Meriden Park, Solihull.

I was going to stop with the Sparrowhawk bashing but it was the highlight/low point of today's visit to Meriden Park, whilst on the far side of the pool, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye happening on the grass, to my surprise a female Sparrowhawk had just swooped down and had a poor helpless juvenile Woodpigeon pinned to the ground and even though I know you shouldn't intervene with nature I couldn't help but scare the Sparrowhawk off, unfortunately when I went over to inspect the poor Woodpigeon it already had a wound on it's neck and couldn't or wouldn't fly away, so I tried to rescue it but it managed to walk and hide in some nearby hedgerow, hopefully it wasn't hurt too bad and was just stunned and eventually recovered and flew away. What did occur to me after all this drama had unfolded was that how many people would have just walked by and not even notice this amazing natural, if not gruesome spectacle happen right in front of their eyes, sad really how many people walk around the world blind to all the weird and wonderful sights that happen right before their eyes. 

Other great spots today on my brief ninety minute walk were a sighting of a Kingfisher on the nearby River Cole in the same location as a pair of foraging Grey Wagtail. It's also nice to see all the Grey Squirrels out and about foraging/burying nuts.

On my last visit in Mid July there were eight large and healthy Cygnets but today there were only four, whether four have flown off or been killed I have no idea only that there a pair of mating Black Mink reportedly nearby on the River Cole. 

Birds seen today were Sparrowhawk, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Wren, Robin, Jay, Blackbird, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow Magpie, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Mallard, Canada Goose and Greylag/Canada Goose hybrid.