Merlin with House Sparrow Prey

Yesterday, I was on my way home from work on Highway 29, just South of Gridley when I saw an unusual bird fly over the road. I turned right and was following 29 when it landed in a tree to my left. At first I thought it was a Sharp-shinned Hawk because of its size, but closer examination through my camera revealed that it was a Merlin. And I eventually realized it was holding a House Sparrow. At first it was watching my car very closely, but then it began feeding on the eyes and head of the sparrow and plucking feathers from the body. Here are a couple of videos and some photos of what I saw.

Common Nighthawk at Angler's Pond

This afternoon, I went birding in the heat. Ewing Park had a few warblers--American Redstarts, Black-throated Green, Chestnut-sided, and Black-and-white, and Lake Bloomington had four Stilt Sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral, Solitary, Spotted, and Least Sandpipers, but my best find of the day was a roosting Common Nighthawk on a high branch at Angler's Pond in Bloomington. Here are a few more photos. This was the first time I had ever seen a Nightjar of any kind roosting, and I even saw it preening a couple of times.