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| Merlin by Phil Brown |
At St. Mary's Cemetery in Newburyport this evening, we came across a Merlin perched atop a pine.
We then watched it successfully hunt dragonflies. This Merlin returned to the same perch each time
to consume its prize seized in midair. We had wonderful, prolonged looks as the bird sat facing west.
Merlins, Purple Martins, Whip-poor-wills and Common Nighthawks are dragonfly predators. Although
these birds are less agile than the odonates, they fly faster and approach the odes from the rear.
Good birding,
Sue