Unexpected Thanksgiving Visitor

Thanksgiving day we saw this bird sitting in the tree above our bird feeder:

Not this exact bird. This is a Google Image. But the great thinking person who thought to capture a photo got it right. It's a merlin. A prairie falcon. Falco combarius. It sat in our tree for a good half hour, then just took off. We were so excited. We see kestrels and red-tail hawks and other hawks around our neighborhood, but never a merlin. Wish I'd thought to get a picture of it. We almost thought it was a mourning dove, except mourning doves don't swivel their heads almost 360 degrees. That's when the binocs came out. Then Peterson's Field Guide. Made me late for getting the prime rib in the oven for Thanksgiving dinner, I'll have you know I was that excited.