Surprise Nymph

I was taking photos of raindrops on the lilac and this extra tiny praying mantis nymph appeared in one of the photos. I hadn’t even noticed it, so I cropped the image to show it up. I like the curve that the edge of a leaf makes.

Bad news about the letterbox starlings. A few days ago a thick wad of junk mail was wedged into the slot while the hen was sitting.  When I pulled it out she flew off in panic, but not without taking note of my presence. Since then starlings shriek at me, sometimes following me about. There were three eggs in the nest, which have been removed. Did the parents take them to another nest? It is very unlikely that anyone would have come inside the gate to steal them.