The perfect timing.

I had just begun my walk. It was a cold day, having snowed recently. Bundled in my coat, hat, and gloves, I headed down the sidewalk. It was a mundane trek, but turned into a scene of excitement and action when a Marlin made itself known. The large bird circled into a pine tree and disappeared out of sight. I wanted more, so I ran ahead to get a closer look!

With the snow crunching beneath my boots, I searched the tree for the Merlin. My eyes darted from branch to branch before finally, I spotted it. The bird of prey was perched on a limb with something pinned under its talons, a cardinal!

I watched as the hungry predator ripped into its meal, pieces of the unfortunate cardinal raining down from above all while its beautiful red feathers were carried away by the wind. I quickly learned I was standing too close to the action as a bit of cardinal fell on my face!

For the next 15 minutes, the Merlin ate. It left nothing left of its prey. At one point, the Merlin got a feather stuck in its beak and had to shake its head to get it off. The feather drifted down and was caught in a bush.

Finally, when it was all said and done, the satisfied Merlin rubbed its face against the bark. It hopped along the branches and flew away.

They work fast; a catch to nothing but feathers in less than 30 minutes!

Melanistic Song Sparrow. Singing male, ID'ed as Song Sparrow by song, and similar face pattern (visible in photo though muted due to melanism). The bird was also associating with a standard-issue SOSP, possibly a mate.

Perhaps a slightly leucistic Dark-eyed Junco, with white feathers around its eyes. If so, this is the third leucistic Dark-eyed Junco I've seen, each with a different arrangement of feathers around its eyes.

Adult light morph Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk - tail is mottled, bird is very cold toned, upper parts darker than a Krider’s. Patagials are also very dark and the back of the head is streaked. It is the most lightly marked, cleanest below, Harlan's that I have ever encountered.