{"id":15821,"date":"2014-09-13T03:41:51","date_gmt":"2014-09-13T09:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=15821"},"modified":"2024-02-15T03:29:42","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T10:29:42","slug":"merlin-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/09\/13\/merlin-magic\/","title":{"rendered":"Merlin Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PerchedPerched Merlin – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1\/160, ISO 1000, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Just a short Merlin post today from my Montana trip, a teaser for the images I will soon be posting. Fog, the rising sun and a falcon on a post equated to a bit of Merlin Magic in the Centennial Valley.<\/p>\n

The Merlin probably felt the cold (11\u00b0F) far less than I did as I photographed it but I almost certain it made the Merlin stickier than it would have been if the temps had been warmer.<\/p>\n

From AllAboutBirds.org:<\/p>\n

Medieval European noblewomen\u2014including Catherine the Great and Mary Queen of Scots\u2014used Merlins for sport to hunt Skylarks. European and North American falconers continue to work with Merlins, hunting quarry that ranges from sparrow-sized to dove-sized.<\/em><\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Merlin photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just a short Merlin post today from my Montana trip, a teaser for the images I will soon be posting. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1513,27,223,1182,12],"tags":[2663,4142,4297,12623,4078,4279,4175,4296,4295,4104,11852,153,2315,5434],"class_list":["post-15821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-avian","category-centennial-valley","category-merlins","category-montana","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-close-up","tag-falco-columbarius","tag-falco-columbarius-richardsonii","tag-falcon","tag-falcons","tag-fog","tag-merlin","tag-merlins","tag-perched","tag-ranchlands","tag-raptors","tag-summer-3","tag-valley"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/merlin-low-light-thumbnail-mia-mcpherson-6640.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-47b","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16472,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/11\/01\/prairie-merlin\/","url_meta":{"origin":15821,"position":0},"title":"Prairie Merlin","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I saw a fleeting glimpse of a bird a few days ago that I suspect was a Merlin that migrated to winter here in Utah and it inspired me to post a few Merlin images today.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Merlin and prey, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-perched-prey-mia-mcpherson-8255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-perched-prey-mia-mcpherson-8255.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Merlin and its prey in the Centennial Valley of Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-prey-mia-mcpherson-9498.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-prey-mia-mcpherson-9498.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-prey-mia-mcpherson-9498.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-prey-mia-mcpherson-9498.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-prey-fog-mia-mcpherson-8306.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-prey-fog-mia-mcpherson-8306.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-prey-fog-mia-mcpherson-8306.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-prey-fog-mia-mcpherson-8306.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37101,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/03\/14\/a-merlin-in-southwestern-montana\/","url_meta":{"origin":15821,"position":3},"title":"Merlin in Southwestern Montana","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Last September I was able to observe and photograph a Merlin in southwestern Montana over a period of several days.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Merlin lifting off from a fence post in the Centennial Valley of Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-5315.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-5315.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-lift-off-mia-mcpherson-5315.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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