![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/merlin-6262-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"merlin-6262-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nOnly minutes after dawn on September 12, 2014 I spent some quality time with a cold and hungry\u00a0Merlin in Montana’s Centennial Valley.<\/p>\n
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1\/500, f\/9, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n When this photo was taken it was unusually cold for that time of year\u00a0(11\u00b0\u00a0F.) and veteran blog followers may remember that the pipes in my camping trailer had frozen up during the night which meant we had to be creative to even have our morning coffee. I’ve posted a few images of this\u00a0falcon previously but these\u00a0two and the poses are new to my blog.<\/p>\n The Merlin had a Western Meadowlark in its clutches. The prey was frozen solid so I suspect it had been cached the previous day\u00a0and\u00a0then retrieved as it began to get light. In this shot, taken soon after we found the falcon, I love the warm golden light of dawn\u00a0but it didn’t last very long. Minutes after this photo was taken a thick bank of lake fog began to roll in that completely engulfed us.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/400, f\/9, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n This shot was taken only two minutes after the previous one and it’s the last decent\u00a0light we saw before the fog enveloped us. If you compare the two images you’ll notice that the light is significantly warmer in the first photo than it is in the second. Most of the photos I posted of this bird previously were taken in the thick fog which gave the images a bit of a surreal look.<\/p>\n This bird had to struggle to tear apart the frozen meadowlark so\u00a0soon after these shots were taken I drove on down the dirt\u00a0road (that I could barely see because of the fog) and left the merlin on the post to enjoy its frigid meal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Every time I see a Merlin I think of my English family history and wonder….. In medieval times Falconry was all the rage in England and much of Europe. Merlins were considered a “lady’s hawk” and Mary Queen of Scots was an extreme falconry enthusiast\u00a0who delighted in flying Merlins. She almost married into my family when she\u00a0very nearly married Sir Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (though in the end Robert refused to marry her and almost married Queen Elizabeth\u00a0I instead). Mary was even allowed to fly her Merlin from her window while she was imprisoned for 18+ years by Queen Elizabeth I. That story didn’t end\u00a0well for\u00a0Mary\u00a0when Elizabeth eventually had her beheaded for treason on February 8, 1587.<\/p>\n But mostly my thoughts go to Dudley Castle<\/a> which was owned and operated for generations\u00a0by my direct ancestors, the various Barons Dudley,\u00a0<\/a> (previously the family name was Sutton – it’s a long story…). Falconry was a significant part of medieval life at the castle and to this day the castle keeps falconry birds on the grounds. Who knows, maybe I have falconry blood in my veins and perhaps that’s part of my interest in raptors… \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n So yes, my mind does tend to\u00a0wander a bit\u00a0whenever I see a Merlin.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n Addendum: I should make it clear that Sir Robert Dudley wasn’t my direct paternal ancestor. He was only an uncle of one of them. However\u00a0Gov. Thomas Dudley and\u00a0several of the Baron’s Dudley were my direct paternal ancestors .<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Maybe I have falconry blood in my veins and perhaps that’s part of my interest in raptors…<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/merlin-6284-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"merlin-6284-ron-dudley\\"")
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