Yesterday I finally saw the merlin (Falco columbarius) that has been hanging out at Huntley Meadows Park the last month or so. Merlins are really cool-looking small falcons that generally are in our area only during periods of migration.
The merlin was perched at the very top of a slender dead tree. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website notes that merlins spend long periods perched in open areas scanning for prey and I suspect that is what this bird was doing when I spotted it.
I was able to get relatively close to the tree, thanks to an adjacent path in the woods, but shooting upwards at such a steep angle handheld was a bit of a challenge. Fortunately the lighting was pretty good so I was able to get some decent shots, though they did requite quite a bit of cropping. You may also notice that I shot from several different angles as I tried to capture some images of this small, but powerful bird.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I love how they choose the highest perch.
Compared to hawks and eagles, the merlin is pretty small and I almost missed seeing it perching that high up. The biggest advantage for me was that I could get a relatively unobstructed (albeit long-distance) shot of the merlin
I don’t think I’ve ever seen one. He looks powerful.
From what I have read, merlins are pretty fierce, though they are only about the size of a pigeon.
What beautiful plumage. I had never heard of this falcon.
I was struck by what appears a balancing act in your first picture. You’ve such good instinct.
I too noticed the way the merlin is standing on a single foot in the first photo. I think he eventually moved a slight bit to a more secure perch.
I never knew of such a bird, merlins look a lot like perigrine falcons.
I honestly don’t know much about falcons and the merlin is the first one that I have encountered. I suspect that the different species are as much alike as the different hawks that I see more frequently.
I love merlins for two reasons, 1 they only migrate to Minnesota around my birthday month so I only get to them a few times if I’m really lucky. the second reason is that The bird is named after the greatest Warlock of All Time “MERLIN” and the reason for this is that when Merlin was a young boy he saved a Merlin (the bird) from a group of school boys who at the time were trying to get the bird’s feathers to make arrows. Merlin saw this and used magic to save the poor bird. After doing so he was then forced to leave the village though for magic was forbidden at the time. That same day the Merlin found our young warlock and they have been loyal to each other to the end. Merlin promised that no man was to harm these birds again but as you can see hunters are still harming these incredible birds today. I really wish they would stop but I can’t do anything about it though. But every time I see a Merlin I try to help it and also not to disturb it as well. Take all the pictures you want but please don’t take it’s life. 🙂
Have you seen any more Merlins?
Alas, I’ve had only that single Merlin sighting.