Jul 24, 2026 · 52 min · 15 segments
Current climate change has been well underway for decades, but the rate of that change is now going up so fast that people are noticing things like tornados and extreme heat waves are occurring in…
Jennifer FrancisGuest
Ann CarlsonGuest
Steve CurwoodHost
Mark Seth Lender
Mary McCann
And as the planet warms, they're flying against the trend of wildlife moving towards the poles, as Mary McCann tells us in today's Bird Note.
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.
These small falcons will take over old crow nests, especially in conifer trees, in parks, cemeteries, and neighborhoods.
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.
Merlins reach their peak southward migration in October, although some, like those in the Pacific Northwest, remain year-round.
With any luck, you might see these adaptable, pint-sized thunderbolts in your neighborhood.
And as the planet warms, they're flying against the trend of wildlife moving towards the poles, as Mary McCann tells us in today's Bird Note.
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.
These small falcons will take over old crow nests, especially in conifer trees, in parks, cemeteries, and neighborhoods.
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.
Merlins reach their peak southward migration in October, although some, like those in the Pacific Northwest, remain year-round.
With any luck, you might see these adaptable, pint-sized thunderbolts in your neighborhood.
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