See a Peregrine? Thank a Falconer: October 2021

Monday, October 25, 2021

Falconer Helps with a Merlin surviving the odds by having feathers repaired.

From falconer/ Photographer Robert Palmer: A few days ago, I photographed a wild merlin taking off from a pole at a local feed lot. When I looked at the photo, I noticed that a few feathers on her left wing were missing. I called my friend and told him about her and the next morning he trapped her and then imped (replaced the damaged feathers with ones from another bird that had moulted the feathers) in new feathers. Lo and behold, the following day, I saw her on the same pole. You could recognize her because my friend put a small band on the leg. She had a sparrow and then flew off after eating the sparrow. She will have a much better chance at surviving the winter now with a new set of feathers.