In February I mentioned seeing a merlin outside our kitchen window, near the
feeder.  Never saw it again, though I saw a lot of feathers while raking the
lawn.  Today while we were working in the yard the merlin came tearing through
chasing the smaller birds, just a few feet away!   It landed briefly in a tree
across the street and then was off again.

Now I don't feel so bad about not getting to Herricks Cove this weekend   :)

Cyndi