When I saw this bird in the distance being harassed by two blue jays on Thanksgiving Day at Huntley Meadows Park, I wasn’t sure what it was, but folks at What’s This Bird Facebook group identified it for me as a Merlin (Falco columbarius), a type of small falcon. I shot quite a few photos attempting to pbotograph the two blue jays flying by the merlin and perching close to it, but I am not sure how well I was able to capture the action. If I get a few that are reasonably clear, I may do another posting with the merlin, a bird that I believe that I had previously seen only once before.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Hi Mike, Happy Thanksgiving! Perhaps you’ll be interested to know that Steven Kessel from Sonoran Images, Arizona, posted about a Merlin today too. I’ll take the liberty of putting the link here: https://sonoranimages.wordpress.com/2017/11/23/american-kestrel-and-merlin/
Thanks, Liz. It’s really cool that someone way across the US from me is photographing the same elusive bird as I am doing.
Very nice photo, Mike. He’s a handsome guy 🙂
Thanks, Dan. My only regret is that I couldn’t get a bit closer to the merlin, though that is a familiar lament of all wildlife photographers.