19 Apr 2010

And Then There Was A Bit Of Nature….

Just the other day I was sitting in the Garden – that sounds kind of stupid don’t it? Just the other day I was sitting in a chair in the garden when I saw a big bird save a small bird.

I must say right from the start that types of birds is not my strong point. Seagulls, blackbirds and then everything else is how I see it. Chickens? Not too sure about them things outside the freezer.  Although I do vaguely remember many years ago having an interesting conversation, with a couple of other fools besides, about stealth chickens.  Can't remember the details.......

So, was where I am? Ah yes, in a garden chair. I happened to look up - from that you would assume I had been looking down; not true, I had been kind of looking level. Know what I mean? Anyhoo, on looking up I saw a bird on a neighbours garden shed roof getting stuck into a small piece of bread. This bird was much smaller than a blackbird and even smaller than a sparrow. Woah!! Sparrow!! I know more than I thought about ornythanology.  That's Latiniees for stuff about birds by the way.

I must press on before I loose the thread to this storey altogether….. getting stuck into a small piece of bread. About five feet behind this little fellow was a cat, not a mongoose, definitely a cat, crouched down, watching and rippling like what cats do before they leap, kill and eat. To complete the scene, up on another house roof, behind the cat and a good sixty feet away, was a seagull.

That gives us a scene like this; A seagull, on a roof, aloof. A small happy bird eating bread. A crouching cat, rippling and dribbling.   Oh, and me drinking coffee.  And dribbling.

And then it all came together. The cats rippling was just reaching 'lift off' point when the seagull left his perch and glided silently down towards the cat. Old Mr. Gull got to a point roughly one foot behind and three feet above the cat then he let rip with a short but very loud burst of that blood curdling seagull noise that seagulls make. 

The cat instantly moved in an upwards direction of about five feet, crashed back to earth, scrambled around trying to get traction and finally fled.  Where he lives, I no not, but I do hope there's a cat flap.  If not, there is, for sure, a cat shaped hole in the door now. He's most likely still inside and just occasionally peeking out from behind the curtains. 
                               
The seagull just pealed off after the ‘attack’ and resumed his roof station. Back to looking aloof.

The little eating bird looking thingy never skipped a beat. As best I could tell, although I don’t speak Bird, there was not even a ‘thank you’ out of the little guy. I guess that’s the natural nature of nature for you.

I spilled my coffee which blended with the dribble.

Quote; Steve Wright.

"Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect."

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