As you will no doubt guess, this close shot of a female Merlin was not taken in the wild, LOL! It was photographed at the Coaldale Bird of Prey Centre, near Lethbridge, southern Alberta, on the second of two consecutive Saturdays this month. Had to take it through a chain link fence, which is partly why there are areas of the image that are pale. I do see Merlins in the wild, but had no idea that they looked quite like this. A beautiful bird of prey.