Merlin

I am traveling to Houghton, Michigan with my sister’s family. We stopped at a small park near the Mackinac Bridge to rest, and I noticed a bird high up in a tree. It was too far away to easily identify, so I used my camera’s digital zoom to get a better look at it. The bird turned out to be a Merlin (Falco columbarius), a small falcon that preys on small songbirds and shorebirds. This is a rare and endangered bird in Michigan, and this is the first time I have ever seen one.