Thank you to Keith Brady, Evan Houston, and Denny Grandstrand, who
independently emailed to tell me that my photographs are of a Merlin
rather than a Sharpie. My photography skills are generally better
than my identification skills, and I had not seen enough Merlins in
my life (one previously) to have a sense of the gestalt of what they
look like.

The location high on the branch of a tree in the open should have
been a clue, as usually I have seen Sharp-shinned Hawks perching
lower, and within or on the edge of a forest rather than in the open.
The Merlin was interesting to photograph, in that it completely
ignored my presence while I was taking the pictures, in the open, on
the deck, about 60 feet away. It was there for about two hours late
on a January afternoon.

The only other Merlin I have seen and identified was at Seney
National Wildlife Refuge in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It was
similarly perched at the top of a dead pine. (By the way, if you've
never been to Seney and to Michigan's Whitefish Point Bird
Observatory, you've missed out on some spectacular birding!).

My brother lives in Chugiak, Alaska, a suburb of Anchorage. For two
springs and summers, he had a Merlin nesting in his yard, which drew
birders from all over the region to see it. He couldn't care less
about birds, but tolerated the birders and the enjoyed the fact that
he had a relatively rare falcon in the yard he shares with moose and
bears.

I am really glad that this forum exists for sharing information.

You can seen the original Merlin pictures with my updated captions at
http://leerentz.wordpress.com

Lee Rentz
Shelton, WA, USA
lee at leerentz.com