Hello Beth, I did some research and found this checklist from Washington Park on Sunday. This checklist includes a female American Kestrel with a photo. Perhaps this is your bird?
https://ebird.org/checklist/S123470559?_gl=1*xq7qqi*_ga*NTI5Mjc3OTY3LjE2Njk4Mjc1NTM.*_ga_QR4NVXZ8BM*MTY3MDI3MjY0OC43LjEuMTY3MDI3MjcyMy41NC4wLjA.&_ga=2.222181784.1658905845.1670256479-529277967.1669827553 On Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 5:40:26 PM UTC-7 [email protected] wrote: > I was in Washington Park early Sunday afternoon and spotted a small falcon > that looked too pale to be a kestrel. It had the facial markings of a > kestrel and a pale rufous wash on its tail in some lighting, but its back > was mostly brown and its breast and belly pale and only lightly streaked on > the sides. It occasionally spread its tail but didn't bob it. > > Two other birders saw a pale line over the bird's eye, which in addition > to other markings led them to identify it as a Prairie Merlin, but I never > did see the line through my old binos. > > The bird was in trees on the west side of Washington Park, near the garden > that is west of the ditch. > > I marked it as a merlin on my ebird list, but I'm still not sure of that > ID and would love to hear from other birders. According to Sibley, the > juveniles look like adults. Maybe it's a late bloomer? > > Beth > Denver, Colorado > > > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/41c06e38-72e9-42f0-aa1b-f4b2f1823a34n%40googlegroups.com.
