Juvenile Peregrine over Holyoke’s canals — or was it a Merlin?
I was out shooting some architectural photography this afternoon for an upcoming project when I spotted a distinct falcon shape over the canal near Appleton Street.
With just enough time to change the settings on my camera for a suitable moving-subject shot, I was able to capture this frame:
Click to enlarge. (c) Greg Saulmon 2012
Now, I know Peregrines are regular visitors to downtown Holyoke, but this bird’s field marks — mostly brown, heavily spotted, with only a very faint hint of the Peregrine’s signature “mustache” — made me wonder if this could be a migrating Merlin.
When I enlarged the photo, I noticed this bird seemed to have the whitish “eyebrow” that serves as one of the Merlin’s few distinct field marks.
It’s a tough call here, so feel free to weigh in with your thoughts in the comments.
The Birds Downtown 
It doesn’t look hefty enough to be peregrine. Also, the overall impression is of darkness = classic for a merlin. Nice shot!
Dan Russell
Thanks for weighing in, Dan! Is this likely to be a Merlin in migration, or is it possible that we have one living in the city?
Nice to meet you on Sugarloaf on Saturday. Really enjoyed the program.
– Greg
Great shot! I definitely vote Merlin seeing the horizontal bands in the tail.