Falcon! Merlin!!

I was tracking a fish-carrying osprey with my camera when I realized there was a small bird also tracking the osprey. Hmmm. Too late in the season to be an eastern kingbird chasing an intruder away from its nest. Too big for a kingbird anyway. But not as big as an American crow. And, oh, the pointed wings and the facial markings sure said "merlin". Oops! I have never seen a merlin at Jordan Lake before late fall - some migrate here for the winter. A puzzle, but it was great to see the small falcon. Oh, and I think he was just curious about the osprey, especially since the merlin was smaller than the fish the osprey was carrying.