Date: 5/20/26 3:50 am From: Michael Price via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Merlins
Hey tweets,
Loving this thread on my favorite bird. Merlins are ever-fascinating. Crafty, as in pretending to be just another bird in passerine flight behind a starling flock (buddy, you may have the undulant flight style down pat, but those pointed wings don't fool anyone. Until they do). Playful: I've seen a Merlin toy with a swallow for several minutes before allowing it to go on its bemused, terrified way; I've also spent half an hour watching a Merlin rowdily barrelhousing with a couple of crows, taking turns chasing. Patient: at the Granville Island Market one hot, crowded summer afternoon, a Merlin and House Finch sat in almost reaching distance above people's heads, each in a small planting no more than 3 m/9 ft apart for nearly half an hour until the finch's nerve broke and it made a break for it: the little falcon rose to it and plucked it from the air as adroitly as Ozzie Smith picking off a line drive heading for a two-base hit into left. Ferocious: a hen Black Merlin going all Casino Joe Pesci on a Red-Tailed Hawk until the appalled hawk flew off, bleeding. Relaxed: a word not usually applicable to Merlins, who usually seem happiest only if they get to punch someone in the mouth. A pair of Taiga Merlins languidly circling on thermals over downtown Vancouver BC on a warm early April afternoon with a handful of other northbound raptors in a brief glimpse into the Peaceful Kingdom.
best wishes, m
Michael Price Vancouver BC Canada <loblollyboy...>
