Lou brought up an interesting question in his recent post. Here in Cincinnati, cemeteries do seem to be particularly  attractive to wintering Merlins. Spring Grove, St. Josephs and Old St. Josephs all have had pretty reliable wintering Merlins over the past several years. Recently Merlins have been found in Arlington and Vine Street Cemeteries as well. But it should also be mentioned that there are also numerous Greater Cincinnati winter Merlin records from many other locations as well. But I agree with Lou, Merlins seem to have an affinity for cemeteries.

 

I have not studied this phenomana and by no means claim to have the difinitive answer as to why this is the case. But many cemeteries, particularly the older and larger ones, actually seem to provide nearly perfect habitat for Merlins. 

 

The Merlins preferred natural habitats are open to semi-open areas with scattered trees, groves and wooded riparian corridors. In these habitats they hunt theyre main prey; small to medium sized birds. They also prefer roosting in conifers or tall deciduous trees with large crown cover. Of course deciduous trees during an Ohio winter have no crown cover so ornamental conifers must become quite attractive to them. Merlins often winter in large urban areas throughout there range and the Birds of North America cites that as much as 75% of the diet of these birds is made up of House Sparrows. 

 

The habitat found in most of our older cemeteries is made up of semi-open, park like areas with plenty of scattered tall mature deciduous trees and ornamental conifers. These urban cemeteries are also attractive to numerous songbirds, including House Sparrows.  are generally very "birdy" as we birders well know. So these cemeteries provide an abundance of prey species, tall perches for hunting and resting, open areas for the pursuit of prey, and conifers for roosting. It is my understanding that cemeteries are often used as nest sites in their breeding range.

 

I imagine that similar sites exist in city and state parks and other locations. Suitable spots in those areas probably hold small numbers of wintering Merlins as well. But to me, cemeteries seem tailor made for our wintering Merlins.



Jay Stenger

Cincinnati, Ohio

 

 

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