falco columbarius). in A.T. Chartier, J.J. Baldy, and J.M. Brenneman, editors. The Second Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas. Kalamazoo Nature Center. Kalamazoo, MI., 2011. <http://www.mibirdatlas.org /Portals/12/MBA2010/MERLaccount.pdf >.
Works Consulted
Clark, William S., Brian K. Wheeler. A Field Guide to Hawks: North American. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987
Cuthrell, D.L. Special animal abstract for Falco columbarius (merlin). Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Lansing, MI., 2002. <http://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/abstracts/zoology/falco_columbarius.pdf>
We’re in Fife Lake, and for the last few weeks we heard a lot of noise coming from some birds; it sounded a lot like a jay, but different–I couldn’t place the calls.
I’d been noticing that my bird bath water feature wasn’t being visited–at ALL. One lone robin took a bath, then disappeared. I didn’t know what was going on and was puzzled.
Then, about a week ago, I found a half-eaten bird in a different raised and shallow bird bath–I didn’t know what to think. I went online and read something about crows liking to put their prey in water, so I figured that was it.
In the meantime, about 5 days ago, the noise from the birds was getting really irritating; I was looking out the window to see what could have caused it, and there on the ground were 5 small birds that I thought were hawks. They were fighting over a kill, and one was covering the prey–a real moment for us!
But they didn’t look like a more common bird, like the red tailed hawk, and I really wanted to know what they were. I started an online search and came across your site about merlins and thought that was what they were.
I wasn’t sure, though, so though they haven’t been around the house in the last day I was able to get a rather blurry pic of one across the road on a power line. From what I can see, I do think they’re merlins, but I’m not absolutely sure.
I’m going to try to incorporate the pic I took here, but not sure if that will work.
[URL=http://s1301.photobucket.com/user/Barb_Lynn_Meade/media/possiblemerlin4_zps0c271dcb.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag117/Barb_Lynn_Meade/possiblemerlin4_zps0c271dcb.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
I do have it on photobucket as well here:
http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag117/Barb_Lynn_Meade/possiblemerlin4_zps0c271dcb.jpg
Best regards,
Barb
It is a Merlin. They must have nested nearby.