Catch of the Day: Merlin Migration

Arcata, California
October 22, 205

This small, robust falcon — a female merlin (Falco columbarius) — graciously posed for me on the tip of a bare branch, surveying Arcata Bay for her preferred meal: small birds. Nearby, hundreds of least sandpipers fed in gregarious flocks on the muddy, exposed bay bottom, sometimes lifting in synchronized flight to avoid becoming a predator’s next catch.

The name merlin comes from Old French and has no relation to the Arthurian wizard. In medieval times, merlins were favored by women falconers and affectionately called “lady hawks.” Today, the bird’s name lives on through the popular app Merlin, the “Shazam” of bird song identification.

Merlins are widespread around the globe, with nine recognized subspecies that range in color from light to dark and from gray to brown. This particular bird is a coastal forest merlin (Falco columbarius suckleyi), found along the Pacific Coast of North America. Fast and fierce, merlins are known to chase anything that moves — even cars and trains.

Local merlins spend their winters here along the coast before heading north again in spring to breed.

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