Great morning on my Discovery Park walk. Had my first of season Hermit Thrush and Fox Sparrow (one singing) and a lot of other nice activity including a juvenile White-throated Sparrow. Near the treetops where the Lewis's Woodpeckers were seen earlier this month was a Merlin. The first time I saw it it took off after a Cooper's Hawk. Later when I circled around to the same spot it was in the snag of the snag-top Doug Fir in the area, feuding with 2-3 Steller's Jays. It would start chasing the Jays while it and the Jays were perched within a few feet or less of each other, and the Jay's would spiral downward around the tree trunk to escape. Every once in a while the Merlin would take a long loop to gain speed and make a pass at the perching Steller's Jays, with no success. Here's a photo (iPhone through binos, so not great) of one staredown:?http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgunn/8030900480/in/photostream. They birds were all about the same size.

--Jordan Gunn
Seattle, WA
uwjag21 at at yahoo dot com