A Merlin on the Tuolumne River, for the Second Time This Year

I didn't post about this back in January for plenty of reasons, too busy with school starting, and lousy pictures, but Merlins (Falco columbarious) have been visiting the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail this year. I saw one on January 6 which was gloomy and dark and not conducive for picture-taking, but the only other time was way back in 2018. But today was perfect weather, and the Merlin was cooperating by perching out in the open where I could get a few decent pictures.

Merlins are the 'Lady Hawks' of Medieval times, but they are actually falcons, and like other falcon species, they have been used by falconers for years for hunting and hobby purposes. They underwent a severe decline because of the use of DDT in the fifties and sixties, but they have recovered nicely since the pesticide was outlawed. 

It was a pleasant surprise to see one today.

Another Uncommon Bird: A Merlin at the Ceres River Bluff Regional Park

It's been a rather extraordinary week for me. I got to see a truly rare visitor to our region, a Sage Thrasher, on Friday. And then today it was an uncommon bird (at least for me as I have only seen one of them previously). It was a falcon species called a Merlin (Falco columbarius).

I was running some midday errands in town and thought a bit about where to walk today. I settled on the fairly new sports complex in the area called the Ceres River Bluff Regional Park. It's mostly a bunch of soccer fields along Whitmore Avenue in the town of Ceres, but the park property includes a lower terrace that was once a walnut orchard adjacent to the Tuolumne River. The walnuts are mostly dying away but natural riparian vegetation is taking the place of the trees. A pond (stocked for fishing, apparently) captures runoff from the fields above and provides habitat for birds, turtles and fish and other wetlands species. It's a productive birding spot, with more than 140 species reported so far.

There was some construction going on with the access road to the "wilderness" so I walked along the top of the bluff only to discover an alternate trail down to the river. I explored for awhile finding a fair number of birds, but it wasn't until I was walking back up the bluff that I made my special discovery. I saw the bird in the distance and from the silhouette assumed it was the much more common American Kestrel, but as I got closer I realized the color and spotting was all wrong. I started snapping pictures.

The bird was pretty much unconcerned with me other than the one stern look you can see in the picture below.

The view was nice from the top of the bluff. After a long dry summer, the recent rains have brought some greenery to the pond area and the water level was up. There were Canada Geese, American Coots, and a Pied-billed Grebe hanging out in the water.

A Lady Hawk on the Tuolumne River Trail! That's a Merlin to You

I had a new surprise today. On Wednesday it was about a flock of Common Goldeneyes and fresh beaver sign, and today it was a sighting of a totally new bird for me. It was a beautiful sunny day after what seemed like weeks or months of gloomy gray weather (I know, it was just a couple of days). But still, the sunshine was nice so I headed down to the river for some exercise and to see who was out and about. I almost immediately saw an American Kestrel who stopped long enough for a couple of pictures (maybe in a near-future post). Being perched on trees right over the trail, it must have thought I was chasing it.

It finally disappeared but then I saw another kestrel-shaped bird, but I realized almost immediately that the coloration was wrong. I started snapping pictures and wondered what it might be. It was too small for a hawk, and so my inexperienced bird brain said "Merlin". Out came the smart phone, and the pictures seemed to confirm it (as always, I'm open to gentle corrections). A search on eBird indicates only one previous sighting on the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail in Waterford (they range all over the west, and have been recorded both upstream and downstream of my favored trail).

The Merlin (Falco columbarius) is a member of the falcon family that ranges across the northern hemisphere, in Europe and North America. They winter in our region and head north during the summer for breeding. They are fast and agile fliers who prey mainly on small songbirds (as can be seen in my pictures). They went into a steep decline during the DDT years, but have recovered very well, although they are listed as uncommon in our county.

The term "Lady Hawk" refers to the use of Merlins by noblewoman in Medieval times to hunt small birds. They are still used by falconers today.