Subject: [Tweeters] Merlin Study: Call for sightings and banded merlin
Date: Apr 17 22:59:46 2014
From: Benjamin Johnson - tiger80 at hotmail.com


Hello All. I'm conducting a study
on merlins in Seattle and surrounding areas. Specifically, my project
investigates merlin nest success and productivity, nest site landscape
characteristics, site and pair fidelity, merlin annual movements, and juvenile dispersal. This
is a request for merlin sightings and banded merlin resightings. If any
of you are interested in reporting merlin sightings in support of this
study it would be greatly appreciated, and undoubtedly valuable to
the project.



I'd be interested in any merlin
sightings (banded or unbanded) throughout Seattle and surrounding suburbs from
now through July. Merlins displaying potential nesting activities would
be especially valuable, but any sightings are useful.



In addition, resightings of
color-banded merlins would be very valuable information any time of year.
In most circumstances a spotting scope will be necessary to determine if
a merlin is color-banded, and probably be needed in all circumstances to read
the code on the band. Color-banded merlins will have a band on each leg,
the standard USGS silver aluminum band on one leg, and the color band on the
other. Colors are either red or blue. Red bands are coded with a
two-digit white number read left to right (such as 03, 14, and 35). Blue
bands are coded with two-character letters and read top to bottom (the letters
are stacked one on top of the other). Such
as K over L, or M over X. Any information about the band is useful.
For example, if you saw a red band but couldn't read the code, or read
only one of the two characters, that information will still be useful to me.



If any of you notify me of your
merlin sightings (banded or otherwise), I will be sure to keep the information
you give me confidential out of respect for the birds, the neighborhood
residents, and tweeters etiquette. You can reach me at the email below.



Thank you, your help is greatly
appreciated.



Ben Vang-Johnson

Seattle, WA

bvjohnson87 at gmail.com