Subject: merlins
Date: Dec 19 08:46:37 2000
From: mail to:jbroadus at seanet.com - jbroadus at seanet.com


Jerry and i were down at the Tacoma waterfront Sunday around 4:30- it was
getting dark on a cloudy day so the light wasn't very good. We were hanging
around the general area where the loon has been sighted (did not see) and
watching the starlings swirl around and about half went under a restaurant to
roost in the pier pilings. the other half of the flock were acting kind of
spooky. A few minutes later I noticed a raptor perched across the road in a
tall tree uphill and in the scope it looked like a Merlin. Streaky with a dark
head. Sure enough he took off when the skyrats got close and I called out to
Jerry "Falcon!" and to look through his binoculars. The bird I am watching
swoops through the flock twice and comes up with an evening snack. Jerry
missed the whole thing because he was watching a second Merlin who was
circling, and then proceeded to dive the bird with the meal and attacked.
They both disappeared behind the hill, fighting over the starling.
I though it odd that the second bird would try to snatch the meal, when it has
to be hazardous to take on a fighting machine your own size. There was
plenty of other prey and it took the first bird a total of about 15 seconds to
catch that starling.

Clarice Clark
Puyallup, WA. 98371
mailto:jbroadus at seanet.com