Merlin, near Ridgetown, Ontario, March 14, 2018.

We were out looking for tundra swans when I spotted this merlin at the same time Anne saw a dozen swans.
We watched the merlin drop of the post and retrieve something, turned out to be a bird carcass, and return to the post.


Falco columbarius
The name “Merlin” comes from esmerillon, the old French name for the species. Merlins used to be called “pigeon hawks” because in flight they look somewhat pigeon-like. Their species name, columbarius, is also a reference to pigeons.
source - https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Merlin/

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