Merlin

Falco columbarius

26,138Records since 2000

OctoberPeak month

119Counties with records

Least ConcernIUCN Red List

When it is recorded

Jan3,008

Feb1,967

Mar1,959

Apr1,909

May801

Jun461

Jul569

Aug1,476

Sep2,897

Oct5,813

Nov2,900

Dec2,065

GBIF records by month, 2000–2025 (all years combined).

#	County	Nation	Records
1	Shetland Islands	—	1,908
2	East Riding of Yorkshire	England	1,838
3	Norfolk	England	1,360
4	Cambridgeshire	England	1,174
5	Lincolnshire	England	1,146
6	Kent	England	1,035
7	Isles of Scilly	England	879
8	Pembrokeshire	Wales	871
9	Orkney Islands	Scotland	860
10	Highland	Scotland	852
11	Cornwall	England	713
12	Dorset	England	641
13	Somerset	England	558
14	Na h-Eileanan Siar	Scotland	503
15	Essex	England	424

18,435 England5,694 Scotland1,755 Wales243 Northern Ireland

Records per county (GADM level 2) and per nation; one record can count towards several areas. 119 counties in all.

Records since 2000: 26,138
Peak month: October
Counties with records: 119
IUCN Red List: Least Concern
Scientific name: Falco columbarius
Group: Birds
NBN Atlas records since 2000: 8,522
Most recorded in: Shetland Islands, East Riding of Yorkshire, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Kent, Isles of Scilly, Pembrokeshire, Orkney Islands, Highland, Cornwall, Dorset +35
Conservation designations: Convention on Migratory Species, Bern Convention, Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Wildlife (NI) Order 1985, Birds Directive, EU wildlife trade (CITES) annexes, Birds of Conservation Concern, GB Red List (2001 IUCN criteria), Scottish Biodiversity List
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Falconidae
Genus: Falco
Name with authority: Falco columbarius Linnaeus, 1758
Described: 1758
Contributing datasets: 31