Merlin populations soar in the Adirondacks

One of 3 falcon species that nest in New York, ‘Lady’s hawks” are making a comeback

By Joan Collins

After declining in North America through the middle of the 20th century because of pesticide use, merlin populations began to rise in the 1970s. The first verified New York nesting occurred in Saranac Lake in 1992, and the bird has been increasing in population ever since.

Merlin is one of three falcon species that nest in New York. American kestrel, the colorful one, is the smallest at 9 inches in length with a 22-inch wingspan. 

Merlins are slightly larger at 10-inches in length with a 24-inch wingspan, still a relatively small falcon, but much heavier and faster than a kestrel. Peregrine falcons are the largest at 16 inches in length with a 41-inch wingspan.

Merlins were not confirmed breeders in the state during the first New York State Breeding Bird Atlas (1980-1985). Partners in Flight estimates the population of the species in the United States and Canada has tripled between 1970 and 2014.

It is a Holarctic species that breeds in the northern forests and prairies of North America, Europe, and Asia. With the expansion in population since 1970, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine now represent the southern edge of the breeding range in eastern North America with most of its population across Canada.

The birds used to be called “pigeon hawks” since they resembled pigeons in flight. Their species name, columbarius, means “of doves” in Latin. Merlin comes from “esmerillon” an old French word meaning “merlin, small hawk.”

Medieval falconers called them “Lady’s Hawk,” a prized small raptor that hunted skylarks and other birds in Europe. The use of merlins in falconry to capture larks continues in Great Britain, despite public pressure to stop.

Nine subspecies exist for merlin with three occurring in North America. New York birds are the “taiga” subspecies.

Taiga males are blackish-gray to pale blue-gray while females are brown. Both have dark tails with a white terminal band and three lighter bands. They have dark brown irises, bluish bills with a dark tip and a yellow cere, chrome yellow legs and feet with black talons, weak mustache and thin white eyebrows and heavy dark streaks below. Females, as with many raptor species, are larger than males. 

Rather than build their own, merlins use abandoned corvid or hawk nests. In the mountain areas of the Adirondacks, I frequently find them nesting in white pine trees near water. They also nest in urban areas of the state.

In spring, merlins arrive in mid-March to mid-April. They are monogamous and have one brood per season, laying four to five eggs. 

When I discover fledglings, there are typically four lined up on a branch in a dead tree waiting to be fed. Fledglings are dependent on adults for up to four weeks, “branching” near their nest site.

Anyone who has experienced living by nesting merlins knows their shrill, insistent, high-pitched “ki-ki-ki-kee” calls.

Birds and dragonflies are their main food, captured mid-air while flying up to 30 mph. Merlins kill prey with a bite to the neck and use their feet to hold their quarry for feeding. On average, they capture 2.2 birds a day and discard the head, feathers, legs and wings.

A resident of St. Lawrence County once described a fascinating merlin behavior. The falcons had nested in his suburban backyard and the newly fledged young were lined up on a branch. He laid down on the grass to watch as adult birds kept flying through at high speed dropping leaves that the fledglings would fly out to grab. It was a training exercise for capturing live prey.

I recently observed a merlin dust-bathing on Sabattis Road in Long Lake. Birds dust bathe to help maintain their plumage and rid their body of parasites.

Fall migration occurs between late August to late September. Taiga merlins are completely migratory, wintering across the West, coastal states throughout the southern U.S., Mexico, the Antilles and Central and South America as far south as Ecuador.

The ability to nest in urban areas may be counteracting declines in other breeding and wintering ranges from habitat loss. 

Most of the breeding records from the second New York State Breeding Bird Atlas (2000-2005) came from the Adirondack region. With the species now colonizing urban areas of the state, it will be interesting to see the results of the third New York State Breeding Bird Atlas project (2020-2025)