This is bird note.

Want to see one of the blazing thunderbolts of the bird world?

Smaller than a pigeon, but fierce enough to knock one from the air,

are the powerful compact falcons known as Merlins.

While global climate change is pushing ranges of many birds farther north,

Merlins are actually expanding southward.

Merlins nest in northern forests around the world,

but in recent years, more and more Merlins have been nesting farther south,

in towns and cities across the northern United States.

These small falcons will take over old cronests, especially in conifer trees,

in parked cemeteries and neighborhoods.

No one knows precisely why,

but part of the answer may lie in a rebound of Merlin populations

since the banning of pesticides like DDT.

And it's a reminder that bird behavior may be more flexible than we sometimes imagine.

Merlins reach their peak southward migration in October,

although some, like those in the Pacific Northwest, remain year round,

most scatter to the south for winter.

Some travel as far as Ecuador, with any luck,

you might see these adaptable pint-sized thunderbolts in your neighborhood.

For BirdNote, I'm Mary McCann.

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