{"id":57418,"date":"2019-04-24T05:28:19","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T11:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=57418"},"modified":"2024-02-15T03:42:42","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T10:42:42","slug":"two-merlins-were-my-best-finds-of-the-day-at-bear-river-mbr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/04\/24\/two-merlins-were-my-best-finds-of-the-day-at-bear-river-mbr\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Merlins Were My Best Finds Of The Day At Bear River MBR"},"content":{"rendered":"

There isn’t a single day in the field where I take my eyesight and my keen spotting abilities for granted and yesterday those attributes netted me not one but two Merlins while I was at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.<\/p>\n

\"MerlinMerlin with prey on the marsh at Bear River MBR – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

When I spotted the first Merlin in flight, I suspected that it was a female American Kestrel flying with prey because I see kestrels more often at the refuge. But when the falcon landed and I was able to get it in my viewfinder, I was surprised and delighted to see a Merlin with prey instead.<\/p>\n

I guess my eyes saw the lighter-colored breast of the Merlin, so my brain first registered “female kestrel” instead of Merlin. I haven’t seen all that many Merlins on the refuge, though, and usually when I do, it is winter, not spring, so I understand why my birdy brain cells reacted the way they did.<\/p>\n

After pointing out the Merlin, I discovered that she was further away than I would have liked. She seemed to glow like a feathered beacon from the ground due to the newly emerging spring vegetation and the darkness of the burn scar from phragmites mitigation that occurred last year on the refuge.<\/p>\n

Any day that I find and photograph a Merlin is a great day…<\/p>\n

\"MerlinMerlin perched next to the Bear River – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2500, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

But the day wasn’t done, and I was even more surprised to spot a second Merlin a bit more than 6 miles away, as the crow flies, from the first one that I found. The second Merlin was perched in a small tree next to the Bear River, and at first, my brain registered “Cooper’s” because of the habitat.<\/p>\n

But again, I was thrilled to discover and point out a Merlin looking back towards me when the vehicle stopped, and I was able to get my lens on it.<\/p>\n

The setting was a bit messy, and the sun was more than a little bit high, though anytime I have a Merlin in view, I will take images if I can.<\/p>\n

I don’t recall ever having a two-Merlin day at the refuge or in the state of Utah! Merlins don’t breed in the state, so I thought both of these Merlins were a bit late migrating. But after looking on eBird, I became aware that they are sighted here as late as the last week in May.<\/p>\n

A two Merlin day at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> yesterday isn’t what I was expecting. But then, whenever I am out in the field looking for birds, I do expect the unexpected, so it works for me.<\/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":"

There isn’t a single day in the field where I take my eyesight and my keen spotting abilities for granted and yesterday those attributes netted me not one but two Merlins while I was at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,27,1148,1182,26],"tags":[4004,4529,2663,4297,12623,4078,4279,4094,4296,4295,4104,4233,4106,153,5558,165,4851,4095],"class_list":["post-57418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-merlins","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-bear-river","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-falco-columbarius","tag-falco-columbarius-richardsonii","tag-falcon","tag-falcons","tag-marsh","tag-merlin","tag-merlins","tag-perched","tag-prairie","tag-prey","tag-raptors","tag-river","tag-spring","tag-surprise","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-spring-prey-mia-mcpherson-3009.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-eW6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":98010,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/12\/07\/merlin-on-a-large-wooden-post-at-bear-river-mbr\/","url_meta":{"origin":57418,"position":0},"title":"Merlin On A Large Wooden Post At Bear River MBR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week I spotted a Merlin perched on a large wooden post way out in the marsh at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Bald Eagles"","block_context":{"text":"Bald Eagles","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/diurnal-raptors\/bald-eagle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Merlin on a large wooden post, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/merlin-at-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-6956.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/merlin-at-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-6956.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Prairie Merlin on a wooden post, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-male-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-4453.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-male-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-4453.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-male-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-4453.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-male-fence-post-mia-mcpherson-4453.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":59469,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/08\/13\/poof-utahs-merlins-could-disappear\/","url_meta":{"origin":57418,"position":2},"title":"Poof: Utah’s Merlins Could Disappear","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"In my experience Merlins are already hard to find in the state of Utah but because of our climate crisis they could become even more difficult to locate or they might even disappear from the state altogether.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Merlin with prey at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-marsh-with-prey-mia-mcpherson-3052.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-marsh-with-prey-mia-mcpherson-3052.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-marsh-with-prey-mia-mcpherson-3052.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-marsh-with-prey-mia-mcpherson-3052.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16472,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/11\/01\/prairie-merlin\/","url_meta":{"origin":57418,"position":3},"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, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-perched-prey-mia-mcpherson-8255.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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Merlins are used to be called \"pigeon hawks\" because their shape and flight patterns are similar to pigeons.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"High key Merlin, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-mia-mcpherson-8382.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-mia-mcpherson-8382.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-mia-mcpherson-8382.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/merlin-mia-mcpherson-8382.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28246,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/09\/13\/a-centennial-valley-merlin\/","url_meta":{"origin":57418,"position":5},"title":"Centennial Valley Merlin","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I don't often have the opportunity to photograph Merlins so I was plenty excited to find one yesterday on the South Valley Road in the Centennial Valley that stuck around for a bit!","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 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 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}