Merlin female / Falco columbarius

We were so lucky to see this beautiful female Merlin on our Calgary Christmas Bird Count on Sunday. This was the 59th Calgary Christmas Bird Count and apparently almost 200 people took part in it, with 102 feeder-watchers and 93 birders in the field. There were just four of us covering one particular area of several communities in the north east part of the city. It was a case of driving and then walking a block or two, driving and walking and so on for the whole day, which suited me after walking for hours the day before on the Banff/Canmore (in the Rocky Mountains) Bird Count! This Merlin was perched in a tree in someone's front garden and just sat there while a couple of us took photos. The Merlin is 24–33 cm (9.5–13 in) long with a 50–67 cm (20–26 in) wingspan. At the end of the day, we went to a most enjoyable, wrap-up chili (delicious!) supper, so that all the results of the day could be assembled. 18x zoomed and heavily cropped : )