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At this time of the year, the Merlins catch dragonflies on-the-wing. It is also good practice for the youngsters that are not yet experienced at catching larger prey. In past years, our large ponds have probably had a thousand dragonflies, but this year I would guess more like a few hundred. Over the last 5 days, we have seen the numbers drop to under 50 as the Merlin have decimated their numbers.
Not only do the Merlin have excellent eyesight to track them, but they also catch the dragonflies in their talons and not their mouths. They fly in a fast and eratic path, similar to swallows and purple martins. Very hard for me to track.
It is amazing that the dragonflies are able to safely lay any eggs in the pond, as there are hundreds of frogs waiting to leap on them should they land anywhere nearby.
The Merlin is not around much anymore since it has eaten almost all the dragonflies that were working the pond. I noticed yesterday that it was trying to nab a Red-winged Blackbird in flight.
Smoke is so bad here from forest fires throughout all of British Columbia that we can barely see the houses across the bay. Can't even see the nearest islands or the mainland. No rain in sight and not until Wednesday or Thursday are we expected to get offshore winds from the Pacific.
