Nature Red in Beak and Claw is today's theme as the woodpile went very quiet as a bird of prey materialised from nowhere. The wife got very excited and was convinced it was a young Merlin rather than the common or patio Sparrow Hawk and frantically thumbed through bird books in search of evidence. It was the second visit in two days having visited us yesterday to feast on a wee bird -a brown job, perhaps a Sparrow of a Dunnock. The Bird books say that Merlins are partial to a bit of Chaffinch but presumably would not turn away a Sparrow if peckish (no pun intended-blogg-ed)

After a bit and without turning its front towards us it flew off only to be replaced by a real genuine Sparrow Hawk. So the wife is now resigned to the' Merlin'' being a young Sparrow Hawk out on a training flight under loose parental supervision. I wonder what the other Borders' Bird Woman http://bordersbirds.blogspot.com/ thinks?  ¶ 9:23 AM