Merlin, Hendersonville Yard, April 3, 2020

When I moved to the mountains of North Carolina I needed both Peregrine Falcon and Merlin for my NC state list.  And that was also the case in SC.  But over time I slowly started to run into these Falcons.  In NC I found Peregrine twice, and in SC I’ve been successful in finding Merlin 3 different times.  Hmm… - multiple Peregrines in NC but no Merlin, and multiple Merlins in SC but no Peregrine.  I guess it would be too much to ask to get at least 1 of each species in each state. 

Since neither species is a rarity in the region, I wasn’t too worried that I’d eventually get all 4 “ticks” for my lists.  In fact, I would often receive eBird Needs Alerts for Merlin in NC and Peregrine in SC, reminding me that they are regular in the area.  Some of the NC Merlins were close to home, and I ended up chasing after birds in no less than 4 different reports, unfortunately all unsuccessfully.  And that’s despite the fact that 2 of my searches were within a couple hours of the birds first being spotted.  Perhaps Merlin had become somewhat of a nemesis bird for me in NC.  Since they don’t often hang around for long, I figured I’d just have to find one on my own somewhere along the line.  I even half-heartedly thought I’d find one in my yard.  After all I had a Kestrel stop by once last Fall.

Speaking of my yard – birding continues to be spectacular here!  Though my lot is just 0.8 acres, it is nicely situated on an isolated mountain (Lewis Mountain) covered in deciduous woodlands.  And adjacent to me is a small farm, including a nice mix of field, orchard, and hedgerow habitat.  That provides quite a diverse set of habitats for birds to call their home within earshot of my backyard deck.  Additionally, Lewis Mountain is surrounded by agricultural areas, making it an oasis of woodlands that could concentrate migrant passerines searching for natural habitats as they pass through.  As a result, as of the end of March my yard list was up to 101 species, even though I’ve only lived here for 7 months. 

During these days of isolation due to the corona virus I’ve been spending quite a bit of time birding from my deck.  Most days I’ll spend 3-4 hours doing what amounts to a “Big Sit”, getting 30 to 35 species most days in late March and early April.  And then mid-afternoon on April 3rd I looked up at just the right time to spot a small raptor flying overhead at treetop level.  I quickly got the bird in my binocs and realized I had my NC-first Merlin.  Yard bird #102, and NC statebird #289.  And it was the 8th species where I spotted my state-first bird in my yard.

My statebird map for Merlin is inserted below.  States highlighted in blue are those where I’ve seen this species; cross-hatched states are those where it is regular though I've yet to see it.  This is a wide-ranging species, though uncommon to rare in many areas.  As a result, I still need Merlin in quite a number of states especially in the center of the country.  

And now an update on my yard list:  As of April 16th my yard list is up to 111, including 26 warbler species.  It’s been a good spring migration so far.  Since the Merlin, I’ve added the following species –

4/5/20 - Rough-winged Swallow, Black Vulture

4/6/20 - Great Blue Heron

4/8/20 - Common Loon (a nice flyover bird in breeding plumage), and Prairie Warbler

4/14/20 - Worm-eating Warbler, Palm Warbler, and Red-shouldered Hawk

4/16/20 - Orange-crowned Warbler

A silver lining to these times of self-isolation – there’s more time to spend on back yard birding.  And it sure helps when birding in your yard can be so productive!