>Early this morning I noticed a hawk in the distance chasing some pigeons.
>At mid morning it landed on top of the phone poll. I ID'd it as a Merlin.
>Does this behavior sound right (hawks and sparrows are still my downfall)?

Sounds plausible. In flight, the relatively short-wing/long-tail of a sharpie
vs. the longer-winged/shorter-tailed look of a merlin should be pretty obvious.