Crestwood Village 1/30--Merlin

Suddenly a Spring-like day appeared and I took advantage of it by taking a long walk around the neighborhood. Song Sparrows and House Finches were singing. The pond on Stonybrook was frozen over, so the kingfisher I was hoping for was not present. Every bird I turned up on my walk was "reliable" until I got to the end of Congasia, where there is an entrance for the Crossley Preserve. While looking up into a pine tree, trying to locate a cardinal incessantly calling (I like to see my birds, if I can), I saw skimming over the tree tops a small gray-brown falcon with pointed wings--my first Merlin of the year. Never did see the cardinal, though.