Hi Tweeters,

Having just read Steve Mlodivow's e-mail, I looked at Merlin sections
of Brian Wheeler's "Raptors of Western North American" and the large
Sibley field guide.

I photographed a Merlin on the power pole in our backyard southwest
of the Yakima airport on March 6, 2006. After I loaded these photos
on my website, Steve e-mailed me to say the photos were of a Prairie
Merlin. The photos can be seen at:

http://www.granstrand.net/gallery/album44

Scroll down to the folder titled "Prairie Merlins in the Yakima
Valley". You will also see photos of Boreals, which Sibley calls Taiga.

Wheeler calls the Prairie subspecies Richardson's Merlins. Sibley
uses Prairie. I will use Prairie here. The maps in Wheeler show
Prairies being more widespread in Eastern Washington than Boreals. I
think Boreals are much more common, at least in the Yakima area, than
are Prairies. Wheeler's map for Boreals appears to follow the Yakima
River through our area. Just because the map shows a more widespread
wintering area does not mean that subspecies is more common. I have
seen many Boreals in the Yakima area, including several I have
photographed on our street, but only two Prairies. The only Black
Merlin I have seen in Central Washington was in Sunnyside in early
2006 but I didn't have a camera with me.

Denny Granstrand
Yakima
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Denny Granstrand *
* Yakima, WA *
* dgranstrand at charter.net *
* Denny's bird photos can be seen online at: *
http://granstrand.net/gallery/