We see Coopers Hawks pretty regularly in Seattle's Central District, so that's what I expected to see this morning when I went out to investigate the unmistakable sounds of a bird in distress. Instead, I found a Merlin (almost certain of this, despite the low light conditions, because it was just so much smaller than a Coopers), with a starling pinned to the ground. No shortage of starlings and house sparrows in this part of the city, so hopefully Merlins are starting to nest around here. It was too dark, and the bird was moving too fast, for me to see if it had a tag, but I'll keep my binocs handy in case they show up again. Merlin: 1 Starling: 0

Jill