Merlin Imp

Comment by Robert Palmer on October 26, 2021 at 9:12am

This merlin, which is a small falcon was seen in Platteville, Colorado last week.  She had feathers missing from her left wing.  I notified my friend who has a permit to trap these birds and he trapped her the following day.  He took her home and put in new feathers using a process called "imping".  He then released her and I found her in the same spot the next day with a sparrow.  Obviously, the new feathers worked and now the merlin will have a good chance of surviving the winter.  

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