[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-142548-105":59,"doc-detail-142548-en":134},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":127,"head_meta":129,"extra_data":131,"updated_unix":133},105,"en","the-wintering-merlins-of-saskatoon-read-online-free","THE WINTERING MERLINS OF SASKATOON - read online free","","The wintering ecology of Merlins in Saskatoon is examined through changes in urban-based bird populations, including the shift from primarily migratory behavior to winter persistence. The paper traces growth of wintering Merlin numbers since the mid-to late 1960s and highlights evidence from Christmas Bird Counts and long-term monitoring of Saskatoon pairs. It explores why behavior changed, focusing on prey availability and winter diet consistency. Results from multiple winters suggest accessible food resources and prey abundance, including House Sparrow and Bohemian Waxwing, may help explain the development of this non-migratory strategy.",{"@graph":69,"@context":126},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-wintering-merlins-of-saskatoon-read-online-free/142548/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-wintering-merlins-of-saskatoon-read-online-free/142548.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Alex Sinclair","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-08-25",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118,122],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What shift in Merlin behavior is discussed for Saskatoon?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Merlins that are traditionally migratory begin overwintering in urban Saskatoon, and some individuals remain through the winter rather than migrating south.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How was the Saskatoon Merlin population monitored over time?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The city was searched annually to locate Merlin pairs and to band both chicks and breeding adults, building a long-term record from the first nest in 1971 onward.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Why is prey availability important for wintering small birds versus Merlins?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Small birds cannot store large energy reserves and may survive only a day or two without foraging, while Merlins can rely on fat reserves and tolerate short-term food shortages better.",{"name":123,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":124},"Which prey items are identified as key components of the winter diet?",{"text":125,"@type":113},"House Sparrows predominate among observed prey, and Bohemian Waxwings also appear frequently enough to suggest a potential link between waxwing abundance and rising Merlin numbers.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":128,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":130,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":132,"site_id":62},142548,1790437276,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":135},{"doc_id":132,"user_id":136,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":137,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":138,"file_id":139,"file_url":140,"file_type":141,"file_size":142,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":143,"language":144,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":145,"faqs":146,"seo_title":147,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":148,"read_time":149,"preview_page_count":4},1099523882182,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","# THE WINTERING MERLINSOF SASKATOON\n\nIAN G.WARKENTIN,Department of Zoological Research,NationalZoological Park,Smithsonian Institution,Washington,D.C.20008-2598  \nthe wintering range of Merlins to in-clude these new wintering grounds,and a growing use of these areaswhich has continued to increasethrough to present.In Saskatoon,asubstantial population of winteringMerlins was not established until themid-to late 1960s,but since thattime the population has greatlyexpanded.¹5  \nTraditionally,Merlins which breedin the northern Great Plains of NorthAmerica (Richardson's Merlin,F.C.richardsonii)are migratory.Each fall,after completion of breeding,theymigrate from this area to the south-central United States and northernMexico.The establishment of urban-based Merlin populations,and theoccurrence of some individuals fromthese populations remaining in thecities through the winter period(No-vember through February),are re-cent phenomena.Although WilliamRowan(University of Alberta Ar-chives)reported Merlins during thewinter in Edmonton as early as 1922,there were no other reports of winter-ing birds on the Prairies until 1948.11Since that time however,winteringpopulations have developed in allmajor Canadian prairie cities,andmany of the smaller urban centres.The establishment and growth ofthese populations is evident fromanalyses of the numbers of Merlinsseen on annual Christmas BirdCounts(CBC's).The analyses indi-cate that in four major cities of theCanadian Great Plains(Edmontonand Calgary,Alberta,and Reginaand Saskatoon,Saskatchewan)sig-nificant increases in the number ofMerlins on CBC's occurred duringthe period from 1957 to 1983.⁵Incontrast,the numbers of Merlins onCBC's in U.S.centres of the GreatPlains region (considered morewithin the traditional winter range ofRichardson's Merlin)remainedsteady over the same period.Thissuggests a northward expansion of  \nAlong with the development of win-tering populations in the cities of thenorthern Great Plains has come theestablishment of breeding popula-tions of Merlins in the same urbancentres.Merlins wintered for a dec-ade or more in communities acrosSthe prairies before they startedbreeding.In fact,the initial breedingcolonization of towns and cities mayhave been made easier for Merlinsby their habituation to people,gainedwhile spending their winters in theseurban centres.The best documenta-tion of breeding population growth inan urban centre over time comesfrom a detailed study of the Saska-toon Merlin population,which hasbeen monitored since its initiation in1971.Each year the city has beensearched to locate all Merlin pairsand to band both the chicks andbreeding adults.In the 20 yearssince that first nest in 1971,thepopulation grew to a high of 31 suc-cessfully breeding pairs.With a sub-stantial winter population,Saskatoonproved to be an ideal location tostudy this unusual phenomenon.  \nThe primary question is,\"Why  \nMerlin with prey.  \nwould a Merlin dramatically alter itsbehaviour from a strictly migratory toa non-migratory strategy?”-particu-larly when such a change means re-maining through the winter in anurban centre where the climate canbecome quite harsh and potentiallylife-threatening if the proper re-sources are not available.While aprecise answer to this question iselusive,the results of five winters(1983-84 through 1987-88)spent ex-amining the Merlin population ofSaskatoon may provide some cluesas to what triggered the developmentof this new behaviour pattern in somany individuals.I believe that thekey to understanding this phenome-non lies within the phrase above re-ferringtothe availability ofappropriate resources.  \nPrey Availability and Winter DietObviously,because of their relativeabilities to store energy for bothshort-term and long-term use,theconsistency of food availability ismore critical to small than to largebirds.Species such as the Bald  \nlan G.Warkentin  \nEagle wintering in this region areable to consume great quantities offood at one time and store largeamoun","cbCainwM0Cw7BucT","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCainwM0Cw7BucT","pdf",667909,11,"English","# Urban wintering populations\n## Historical records and range expansion\n## Evidence from Christmas Bird Counts\n# Breeding colonization in cities\n## Saskatoon long-term monitoring\n# Why Merlins become non-migratory\n# Prey availability and winter diet\n## Energy storage limits across species\n## Correlations with waxwing abundance\n## House Sparrow as dominant prey","[{\"question\":\"What shift in Merlin behavior is discussed for Saskatoon?\",\"answer\":\"Merlins that are traditionally migratory begin overwintering in urban Saskatoon, and some individuals remain through the winter rather than migrating south.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the Saskatoon Merlin population monitored over time?\",\"answer\":\"The city was searched annually to locate Merlin pairs and to band both chicks and breeding adults, building a long-term record from the first nest in 1971 onward.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is prey availability important for wintering small birds versus Merlins?\",\"answer\":\"Small birds cannot store large energy reserves and may survive only a day or two without foraging, while Merlins can rely on fat reserves and tolerate short-term food shortages better.\"},{\"question\":\"Which prey items are identified as key components of the winter diet?\",\"answer\":\"House Sparrows predominate among observed prey, and Bohemian Waxwings also appear frequently enough to suggest a potential link between waxwing abundance and rising Merlin numbers.\"}]","THE WINTERING MERLINS OF SASKATOON - read online free | PDF",1787683193,28]