Merlin

Sitting in the local park I heard a hawk or what I thought to be a hawk.  Hawks do not sound like Crows, but Crows can mimic hawks.  After listening to the BirdWeb.org bird sounds.  It was a Merlin! 


I've said that there was a Merlin flying around here and actually saw one in my yard a few years ago - swooping down from a treetop and picking up a Junco for lunch.  He flew right in front of me and then turned and flew up between the trees. Watching him was an awesome sight because it appeared that the bird was going to plummet straight into the ground before he picked up the unsuspecting Junco.

The Merlin was sitting in the tree top above the nearby ravine.  I could not see his coloring as the sun did not light him from my position on the ground.  He was sitting on the top of the tree calling and calling for several minutes before he flew back into trees around the ravine.