All,
I had a Merlin perched ON my birdfeeder for about 10 minutes on Sunday. He
kept spreading his tail feathers as wide as they would go, forming a fan.
My question: could this behavior have been to make himself look bigger, as a
defensive response to the 4 or 5 Blue Jays who kept dive-bombing him from
surrounding trees? Or was he just trying to dry off from the previous hard
rain?
Do folks often see Merlins in this area? This was a first for me in the back
yard, and I've lived here 12 years, though I often see similar birds looking
for a sparrow snack.
Anne Gossage,
Richmond (Barnes Mill Neighborhood across from EKU)
