My wife and I were just sitting at the kitchen table having a cup of tea, when out of the corner of my eye I saw something big fly into a tree located not far behind our property. A check with my binoculars revealed it to be a Merlin. I hurried downstairs to get my camera and when I got outside, the Merlin was, for a change, still perched in the tree. I managed quite a few shots until a dog and walker came along to scare off the Merlin.