summit county merlins
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9/1/2025 update
Some videos of the nest
8/8/25 update
The updates for 2025 have just been posted after a delay to ensure that the birds are not molested or harassed in any way. Any location information has also been replaced with *** (other than Summit County.) Thank you to Kathy Mock for this information and these photographs. 7/27/25
Today I went to check on them twice and saw only one bird each time. The first photo is from this morning in the rain. This may very well be the same bird on both visits. The last day I saw all 3 fledglings together was July 22, although I can't be there all the time and, if they've just fed, they could be perched in a deciduous tree and be virtually impossible to see. Of course I worry when I don't see them. I have been going daily since May 16 during incubation, so today was day #72 (with 432 miles driven round trip each day, plus a few days when I went more than once). The oldest fledgling should be 47 days or 6-1/2 weeks old now. The first one fledged 3-1/2 weeks ago. I don't know if the youngest is still getting help with food, but I know that there have been successful captures. Apparently they may be dependent on their parents for 5 weeks after they fledge but, again, mine seem to be overachievers. Since it is getting more difficult to find them, even when it seemed that they individually were finding favorite trees, it is probably time for me to "stand down". Acknowledging this is a bit difficult. I never knew when to expect the last time I would see them all and I knew it could come any day. Perhaps I'll still see them on fall and winter evenings if they roost in the *** like their parents have done. They will recognize me but I probably won't know them. I admit, I'm a little verklempt.
7/5/25
Photos taken during the Summer Breeding Census
6/29/25 update
Yesterday afternoon when I arrived to do my daily check-in, I had to hunt for this guy because there were only 2 in the nest. I suspect it had been practicing all day. When Mom arrived in the nest with a meal, he RAN down the branch to join the others. I expected branching during the upcoming week, but, having had no experience like this before, I didn't expect it this soon. Yesterday the oldest was 24 days as far as I know, and references give an age range of 25 to 35 days for branching. But with AI now producing search results, the same result doesn't come up twice. Apparently my kids are overachievers! Audubon.org shows the age at first flight at around 29 days. I called *** this morning to let them know that these had started to branch, in hopes they could bring the one in care back to the *** to release at this time with the others. After re-nesting, which wasn't possible with the one that fell out, releasing to join the siblings at the branching stage is the next best option. I was told that, unfortunately, he is being treated for a serious leg injury that was apparently sustained when he fell (onto a flat object), so he is not releasable at this point in time. I still have screen shots from video back a few days ago to go through. If I send them, of course they will no longer be in chronological order. I have too many photos and my computer is too slow for efficient photo work. These are from yesterday.
5/31/25 update
I went back through my *** eBird checklists from April 23 and hid them, and will continue to hide them for weeks into the future, assuming these kids pop out soon. As of today the female is STILL not showing any indication of hatchlings in the nest! I asked Leslie Sours in Columbus, who found and monitored a nest in their *** a few years ago, if there were any negative impacts on the Merlins after the location became public. "My" Merlins trust me and I don't want to jeopardize them or their trust. She said that Pennsylvania observers don't make nest locations public and mentioned accounts of guys falsely claiming to be wildlife officers who got permission to climb trees, only to steal nestlings. There have been other stories of guys using Bal-chatri traps to catch youngsters that have fledged, and apparently even birds in public places like *** are not entirely safe. She also said that there would be people there constantly. I had hoped to share publicly once they've hatched, but I will not be doing so. The * unintentionally gave me an "out" when he indicated that he doesn't want the activity, but he is OK if people are there with me - so, under the circumstances, this would include you if you are receiving this email. 3/23/2025 update
On March 23 I photographed a female Merlin in a nest at *, although it was exceptionally early for nesting. They use old hawk or American Crow nests, so I thought maybe she was trying it on for size. In spite of several visits since then, I hadn't seen any more activity at that nest...until this evening, exactly one month later! She was back in it, and now we're within a normal date range for breeding (mid-April to July). She either has no brood patch or it's very small, so I still don't think there are eggs, but I could be wrong and I'm very happy to see that she's still interested in the nest. She then flew to another tree and was preening, totally unconcerned about me photographing her from my car. She's the one looking back over her shoulder - so you can see the basis for my thoughts about a brood patch. The male, in the other photo, was nearby and they defended the nest tree from a Blue Jay, and vocalized. I will check on them at least weekly from here on and hope we get little "Merlings" next month. The male is in the other photo. ("Merlings" is not an official term, but I figure if ducks make "ducklings"....)
2/7/2023 Update
The article that Kathy Mock wrote about the Merlins in Summit County appeared in the Spring 2022 Ohio Cardinal, published by the Ohio Ornithological Society. Access to that edition was restricted to members until recently when publication became available to the general public. See Spring-2022-final.pdf (ohiobirds.org) for the publication. Kathy's article starts on page 175 (page 42 out of 56 in the pdf file) Kathy Mock gave a presentation to the Greater Akron Audubon Society on November 22, 2022. For more details, go to Chapter Meetings/Meeting Archives or click on the button.
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