Merlin Falcon Foundation

A Year in the Life of Merlin...

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Courtship The male performs a variety of aerial displays to attract a female to his defended territory. He delivers food and shows her a crow nest or suitable platform to use. Merlins first breed at 1 to 3 years of age. They are generally monogamous during the nesting season.		Incubation The female stays on the nest with her clutch of 2 to 5 eggs. The copper and brown, elliptical eggs will hatch synchronously in 28 to 32 days. She leaves the nest only to accept food from her mate, for a break or to defend the nest. Together with her male, she attacks intruders, emphatically calling "kee–kee–kee".
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Wintering Some individuals (generally males) will stay on or near their breeding territories during the winter, while females and juvenile males appear to be more nomadic to the south. This may relate to weather and its influence on prey availability, as well as less understood variables. More research is needed to determine wintering patterns of these raptors.		Nestling Born semi–altricial (downy and helpless for 8 to 10 days), the young stay in the nest for 25 to 30 days while growing and developing flight feathers. Both parents (but mainly the female) feed the nestlings while the adult male provisions the female.
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Dispersal / Migration Merlin may or may not disperse from breeding territories across the land and along coastlines. During late summer and autumn they eat insects, songbirds and / or shorebirds. They are generally solitary during the non-breeding season.		Fledgling The adults continue to feed the fledglings while they improve their flying / landing, hunting, roosting and social skills. The juveniles may stay in proximity to the nest for 50 to 60 days. Their plumage is similar to the adult female.