Date: 3/29/25 1:55 pm From: Roy Pilcher <00000022ffe6db53-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: [VTBIRD] Merlins in Middlebury?
A pair of Merlin nested in Proctor some years ago taking over an American Crow's nest. A Proctor resident complained to me that the fledged Merlin' (3) were learning to hunt from a pine tree in her yard resulting in dead songbirds on her lawn. I do have an image of the juveniles.Cheers, Roy PilcherRutland Town
On Saturday, March 29, 2025 at 01:47:19 PM EDT, Elizabeth Alton <redbnuthatch...> wrote:
Last year I saw and heard a Merlin in a tree bordering the So Hero
Congregational Church parking lot several times. I walked tight under the
the tree and it just kept calling. Liz, Milton, VT
On Sat, Mar 29, 2025 at 12:25 PM Richard Guthrie <richardpguthrie...>
wrote:
> Sounds good. Merlins have become the new downtown raptors in our northern
> states.
>
> In recent years, they have expanded their range eastward first by being
> the forest bird that they have been traditionally, then finding a niche in
> our cities.
>
> They have successfully adapted to places like Albany, and Ithaca, New
> York.
>
> While the songbirds have enjoyed a bit of a respite, the new kid in town
> will have them looking over their shoulder.
>
> Rich Guthrie
>
> > On Mar 29, 2025, at 11:27 AM, Marguerite Heckscher <
> <00000e59ff4cc836-dmarc-request...> wrote:
> >
> > Thank you so much! This is great information. I'll be sure to bring my
> binoculars next time I'm on campus.Marguerite
> > On Saturday, March 29, 2025 at 10:44:21 AM EDT, David Guertin <
> <00000d40dcd17dfd-dmarc-request...> wrote:
> >
> > Sounds like an exciting observation! Yes, that sounds likely to me. Over
> > the years I've seen a few Merlins on and near the Middlebury campus. I
> > wouldn't call them exactly rare, but they're certainly not an everyday
> > sighting, and always exciting to see! While Kestrels would be the more
> > common small falcons in general, they tend to prefer more open habitats
> > and I can't recall seeing one on the college campus proper. Of course
> > getting a good look to rule out Kestrel and confirm Merlin's Merlin ID
> > (how confusing is that?) would be ideal, but I'd say Merlin would be the
> > most likely.
> >
> > Dave G.
> >
> >> On 3/29/25 3:22 AM, Marguerite Heckscher wrote:
> >> Hello, I’m not an expert by any means, but all week I’ve seen and heard
> a pair of small, falcon-like birds that appear to be in the midst of an
> elaborate mating dance on the campus in Middlebury. My Merlin app
> identified them as actual merlins, which they note as rare. Could this be
> accurate? If so, this is an exciting lifer for me!
> >> Marguerite Lenius
> >>
> >> Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
> >>
> >
>
--
Liz Alton:
"Keep a green tree in your heart; perhaps a singing bird will come."
