Spot the birdy pecking at the sunflower seeds my father puts out. I think it was one of a breeding pair out and about with a fledgling.

 I'm noticing lots of fledglings at the moment. Earlier I had watched a downy little Wren shivering under a Holly bush, its beak open hoping for food. I thought it might have fallen out of a nest and been abandoned. Presently one of the parents came along and popped a morsel into its mouth. After a while it seemed to get the idea that it had to fend for itself, started hopping around and attempted a practice flight to a low branch. I expect it took its maiden flight soon afterwards.

 It's easy to get sentimental about nature but there is the tooth and claw aspect to it as well. The other day I was pottering on the allotment. Out of the corner of my eye I was aware that some little bird was pecking around the ground about five or six feet away. Suddenly a shape shot past the periphery of my vision with a loud flap. It took me a moment to understand what was happening then I saw a female Sparrowhawk lifting into the air with the bird in its claws. The moment was sublime and brutal at the same time.