This morning around 10 am I had great views of a merlin that landed on top of a telephone pole along the Paint Branch Trail just north of where Decatur street crosses the stream.  I was looking into the sun at it so decided to walk closer to the stream to get the sun at my back.  At this point I was less than 100 feet from it and it kept preening.  Excellent views of a bird I more often see flying by or away from me.  Beautiful plumage, the merlin.

At Lake Artemesia and environs, ~10:30-11:30, I saw

~5 PB Grebes
many Canada geese
4 wood ducks
4 mallards
8 lesser scaup
2 hooded mergansers (one of each gender)
5 red-breasted mergansers (one male)
many ruddy ducks
1 TV
2 RT hawks (1 juvenile chasing one of the next species)
2 RS hawks
~20 coots
1 killdeer
~50 Ring-billed gulls
morning doves
2 downy woodpeckers
1 red-bellied woodpecker
2 blue jays
crows
4 c. chickadees
1 t. titmouse
1 W-B nuthatch
2 R-C kinglets
4 bluebirds
robins
2 mockingbirds
starlings
cardinals singing
1 field sparrow
6 W-Thr sparrows
3 song sparrows
~10 juncos
red-winged blackbirds
grackles
house sparrows