Neil Calbrade

A small and compact falcon with an extended northern breeding distribution across the northern continents, Eurasia and North America. In Europe, ssp. subaesalon found in Iceland, and ssp. aesalon from Faroes east to Central Siberia. Breeds in northern Scotland, Scandinavia and Russia. Winters in plains across the rest of Europe and North Africa.

Season of assessment

B

Population trendDecreasing
Population size
(min-max, best estimate)		40100-83400,59200
Red List categoryVU
Franks, S., Fiedler, W., Arizaga, J., Jiguet, F., Nikolov, B., van der Jeugd, Ambrosini, R, Aizpurua, O., Bairlein, F., Clark, J., Fattorini, N, Hammond, M., Higgins, D, Levering, H., Skellorn, W., Spina, F, Thorup, K. Walker, J., Woodward, I. and Baillie, S.R. (1) (2022) Online Atlas of the movements of European bird populations. https://migrationatlas.org EURING/CMS (1) Principal investigator
Map

Overall Connectivity for Merlin

There are three main direction of observed movements according to the origin of the birds: Icelandic birds move to the SE to reach continental Europe; Scottish birds move to the S within British Isles or to the continent, and continental birds move to the SW, travelling longer distances to reach predominantly Iberia, southern France and Italy.

Recoveries by Condition for Merlin

Annual Movements for Merlin

Th short distances between breeding and wintering grounds do not inform on the detailed movements of merlins, but the amount of data indicate a probable direct move between grounds, to reach the closest suitable range. Icelandic subaesalon recoveries are concentrated in Ireland and the British Isles, with one down to the Azores. British birds, if moving, concentrate along the Gulf of Biscay, while birds ringed in the West region are either recovered further South in winter, or in the North in summer. Birds from the North move to the SW in parallel lines suggesting no particular migration bottleneck on the way South, and a major wintering range in South-West Europe, from Iberia to Italy.

Connectivity by Month by Region for Merlin

Birds breeding in the British Isles moving to the continent are not the rule, the recorded from the end of September to the end of March in South-West Europe. Birds ringed in the West in winter migrate to the North in summer (recoveries in Sweden and Norway). Birds from the North start to move to the SW in September, with most recoveries in the SW in October, while northern grounds are empty by November. At Falsterbo, Sweden, juveniles showed a pronounced migration peak in late September, and adults migrated earlier than young birds (Kjellén 1992). In the spring, recoveries indicate movements to the North already in March, peak in April, and recoveries in West Europe in May are rare.

Frédéric Jiguet

References

Statistics Map
N records N individuals N recoveries
Mapped data*
Total available data
*Mapped data include only distant (>= 50 km) recoveries