Oct 8, 2026 · 2 min · 4 segments
Smaller than a pigeon — but fierce enough to knock one from the air — are the powerful, compact falcons known as Merlins. Climate change is pushing ranges of many birds farther north, but more and…
[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.
Some travel as far as Ecuador.
With any luck, you might see these adaptable pint-sized thunderbolts in your neighborhood.
[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.
Some travel as far as Ecuador.
With any luck, you might see these adaptable pint-sized thunderbolts in your neighborhood.
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