Bird of the Week – Merlin
Here’s another falcon, slightly smaller than last week’s Peregrine Falcon.
Merlin, Denali Highway
The Merlin is a remarkably fierce predator; WC has watched them kill and fly off with birds as large as a Lesser Yellowlegs. An adult female Merlin weighs about 8.5 ounces; a Lesser Yellowlegs weighs about 3 ounces. That’s 40% of the Merlin’s weight.
Merlin with Lesser Yellowlegs, Delta Agricultural Project, Delta Junction
Merlins seem to prefer open and semi-open areas, nesting on the edges of fields or swamps. Their primary prey is small (and not so small) birds. Alaska’s Merlins are all migratory; the winter from the Southwestern U.S. down to Central America. They breed across Alaska, but are uncommon; the most reliable nesting site to see Merlins is along the road in Denali National Park, part way up to Highway Pass.
For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.
WC-what is that in the background of the Merlin and lunch? Looks like livestock or something.
Several thousand Tundra and Trumpeter Swans. Spring migration at the Delta agricultural field, 110 miles southeast of Fairbanks.
Thank you.
What a great photo.
That is quite a handsome bird.
Rolls-Royce manufactured Merlins during WW2. One of the faster aircraft engines made at that time, i believe.
America’s Merlins are much prettier and useful to Nature.