Ashton MD merlin
Warblerick (Warblerick@aol.com)
Fri, 19 Dec 1997 08:23:51 EST
This message is mostly for Jay Sheppard (hope you read this before Dec 20) . I
had a really nice male MERLIN perched in a large oak tree out in the farm
field behind Ashton Club Way this morning, from 7:45-7:55 A.M. I did not see
it fly in, but noticed some movement high in the tree and looked with my bins.
After discovering it to be a merlin, I ran home and got my scope. I watched it
for ten minutes before it flew off, but I did not even see it leave. It had a
dead bird that it was pulling apart (and from approx. 150 yards through 40 X
it appeared sparrow-like) and I assume it left with its prey in tow. This
makes number 162 for my "yard " list, but I also want people in the area to be
aware of the possibility of Merlins for the Triadelphia CBC. We had one last
year in this exact same area, so check every dead snag for perching raptors!!
I had another earlier a few weeks ago in Silver Spring, but have not seen it
for a couple of weeks. It is possible that this is the same bird...