Outdoor Ontario

Request for Information => Bird ID => Topic started by: rocklakemama on November 23, 2016, 08:54:14 AM

Title: Is this a merlin?
Post by: rocklakemama on November 23, 2016, 08:54:14 AM

We saw this bird flying about over a lake in September in Bruce Peninsula. We thought it was a kestrel, but now we're wondering if it's a merlin. We've never seen one.

Title: Re: Is this a merlin?
Post by: Pat Hodgson on November 23, 2016, 09:18:37 AM

Yes, merlin.  Kestrel undertail looks nothing like this.

Title: Re: Is this a merlin?
Post by: rocklakemama on November 23, 2016, 09:49:41 AM

Thank you for confirming! Very cool! (We only realized it wasn't a kestrel when we compared its tail to pics of kestrel tails on the internet, but with all the variations with age, sex, season, etc., I'm never sure about a bird until a learned birder from this group IDs it for us  :oops: )