Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Breeding Range. (Fig. 49). Breeding pairs are rare, very local, and irregular in occurrence in North Dakota (apparently more numerous formerly on the Northwestern Drift Plain). Definite records of active nests or dependent young were reported as follows: near Fort Rice in Morton County on July 10, 1867 (young collected just out of the nest, U. S. Nat. Mus., Bendire 1892); near Kenmare in Ward County on May 14, 1893 (set of four eggs collected by T. W. Burglehaus, Minn. Univ. Mus., Roberts 1932); near Kenmare in Ward County on May 17, 1913 (set of eggs collected by H. E. Peck); at Columbus in Burke County on May 13, 1924 (adult male and set of three eggs collected by G. F. Abbey, Mus. Zool. Mich., Wood 1925b); and near Burning Coal Vein in Slope County on June 21, 1969 (five nestlings banded by B. E. Burkett). During June 1971, a breeding pair was closely observed by J. Frank Cassel in the Burning Coal Vein area of Slope County.
Other records of adults during the breeding season have been reported from the following locations: along the Heart River in Morton County on July 2-3, 1874 (a few seen, Grinnell 1875); at Grafton in Walsh County on June 18, 1912 (specimen collected by H. V. Williams who reported that the species nests in the area rarely, Wood 1923); and at Bottineau in Bottineau County at the edge of the Turtle Mountains on June 24, 1924 (specimen collected by A. Eastgate, H. V. Williams Coll., Wood 1925a)
Breeding Habitat. This species is largely restricted to the vicinity of natural groves of trees, including adjoining wood margins, and nearby tracts of brushland, grassland, and fields.
Nesting. A nest found near Kenmare on May 14, 1893, was made of sticks and lined with bark and was situated in a small American elm about 12 feet above the ground (Roberts 1932). On June 21, 1969, in Slope County, five young were found in an old, refurbished nest of the Black-billed Magpie situated in a ponderosa pine located in a partially open grove of pine (B. E. Burkett).
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| Figure 49. Breeding Range of Merlin. |
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/bbofnd/species/3570.htm
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