I took this yesterday at Don Edwards SF Bay NWR. It was a small raptor and I thought it was a juvenile Kestrel. Later looking at patterns made me wonder if this is juvenile Merlin or Tiaga Merlin...
I was following it as it moved from one tree to another with the prey. I took this one as it just lifted off the branch. Too bad I got the shadow; otherwise minimal changes (s/h, CW Rotation and sharpning). The settings were -
I believe that Merlin is the correct call. But I think this is a Black Merlin. According to "A Photographic Guide to North American Raptors" by Brian K Wheeler and William S. Clark, the Black Merlin is extremely dark with no pale superciliary (eyebrow) line and faint narrow, incomplete tail bands. I can see that the tail bands stop short of the edges of the tail feathers. Good shot!
Debbie Barnes
Colorado Springs, CO
Yes, the species here is a Merlin. The "Black Merlin" that Debbie refers to is actually a reference to the Pacific/black population of birds which are much darker overall (like your bird)...but it is still a Merlin (Falco columbarius). It looks like he liked the tasty head of his prey. :)
Debbie, Judd, thanks for the confirmation and details. I looked up further on the Black Merlin and it's sighting is listed as occasional on the NWR website. I would guess it was migrating to NorthWest. In this case the species would be f.c. suckleyi.