Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Merlin/Wild Bird

Merlin (Falco coluumbariius) closeup

Merlins are small falcons, a bird of prey that relies on high speed and agility to hunt its prey.  Merlins  are one of Ontario's most able aerial predators of small and medium-sized birds.

 Merlin
A week ago, my husband and I were visiting a marina, on the lookout for birds that might be there.

 Back view

At first we saw two not-known-to- me gulls, which I was too slow to get photos of, but then we saw the back view of this bird sitting on a post. It let me circle around it, fully aware that I was there.

About to take off

Here I was about to tick this merlin off, but it waited for a couple of minutes longer before it flew away.

I am joining Stewart M's Wild Bird Wednesday HERE

52 comments:

Muffy's Marks said...

Whew, just in the nick of time too. Glad he gave you the chance to get that wonderful photo.

Darla said...

So glad he stuck around so you could get some photos. He's magnificent.

Darla

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

That is a noble looking bird.

Kerri Farley said...

Oh How Gorgeous!!!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

They look so wise.

Kathy said...

What a treat to catch a photo of this guy!

Lowell said...

Beautiful! I'm surprised it let you get anywhere near!

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh he is magnificent. Great shots. B

Kate said...

Beautiful and majestic at the same time. You did so well photographing and recording him!

Susan said...

What a wonderful set of photos. Isn't he magnificent!

Judy said...

Oh my, you got some really awesome shots here!

Esther Joy said...

Beautiful! He looks like some of our hawks.

Les Fous du Cap said...

Hi !
Beautiful shots ;-)
Céline & Philippe

Karen said...

Fantastic captures EG!!!

Small City Scenes said...

I am so glad he posed for you. We have a few out this way and they are swift to be sure. You got some great shots and he sure is watching you.
MB

i stora drag said...

Really good photos of the Merlin!
They are so amazing!
Gretings Pia

Carletta said...

Wonderful captures!
He must have known you'd show him off well. :)

Linda said...

Lucky for you it waited till you got the photos.

Randy said...

What beautiful markings.

Unknown said...

Nice find!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Anonymous said...

They certainly are gorgeous birds of prey.. Great shots, CC.

TexWisGirl said...

so very cool! pretty little thing!

LONDONLULU said...

You caught it in the nick of time, and beautifully! Very pretty bird.

Stephanie said...

Wow! Glad he stuck around to get these amazing shots of him. Thanks for sharing this as I have never seen kind if bird before.

Janet said...

He looks serious, and I wouldn't want to tick him off! Glad you got such good shots.

RedPat said...

Fabulous shots, EG!

MadSnapper said...

i like the yellow around his eyes. beautiful bird

Carver said...

Wonderful shots of the majestic looking bird.

Adam Jones said...

Great shots. I love the Merlin. Lovely little raptor.

Giga said...

Piękny i aż troszeczkę zazdroszczę zobaczenia go w naturze. Pozdrawiam.
Beautiful and even a little jealous seeing him in nature. Yours.

mick said...

Great photos of the Merlin.

HansHB said...

Awesome serie of photos. What a great bird!

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

what a beautiful bird, and wonderful photos too. I wonder if they are around here!

eileeninmd said...

Really cool sighting of the Merlin! They are awesome birds! Great shots!

An Apel a Day said...

Such pretty pictures! I love the bright yellow eye against the yellow background.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

What fabulous photos. We are fortunate to have a lot of migratory birds come through Florida. We're really seeing a nice variety on our feeders right now!

Janie said...

He's a beauty, and very patient to allow you to photograph him.

Halcyon said...

Fantastic captures of this guy!

Rohrerbot said...

Very cool bird. I've been waiting to find this one and check it off my list.....BUT I'd really like some close views like you had. You are one lucky person. They can be skittish at times....or at least that's what I hear:)

MyMaracas said...

Great shots. What a fierce little thing he is, too.

I have a love/hate thing with hawks. They're beautiful, but it breaks my heart when they take the songbirds at my feeder.

Stewart M said...

What a great bird - they are so small when you first see one its hard to believe that they are birds of prey!

Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW - Stewart M - Melbourne

PS: even better than just meeting a birder, he was Australia and now I have another contact for trips here as well! SM

Phil Slade said...

Wow, How did you get so close to a Merlin?

Neil said...

Nice of him to wait for you to take photos before flying away.

Rajesh said...

Beautiful falcons.

Rose said...

He is a beauty...I bet he is speedy in his flight.

Wally Jones said...

Very nice! I love watching a pair of Merlins work a flock of shorebirds. One swoops down to flush them up and the mate grabs one for them to share. Good work!

Anonymous said...

What great shots you got of the Merlin! He's a beauty!

NatureFootstep said...

nice of it to let you get great shots. :)

Red Nomad OZ said...

Those yellow accents around the face and feet make him look almost owl-like! Amazing detail!!

Mary Howell Cromer said...

I do not believe that I have seen a Merlin, but oh to do so. Your images are really pretty and they just make me long to see one too~

Susan Anderson said...

How on earth do you get these birds to "pose" for you?

You manage to get some amazing captures!

=)

Dave said...

Not an easy bird to see at close quarters, I love the feel to these images, very nice

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.