The prairie merlin (Falco columbarius richardsonii) soars above the waving grasslands of southern Saskatchewan.
Merlins are adept flyers and can manoeuvre very well. Merlins hunt mostly small birds, attacking them in mid-air, usually with a swift turns and chases but they don’t dive in the air that much. They often perch from height and then hunt down their prey when they spot it. They eat mostly shorebirds and songbirds. They sometimes hunt flying insects and occasionally hunt small mammals. As merlins are falcons, they attack their prey with their beaks as well as their talons. The most distinctive call for a merlin is a chittering, high pitched kee-kee-kee sound. Males make a higher pitched call than females. Merlins use other vocalizations for various other things such as to defend food sources or to show agitation. Merlins are mostly solitary. They come together to breed and raise their young. Once their young leave the nest, they usually go back to their solitary lifestyle.
This pair were raising their young in an area of native grass, near a water source and a coulee with some brush, ideal habitat for the adult pair! These Merlins will likely winter with our neighbours to the south, then return to Canada next summer.
Merlins become sexually mature and start breeding at about 1-3 years. The male does flying displays in the air to attract a mate then delivers food and shows the female a suitable nesting site. They usually will stay together for the breeding season but do not mate for life. Merlins don’t build their own nests, rather they reuse old nests of other birds (such as crow, magpie or hawk). The female lays 2-5 eggs and they hatch at the same time after 28-32 days. The young stay in the nest for 25-30 days, both partners gather food but it’s the female that does most of the feeding. After that period, they leave the nest, learning to fly and other skills as they stay close to the nest for another 50-60 days. After this, the young will leave their parents and be on their own, as they are mostly solitary. #PrairieMerlins #Raptors #Prairies #Merlin
