7 a.m. drinking my coffee on the bench at swimming beach looking at a lone bobbing spotted sandpiper (still a lot of spots), when I notice another unidentified shorebird crossing the bay. Two falcons appear out of nowhere chasing it unsuccessfully. On the way back and over land the smaller one (Merlin) is diving at the larger one (peregrine) then they disappear. The whole thing was a blur maybe 20-30 seconds. I thought all birds were terrified of peregrines -- those Merlins deserve their reputation. (First "fall" Merlin).
L. Trachtenberg Ossining, NY Sent from my iPhone -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
