Copyrighted photo courtesy of Barb Deihl – two of the babies 10 days after they fledged.
On June 20 our Pinehurst Pet was a wild Merlin falcon, Spike. At that time she and her partner Thor were thought to be nesting in our neighborhood for the second year in a row. Well, news flash! They WERE nesting, and they had 5 babies! All summer neighbors and visiting birders had thrills and chills watching the babies start to pop their white heads above the huge nest, start to move around, turn darker, start to REALLY move around and jostle each other precariously near the edge of the nest, and finally start to perch outside the nest and then fly, all under the watchful eyes of their parents. It was also exciting watching the parents make mid-air prey transfers prior to feeding the babies. And there were very dramatic moments when the small parents bravely chased away the occasional larger eagle, great blue heron and crow – many crows, actually.
For me, even more rewarding than the considerable joy of watching a little bit of amazing wildlife in our urban setting, was the opportunity it brought for meeting and socializing with neighbors and visiting birders. Almost every evening there was a small – or large – crowd attracted to the scopes and binocular-strung watchers. It was so much fun when a neighbor stopped to ask what was going on and was invited to take a peek through a powerful scope. Those little Merlins made the neighborhood a friendlier place. And with people out and about all the time, it was a safer place, too.
The babies have flown off now, and we’re seeing a lot less of the parents. But hope is high that Spike and Thor will return this spring, find a suitable abandoned crow’s nest in the ‘hood, and treat us to another wonderful season of friendship, neighborhood cohesion, and the warm reminder that wildlife CAN coexist with us in the big city. An important feature of our neighborhood that enables the Merlins to thrive is the existence of our beautiful tall fir trees. We’re very lucky to have these trees and we should do all we can to keep them. There is new information about the Merlins in the Pinehurst Pocket Park kiosk, which includes contact information if you have questions about them or tree conservation. Or contact Audubon volunteer Barbara Deihl at barbdeihl@comcast.net.
