A remarkable and gruesome sight in the plane tree avenue near the Speke obelisk: Charlie the Carrion Crow was killing a Ring-Necked Parakeet. I arrived just as the attack began. At first the parakeet put up a good struggle, but it was overwhelmed and killed in two minutes and Charlie started eating it. Here are some pictures of the attack.

I have no idea how the parakeet got into this situation. But Hobbies often perch on these trees, and they have already been seen killing and eating parakeets. Perhaps a Hobby attacked a parakeet but it struggled free and fell half stunned to the ground, where Charlie saw the chance and pounced on it.

Virginia Grey saw a Mallard with seven ducklings on the Round Pond yesterday evening, and sent me this fine photograph.

When I visited them this morning they were sheltering on the platform under the solar panel, and I could only see five ducklings, but maybe there were more in the heap under their mother.

Virginia also saw four Coot chicks in the Italian Garden. When I was there yesterday I could only find three, and it was the same today. But it is hard to see in the clump of plants.

These are the Coots who built a hopeless nest under the fountain, where the eggs were so saturated with cold water that they never hatched.

The Mute Swan with the single cygnet on the Long Water had taken it into the reeds.

On the posts at the edge of the reed bed to the east of the Lido, a Pied Wagtail was feeding his two chicks. Here he has just fed one and launches himself into the air to catch another insect.

The pair of Great Crested Grebes who nested unsuccessfully in the reed raft at the east end of the Serpentine were showing interest in each other again. They still have plenty of time: one pair nested here at the beginning of September and successfully raised a chick.

This Red-Veined Darter dragonfly (Sympetrum fonscolombii) was on the edge of the Round Pond.