Merlin

[merlin bird calls] Want to see one of the blazing thunderbolts of the bird world? Smaller than a pigeon, but fierce enough to knock one from the air, are the powerful, compact falcons known as merlins.

While global climate change is pushing ranges of many birds farther north, merlins are actually expanding southward.

Merlins nest in northern forests around the world, but in recent years, more and more merlins have been nesting farther south, in towns and cities across the northern United States.

[merlin bird calls] These small falcons will take over old crow nests, especially in conifer trees, in parks, cemeteries, and neighborhoods.

[merlin bird calls] No one knows precisely why, but part of the answer may lie in a rebound of merlin populations since the banning of pesticides like DDT.

And it's a reminder that bird behavior may be more flexible than we sometimes imagine.

[merlin bird calls] Merlins reach their peak southward migration in October, although some, like those in the Pacific Northwest, remain year-round.

Most scatter to the south for winter.

And I didn't see a kill or anything.

I'm sure it happened, but it was a black Merlin.

And I only knew that way later in life than realized looking back, that's what I had seen.

But it just, I can, to this day, I can see every wing beat just about of that moment.

I think that's a 100% account.

I think if that's a natural quarry of your bird that you're flying, it should count as quarry that you caught.

And I think if you have a Merlin and you catch, you catch Aaron, what are those birds that have the most spectacular flights, but like everybody has to be all quiet about it.

And after we.