Merlin at Arthur's Seat?

(Bird not pictured)

At the beginning of December we went to Edinburgh for an anniversary getaway. Just outside the city is Duddingston Loch and Bird Sanctuary. It was close to our B&B so we walked there one icy day, hoping to see some interesting birds.

Unfortunately it wasn't much of a bird sanctuary. It was just a loch. There were geese and ducks, a teal, a little grebe, some swans, tufted duck, but nothing exciting - no puffins or anything.

So we continued walking up the big extinct volcanic that overlooks the city and leads to Arthur's Seat. It was muddy and icy and we took the hard way up. There were some treacherous moments and just as we had successfully navigated a particularly dangerous part, we saw a bird in the nearby air.

It hovered like a kestrel. I assumed it was a kestrel and watched it through binoculars, hoping it would spot some prey and swoop down for the kill. It didn't swoop but it lingered for quite a while and I got a good look at it.

Rose didn't think it was a kestrel. She thought maybe it was a hobby. It was a while ago now. I can't quite remember all its distinguishing marks, but I think I'm going to say it might have been a merlin, if it wasn't a kestrel. Hobbies don't really live in Scotland, whereas merlins do, they're residents throughout the year.

There are a lot of uncertainties. It was a while ago now, and even in the moment, it's hard to pinpoint the key features if you don't know exactly what you're looking for. How mottled was its breast? How big was it? (Merlins are the UK's smallest birds of prey.) How un-kestrel-like was it? It's hard to say, but I'm going to choose to believe it was a merlin, a merlin at Arthur's Seat, because that has a good ring to it.

Kestrel

Merlin