I see merlins all the time in Mt. Vernon, I was in fact watching a little
passage male half-heartidly attacking flocks of starlings and blackbirds all
morning. He's a very fast and agile little guy. Also in the area were two
passage female merlins. The male tends to hunt the particular area
consistantly, he hunts along side a peregrine and a passage female cooper's
hawk too, although they tend to move around a lot. I have merlins visit my
area in Arlington and in Bothell, had one all year in Bothell. Have some
merlins hunt for days in Arlington by my house taking waxwings, finches,
siskins etc. Last winter on the Sammish Flats, I saw a female Richardson's
Merlin. I belive it was a passage, I'd have to check my notes. They're all
over the place, you want to study them, the flats in Skagit County are the
best.

Blake Iverson
Arlington, WA
coopershwk at hotmail.com

_________________________________________________________________
See when your friends are online with MSN Messenger 6.0. Download it now
FREE! http://msnmessenger-download.com