Conservation actions underway
CITES Appendix II, CMS Appendix II, Raptors MOU Category 3, EU Birds Directive Annex I. Covered by North American Christmas Bird Count, with high reliability score. Also covered by North American Breeding Bird Survey, but with low reliability score. Systematic breeding surveys are in place in at least 7 European countries (Derlink et al. 2018). 

Conservation actions needed
Continue to monitor exposure of birds to environmental contaminants, including organochlorines and mercury. Further research is needed on the distribution of Merlins at their non-breeding grounds, and habitat use and potential threats in these areas (Warkentin et al. 2020). Maintain interspersed groves of deciduous or coniferous trees for nesting and open grasslands for hunting (Konrad et al. 2020).