April 2009

Swans swimming in a sunlit slough.

We live in the middle of a migration corridor, so we see all kinds of birds in the spring and fall. Many come and go, but some just pass on through. Among those who stay the summer are the geese, ducks and swans. The swans are so striking. When they fly over, they don’t honk, there’s just the deep swooshing of their wings working hard to keep these huge birds aloft. They nest in pairs and it’s unusual to see more than a handful at a time in summer, but when they are migrating, they can be found in large groups.

We rarely see so many swans at one time except during migration.

These swans are obviously used to civilization.

I’ve found swans to be quite shy, but this couple was obviously used to traffic. They were right at the side of the road in Camrose and all I had to do was roll down the window to take their picture.

Merlin feathers stuck to the window.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and when I looked I saw a clump of feathers stuck to the big window. At first I couldn’t see the bird that had hit it, but eventually I spotted a small hawk sprawled on the ground. It was wet and bedraggled from the rain that was still falling.

Bedraggled Merlin resting in a box.

I ran and got a newspaper lined box and went outside. Amazingly, the Merlin was still alive, though breathing hard. Quietly, I scooped it up and put it in the box, then brought the box inside and set it in a quiet place.

Wet Merlin looking a bit better.

I left him for about 2 hours before checking on him again. He was doing better, but still in rough shape. He ended up sleeping most of the day, even after I replaced the top of the box with a wire grate. He looked so cute with his head tucked back, but I didn’t want to disturb him, so I didn’t take a picture.

Baloo covered in the strange snowball-like clumps that fell from the sky.

The rain ended up turning to snow, so it was a good thing he had a warm dry place to recover. The snow was rather odd, because it came down in large clumps that were more like snowballs than flakes.

Merlins can be used in falconry and if I didn’t have a busy summer ahead of me, I think I would have tried it. Unfortunately, a major part of their diet is sparrows. I told Rumplepuff and Cheeboop that I was harboring their enemy.

Perky Merlin ready for freedom.

By late in the day, the Merlin finally started moving around in the box and eventually tried to fly out which was the sign he was feeling better. We took the box outside and opened the lid. It didn’t take long before the Merlin launched out, flew high up into the trees and was gone.