Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Garden Guest: Merlin Falcon


 The north side of our front yard is a certified National Wildlife Federation Backyard Habitat. Really! We have a certificate! It is so much fun to see all of the critters that stop by for a visit. I'm beginning a new series of posts to show you our Garden Guests.
 
This week's guest is causing some controversy around our home.  It is a Merlin Falcon.  When we first noticed them in our yard, they were catching mice from our wood pile as the mice would go under the bird feeders to gather seeds.  While beautiful, the falcon is now using my bird feeders as a buffet table.  I am not pleased about that, but Handsome Husband says he is a bird, too.
 
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 These photos were taken thru my kitchen and dining room windows.  They are sort of fuzzy.

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He is standing over a European Starling that was eaten on the spot.  I know, right?

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My husband finds this guest fascinating, but I kind of want to tell him to 'Beat It'!  
 
Yes, that's my seque into Tuesday Tunes.  What song is running thru your mind today?  Well, grab it and link it over at Holli's Hoots and Hollers or Outside the Frame !

Michael Jackson, Beat It

 
Suddenly, I want to dance to 'Thriller'.  Does anyone (besides me) remember when the Thriller video first came on MTV?
 
;-)  -Marci
 


12 comments:

  1. Nature is such an amazing thing. A couple years ago my daughter and I were out for a walk and we heard a commotion in the trees. From out of the branches shot a dove, followed closely by a Redtail Hawk (they're plentiful out here). The dove managed to elude the hawk for a few minutes, but not in the end. The amazing thing was our vantage point. They flew in closer and closer circles around us and were probably only about 6 feet overhead when the hawk took the dove right out of the air. It was incredible. The hawk immediately settled in a nearby tree and de-feathered the dove before eating it. Definitely one of those circle-of-life nature moments! Thanks for sharing your pictures. I'm with your husband. I think they're fascinating to see. :-)

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  2. Hmmmmmm....I'm with you...I like my birds and I like feeding them, but I don't want to feel like my bird feeders are now just bait for a hawk's meal. I think I would be looking for what animal/bird is the enemy of that hawk in the food chain!

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  3. That falcon is AWESOME!!!! I'm with your husband on this one. I would love that he eats from my bird feeder.
    Michael Jackson is IT. I am including many of his songs on my wedding playlist.

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  4. your place is amazing! great post!

    cheers,
    Zina (efzin-creations.blogspot.com)

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  5. The birds are absolutely one of the best parts of my yard. We get all kinds and every January (during the migration) they are all over. We have one owl that I used to love. He would just sit in the trees and look down at us. I loved him until he started swooping in at our daughter. He did it several times and the only thing we could think was that her pony-tail maybe looked like a small animal bouncing around (?). After that, we started chasing him away... but the other birds are still a lot of fun!

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  6. Ugh. I mean, he is a wonderful bird, and yet...watching him 'get' the others is not exactly what you want. One winter we had alot of snow and I recall going through the same thing with a hawk. He'd be there and next you know there would be red bird feathers everywhere. I started to chase him off.

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  7. It's a pretty bird but I agree about it being a nuisance and needing to beat it! We had so many sweet little birds then the big cowbirds discovered my feeders and ran all the others away :(

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  8. How amazing to have so much nature in your own yard (I am not that lucky ;))

    thanks for linking up to Super Sunday! Hope you come back this week and bring us another great one ;)

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  9. How cool Marci! We have hawks that live in the big cottonwood tree behind our house as well as a coyote family. Fascinating to watch them! Thanks for sharing this at the party this week! I will be featuring it later today on my Facebook page and have pinned it to the You're Gonna Love It Tuesday board on Pinterest :-)

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  10. As a chicken-keeper, these are the types of photos that send shivers up my spine! They're gorgeous birds, but lethal, no doubt.

    Thanks for linking up with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  11. Beautiful bird! (Thanks for co-hosting!)

    I finally made it back from my trip so my comments are late...
    Thanks for sharing at Tuesdays with a Twist! Looking forward to seeing what you share this week!

    http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com/2013/06/tuesdays-with-twist-12-with-more-guests.html

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  12. Great pictures.... but I hope he stays away from my chickens! lol

    Thanks for linking up with Green Thumb Thursday. I hope you'll stop back again this week!

    Lisa

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