Merlin Question

[Billy Wobble Dagger]

I was walking along one of the busy roads in the centre of Andover on Friday when a Kestrel size bird flew accross the road in front of me. It was low, 3 or 4ft of the carrigeway, it pulled up sharply to give me wonderful view of a blue almost cresent wing. I compared it to a kestrel because initialy thats what I thought it was, well a BOP at least. My bird book tells me Merlins fly over heather clad moors. So could it have been a merlin I saw in Andover town and if not any ideas what it might have been.

BWD

[natureguy]

It sounds like a merlin to me, they do fly low to the ground and with the blue wing can't think what else it could have been.

[aeshna5]

It's possible, though a male Sparrowhawk has similar upperpart coloration + would be more likely. Saying that I've had a female/imm Merlin today on my local patch this afternoon on the outskirts of London- not typical Merlin country, though occasional birds are recorded, whereas Sparrowhawk (which I also saw) is a common resident.