Merlins are very aggressive if they have young and feel like they might be in danger—and there is a nest with already fledged young in Trumansburg. But actually, Merlins can be pretty aggressive anyway, with or without a nest. I've seen Merlins at migration hotpots like Hawk Mountain and Cape May come streaking across the sky, diving at every raptor in sight. They're one of my favorite birds.
Tim ________________________________ From: bounce-127579989-10557...@list.cornell.edu <bounce-127579989-10557...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of t...@ottcmail.com <t...@ottcmail.com> Sent: Monday, July 24, 2023 11:54 AM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Question about Merlin behavior (the falcon, not the app) On Saturday in the early evening, at the gate of the Grassroots festival as crowds of people were streaming in, a Merlin started calling continuously for many seconds - 10? 15? It came into view from the west and was chasing a crow and diving at it. They were maybe 30' above the tree tops and I had no binoculars but they were easy to see, passing directly overhead. The crow was twisting and dodging, flying evasively - one of the crow's tail feathers came loose & floated away so presumably the merlin was grabbing at it. I don't remember hearing the crow vocalize but the merlin never stopped. They passed over Smith Woods and then the merlin turned off to the north. My impression was extreme aggression by the merlin and retreat by the crow but I only saw them for maybe 5 seconds, it was pretty quick. Anyone know if this is territorial defense or something else? Does the merlin defend territory after its young have fledged? Is it some form of very rough inter-species play? I found this report in Bent: > ... Mr. Brewster (1925) witnessed the following peculiar behavior of a > pigeon hawk: > > He was either playing or fighting with a Crow, the former I thought, > for although the behavior of both birds was rough and aggressive, it > seemed to represent mutual participation in a sportive game curiously > regulated and much enjoyed. Thus the successive lungings and chasings > were not either one-sided or haphazard, but so conducted that each > bird alternately took the part of pursuer and pursued, and when > enacting the latter role gave way at once, or after the merest > pretense of restance, to flee as if for its life, dodging and > twisting; yet it was prompt enough to rejoin the other bird at the end > of such a bout, when the two would rest awhile on the same stub, > perching only a few feet apart and facing one another, perhaps not > without some mutual distrust. During these aerial evolutions the Hawk > screamed and the Crow uttered a rolling croak, almost incessantly. > They separated and flew off in different directions when my presence > was finally discovered. > Has anyone else witnessed 'play' like this? Alternatively do merlins continue to attack crows after their young fledge? Alicia -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
