Larry,
At the Fire Island Hawk Watch we have seen Merlins attack just about
anything in their paths, including Peregrines. We have also seen
Peregrines attack much larger birds - a Canada Goose, on one occasion.
But my fondest memory of Merlin attacks was when one tried for a Kestrel
that was perched near the top of a pine. The Kestrel did a very
unexpected maneuver - he rotated around the branch, in an upside down
position under the pine bough as the Merlin passed, and then back
upright on the branch after the Merlin had passed. That was back in the
'80s.
For a perspective on their migration seasons and trends see:
http://www.battaly.com/fire/trends/
Trudy
Gertrude R. Battaly
www.battaly.com, www.birdsongid.org
Banding: www.battaly.com/banding
FIRE: http://www.battaly.com/fire/
Hook: http://www.battaly.com/hook/
NEHW: http://www.battaly.com/nehw/
On 8/20/2014 7:45 AM, Larry Trachtenberg wrote:
7 a.m. drinking my coffee on the bench at swimming beach looking at a lone bobbing
spotted sandpiper (still a lot of spots), when I notice another unidentified shorebird
crossing the bay. Two falcons appear out of nowhere chasing it unsuccessfully. On the way
back and over land the smaller one (Merlin) is diving at the larger one (peregrine) then
they disappear. The whole thing was a blur maybe 20-30 seconds. I thought all birds were
terrified of peregrines -- those Merlins deserve their reputation. (First
"fall" Merlin).
L. Trachtenberg
Ossining, NY
Sent from my iPhone
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