Merlin

That's the species rather than the bird's name. 

I went to the Herts and Essex country show today. It was quite a traditional do, with a focus on heavy horses and gun dogs and a good array of artisanal/country craft stalls. It wasn't as big as the 'Great Yorkshire Show' or similar, but it was well organised and made for a good day out. It was much hotter than I expected it to be as well.

There was also a falconry display and this little merlin spent most of his day on a tall pole, taking everything in. Apparently, most of the birds were quite young and the merlin was only 3 months old. It was very well behaved and any wing flapping was in the nature of a stretch and fidget rather than a panic.

I absolutely loved the curving wings above the eye in this shot. I've tried to make the image quite arty: although the background was a plain green canvas, it had very visible folds. 

The extras show a couple more of the falcon and Percy the Suffolk Punch horse in full harness.