Environmental scientist Dr. Ian Warkentin may have been locked down in Corner Brook for much of 2020, but that didn’t stop him from studying the activities of Merlins on the prairies.

Thanks to a webcam and Vimeo feed provided by a colleague in the southeastern Saskatchewan city of Weyburn, Dr. Warkentin was able to contribute to a study focused on the nesting and breeding habits of Merlins - small, compact and fast-flying falcons. His work fed into the long-term Merlin research of Lynn Oliphant at the University of Saskatchewan.

"We were able to share in collecting observations of this Merlin nest from the hatching of the eggs until the chicks fledged from the nest," said Dr. Warkentin, adding that this approach to research has been used for several species - particularly birds of prey - but never for Merlins.

"The camera allowed us to have a detailed view of what was happening in the nest," he said. "Much of what we observed confirmed things previously determined by watching from the ground or climbing the nest tree and doing occasional checks on what was happening, but we did find out a few things that were only possible to determine using a camera.”"

He added that previously, descriptions of chicks' behavioural development were restricted to studies of captive birds. The study provided data on the behaviour of adults and nestlings from egg-laying through fledging, documenting activities such as the timing of egg-laying and hatching, delivery of prey to the nest by males, and the female’s care and feeding of the young.

Not only did the technology allow research to continue during the pandemic, but also provided a less intrusive way for scientists and members of the public to observe these raptors in their natural habitat. Technological advances in equipment over the last decade have greatly enhanced the opportunities for collecting detailed, high-quality data linked to parental care while reducing disturbance below the level possible with direct observation of birds of prey from blinds

"The webcam enabled us to gather more detailed information about the Merlin’s behavior at the nest than previously possible and provided an opportunity for citizen science involving a common but little studied falcon," said Dr. Warkentin.

The study has resulted in a paper titled "Merlin parental behaviour and chick development as revealed by webcam," which is scheduled for publication in early 2022 in Western Birds.