Raptor Wednesday

Once in late August and once in late September, I came across a Merlin in this European Beech. Here’s my once-in-late-October sighting. The tree happens to be a favorite American Kestrel perch as well.

At precisely the same time as my October Merlin-in-the-Beech sighting, there was a female American Kestrel atop the chapel, approximately 250 feet away.

Red-tail Hawks on the antenna. All these pictures are from the same day.

A couple of Cooper’s Hawks.

All told, I had nine raptor sightings that day. At least eight were separate individuals. The ninth I’m not sure about. What happened was that the male American Kestrel (above) had grabbed a dragonfly out of the air, landed atop a tree, flew off again, and was suddenly set upon by a small, dark raptor. The chase was too quick. The attacking bird was either a Merlin or a Sharp-shinned. Anyway, the Kestrel winged away with prey intact.