Merlin
“As Lewis adapted to life in a power wheelchair, Merlin became a bridge between him and the soundscape of nature, transforming his limitations into moments of vivid connection.”
Through the year
Columns that mention it, by the month they were published.
Year by year
Columns that mention it each year.
In his words
All 8 passages, oldest first.
As for raptors, a Merlin was seen perched atop the rocky bluffs along the Pond Cove shore line.
On April 10 I spotted a second falcon, smaller and visibly darker, flying over the high school fields and was able to tell from the short, piston-like wingbeats (and the aid of my binoculars) that it was a Merlin!
On March 31 along Pond Cove, I came across my first of the year Eastern Phoebe working the wrack line and a Merlin headed north.
Also, a visit to Trundy Point yielded two Common Yellowthroats and a flyover from a Merlin.
The following day November 5 I came across a Merlin perched on a streetlamp just outside Pond Cove Elementary School.
Later in the afternoon of April 28 while watching a Merlin cruising at top speed across the Spurwink Marsh, a white heron-like bird appeared in my binocs as it sailed into the saltmarsh.
A Merlin who had been watching from the fringes of the forest took wing, spooking the shorebirds on the marsh and low and behold the Black-necked Stint came flying right out from a hidden pool and landed not far from where I was standing along the road!
As Lewis adapted to life in a power wheelchair, Merlin became a bridge between him and the soundscape of nature, transforming his limitations into moments of vivid connection.