Merlins in the Field

     This spring I've been doing field observations of the Coastal Forest Merlin (Falco columbarius suckleyi).  You can find out more about this small falcon, including vocalizations and life cycle, by clicking on the link to the Merlin Falcon Foundation website.  Personally, I find this little falcon to be a huge amount of kinetic energy squeezed into a small body.  The Merlin's diet consists of small birds, usually caught on the wing.  Its courtship, territoriality, vocalizations, and hunting are all dramatic. 

  Female Merlin

     

There is another small falcon in this region: the American Kestrel, Falco sparverius.  It is the smallest of our  Falconidae, but to me, the most colorful.  This little guy is often seen hunting for large insects or small rodents.  I have seen one eating a vole and another Kestrel catching a small Garter Snake.

Male Kestrel

We also have Peregrine Falcons, some that winter in the Skagit Valley and some that migrate thousands of miles south...as far as South America.  For a few years, I helped take care of this non-releasable Peregrine at Sardis Raptor Center (See link to their website.)  This particular bird was always on the alert and became excited easily.

Falco peregrinus

Audubon Print of Peregrine Falcons

Back to Merlins.  The sequence of photos that follows shows two activities that are typical for this time of year: 1. preening. 2. territorial squabbles with crows.

1.  Preening.  This part of the breeding season, the female is testing the male to see if he is a good provider or not.  She hunts less and less and waits for her mate to deliver prey items to her.  She often preens, while waiting.  The male and female are already mating and should start nesting and laying eggs before the end of this month.  The male will hunt for his mate, his nestlings, and himself from now until the young become fledglings and disperse in late-summer. 

Female Merlin Preening

The male Merlin is smaller and darker than the female.  Perhaps this is why this subspecies has also been called the Black Merlin.  This male, below, just attempted a prey delivery to the female.  The prey exchange is extremely fast, like a hand-off in football.  Sometimes, they fumble and the prey item, which took considerable energy to obtain, tumbles to the forest floor.  Nobody is perfect, not even agile falcons.

  Male Merlin

2. Territoriality.  Merlins do not make their own nests.  They reuse old corvid nests.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, that means nests built by crows.  Naturally, there are territorial battles between crows and Merlins.  Sometimes crows, building their new nests, find that they are neighbors of Merlins, who are using old crow nests.  The crows try to drive out the Merlins and the Merlins resist harassment, sometimes chasing the crows.  Eventually, both crows and Merlins may stop the mutual aggression, as they concentrate on their young.

Female Merlin on a Prominent Perch

Photos taken at 300 meters

The crow attacks the female Merlin.  You can see the crow's left wing, as the crow flies by.

The female Merlin looks up as the crow readies itself to dive (stoop) on her.

The crow tries to drive the Merlin off her perch.

The Crow makes another pass and the Merlin has been driven off the perch.

The female Merlin has gone into the tree and the crow is staring at her.

When the crow left, the female Merlin returned to her perch to wait for the male, who was off hunting.  She  endured several attacks for more than an hour, before her mate returned with food.  One of the attacks was carried out by two crows, probably mates.   As you can see, both Coastal Forest Merlins and Northwest Crows live their lives intensely.  

Semiahmoo: Long-Tailed Ducks, Black Brants, and Scoters

On Saturday, April 7th, I went back to Semiahmoo, near the Canadian border.  I had the good fortune of meeting a friendly group of birders from the North Cascade Audubon Club.  They were happily looking at sea ducks: Long-Tailed Ducks and Surf Scoters.

Long-Tailed Ducks are not commonly seen, unless you spend a lot of time on open water.  Their winter range stretches from the coast of Alaska to the coast of Washington.  Possibly, a few of these sea ducks may get as far south as northern Oregon.  Californians?  Forget seeing them.  The summer breeding territory is in fresh-water ponds in the high tundra of Alaska and the northern territories of Canada.  Like Eider ducks, they line their nests with their down feathers.  I felt fortunate to be seeing them.   

Male Long-tailed Duck, with characteristic long tail feathers

The leader of the Audubon fieldtrip was Paul Woodcock.  He was very knowledgeable and willing to answer my questions.  We watched as the Long-Tailed Ducks repeatedly dived.  Paul explained that they dive as deep as 200 feet (60 meters) and frequently drown in fishing nets.  After I got home, I read in my field guides that they winter near mussel beds and feed on these mollusks.  When they arrive at the mussel beds, the young learn the locations of their food source by watching their elders.

My reading led to more questions than answers.  These ducks certainly are not diving for mussels at a 200 foot depth.  Mussels are intertidal and litoral filter feeders.  Also, they must have a different food source in the summer breeding areas, since they are nesting on freshwater ponds in the tundra.  One other factor should be considered.  Mussels and other mollusks are frequently poisonous in the summer, due to absorption of the 'red-tide' phytoplankton.  It would be an evolutionary advantage to have another food source during that season.

Long-Tailed Ducks are unique in having three distinct plumages per year: a breeding plumage (mostly black or very dark brown), a non-breeding, winter plumage (conspicuous white or pale markings on the head) and an 'eclipse' plumage (which means dull colored, post-breeding plumage).  Males have long central retrices (tail feathers), while females lack the long tail and their plumage is generally less dramatic than the male.  

Male, with Non-Breeding Plumage

 

The Long-Tailed Ducks were a surprise for me, but I fully expected to see Surf Scoters and was not disappointed.  Surf Scoters are common sea ducks.  They also are a diving duck, seeking out mollusks and also crustaceans, like small crabs.  The males have a striking bill and forehead, which can be seen in this photo.

Male Surf Scoter

The females are almost a monotone, dark brown.  Scoters, like many ducks are monogamous.

Surf Scoter Female and Male

Long-Tailed Ducks in Winter Plumage

One of the three Long-Tailed Ducks is showing long tail feathers.  It is male.

With spring having arrived, ducks are actively displaying to attract mates, to strengthen pair-bonds, and to challenge other contenders.  Often, several male Long-Tails will try to court the same female.  Like many ducks, they will dip their head in the water and toss their head back or they will half rise out of the water and flap their wings.

Displaying Long-Tailed Duck

Displaying Long-Tailed Duck

Long-Tailed Duck

It was such a rich day for the Anatidae, which includes geese and ducks, and swans.  I counted over 80 Brants (a sea goose) at one location, near Semiahmoo.  Brants rely on eel grass for their living.  They were feeding on the marine grass in shallow waters.  

As a student, I had to do a necropsy on a Brant that died in the Santa Barbara oil spill, so I have a special feeling for these birds.  

Black Brant

Flock of Black Brants

I also saw a Yellow-Billed Loon, NOT related to ducks or geese.  This bird was in its summer plumage, riding low in the water.  It is also a diving bird, eating a wide variety of small creatures.  

If you wish to learn more about Semiahmoo and its bird population, go to my blog posting of 11/1/11: Fall Migration at Semiahmoo and Birch Bay.