sedges: "If they had pointy wings a falcon is likely. The ruddy breast would probably indicate Merlin, however. Merlin is about Crow-sized, but certainly sleeker. My last two trips to the BWCA in 2016 and 2018 I was surprised to see quite a few Merlin."
Thanks. The young, especially, were small and had very slim, pointy wings, almost like seagull wings. They were quite vocal, too.
We are looking through our raptor book, and couldn't decide if they are Merlin or Peregrines. My wife didn't think there were Merlins in the BWCA.