The Bird of the Day for today is the merlin. I photographed this bird shortly after returning to the Gunflint Trail. There was a pile of feathers nearby, so the merlin has most likely hunted there before.
The merlin is one of three species of falcon in north-eastern Minnesota. Peregrine falcons are the largest, followed by the merlin, and the American kestrel is the smallest of that family in Cook County.
