The Visitor

“Hello, lovely human

It’s good to see you

The back door was open

So, I popped in for a visit

I hope you don’t mind

Oh dear, I can see

Where you’re looking

Sorry about the mess

My breakfast always

Goes straight through me

It’s a bird problem

You understand, don’t you?

I knew you would

You’re a kind human

All the birds know about you

Even those greedy louries

Who guzzle all your fruit

They say thanks

By the way

For removing the tree nets

Horrible, nasty things

They’re quite dangerous

For birds who like fruit

They are grateful

You helped their sister

When she got entangled

Do you remember?

Two summers ago

Alice is a silly creature

We warned her

Not to fly underneath

Said she wouldn’t escape

But she did it her way

And nearly broke a wing

She’s such a bird brain

It was only your timeous

And quick intervention

With a pair of scissors

That saved her wing

And probably her life

On another note

This is a nice set-up

I can see why you spend

So much time in this room

Your work looks complex

It’s making me cross-eyed

I’ll just turn around

Ooh, that’s much better

What’s that?

You need to start your day

Okay, no worries!

I’ll find somewhere to rest

The top of this cupboard

Is similar to home

I’ll just settled down here

And have a short sleep

You carry on with your work

I’m perfectly happy up here

See you later."

By Robbie Cheadle

Eleanor is a young hadeda bird who lives in my garden. She has become tame and lets me get close to her. I chat to her when I hang out the washing in the mornings as she is usually rooting around in our nearby compose heap. Yesterday, she decided to follow me into the house and spend a little time visiting.