Image by Simon Pierre Barrette

Merlin

The Merlin is a small, powerful falcon with long, pointed wings, and is also a recycler: Merlins do not build their own nests, but instead repurpose the abandoned stick nests of crows and hawks. Historically, Merlins were also called pigeon hawks or lady hawks because of their small size. Adult males are dark gray-blue, while females and juveniles are brown.

Because Merlins are sensitive to environmental pollutants, conservationists consider them harbingers of the health of our ecosystems. Merlins are also highly adaptable and hunt a variety of insects and small birds, including the invasive European starling, thereby maintaining pest control in their habitat range. This small falcon’s breeding grounds have expanded, from Alaska through most of Canada and down into the northern U.S. The species now nests regularly in New England; previously it only migrated through.

What do you love about this particular creature?
What do they reveal to you about God and our faith?

Small but mighty, swift and fierce, the merlin is an embodiment of the Holy Spirit, whose work and impact are also accomplished quickly and powerfully. The merlin teaches us that resilience and adaptability are useful survival skills. When I see them flying over my house in the early evening, I am amazed at their speed and agility.

They are a wondrous and underappreciated part of God’s creation – often being chased by other birds to whose nests they may have gotten just a tad too close. As predators, they often get a bad rap, especially when they snatch songbirds in midflight. But, as humans, we are the ultimate predator in our own environments.

We must shoulder the responsibility to be the best stewards of our own local habitats – to give as well as to take - and the merlin reminds us of that as well.

Author - Kim Hanson

Kim Hanson is a Vestry member at St. Peter's by-the-Sea in Narragansett and the chair of their Communication and Nominations Committees. Kim lives near the Ocean in Washington County, Rhode Island, which is blessed by an abundance of birds, including the merlin (year-round) and, of course, Ospreys in the summer season.

God of all creation, we thank you for the wonder of the merlin, with whom we share our earthly home. Make us appreciate its swift actions and adaptability that we might gain those skills ourselves as we do your Work in our local parishes. Help us to remember that sometimes that Work is hard, the choices often harder, but that your Love and your Holy Spirit stay with us always, and guide us to the right paths. Amen