[Birdtalk] Merlin in Ogden

[Kristin Purdy]

It's only taken me forever to see my first Merlin of the fall. The grand 
event finally happened today in downtown Ogden at the corner of Washington 
(US-89) and 17th Streets on a power pole. This bird seemed extraordinarily 
dark and of course, I immediately jumped to the most rare subspecies, a 
black Merlin, as my husband graciously manuevered the car into a nearby 
business' parking lot so I could get a protracted look.

I still couldn't decide. The overcast light was poor and I didn't have 
binoculars. In checking references, the bird could have been a relatively 
dark boreal Merlin. So I guess I'll only be able to conclude that the bird 
was a Merlin and be thankful for the sighting.

Kris