As I prepared to leave for work early this morning, I saw a Merlin perched
in the snag tree in front of my property. I also had a Merlin show up in
the same snag in the fall of 2009 and again in the late fall of 2010. This
one (perhaps the same individual) makes its appearance a month earlier than
the previous visitors, which may or may not signal an early start of the
southward migration. The 2009 visitor stayed around for a few weeks,
bringing dragonflies back to the snag on a regular basis. Hopefully this
one stays around for awhile also. I never saw the earlier Merlin(s) chase
or bother the songbirds which visit my feeder - the songbirds went about
their business and ignored the Merlin.
Greg
Warrenton, VA
