There's a sparrow hawk who likes to drop by and scare everybody off, ha ha.
He's very obliging about waiting around while I try to find the camera, work out whether the battery's charged, then find a place where I can get a clear shot of him...
Usually about the time that I've lined him up with the camera and got the focus right and everything's good, he flies away to another branch, ha ha.
The old man bird likes to play hide and seek, but not tell me that he's playing it... ha ha.
But not too often, thankfully...
He disappeared in the late afternoon and I knew he was around, somewhere, because he hadn't said Goodnight.
Yes, he says goodnight when he's leaving... he's very polite, ha ha, but not if he's not going too far....
Seeing as all the other birds had gone, I started tidying up and went to make a cup of tea...
There was a shriek from outside... A fearful shriek...
So I went to see what kind of terrible fate had befallen whom... Or would it be who? It probably wouldn't be who, as it didn't sound like an owl... ha ha.
It wasn't the old man, who was still very successfully concealing his position...
No, it was a youngster...
"It's getting late and I'm on my own and I'm not sure where everyone else is, and I feel, understandably, anxious... (Casually notices food on the bridge...) Is that food for everyone?"... ha ha.
"Hello, bird...".
"Hello... This is good food... Oh! I can hear the flock making going to bed noises, out there in the distance... Right, I'd better be off...", ha ha.
He disappeared off over the rooftop, gurgling and chuckling, into the night...
Sometimes it's like living with a teenager in the house, again... ha ha.
They come in, in a great flapping crisis, develop a deep interest in the contents of the fridge, and suddenly they can hear their mates and have to go! ha ha.
But then, it's like living with a six year old... They find the most incredible places to hide away, and emerge when they're ready, with a smug look - I hid and you didn't find me... I win! ha ha.
Yesterday's cockatoo wisdom..."We are your brothers, but you are not our keeper... Your wife thinks you're a keeper, but we don't"... ha ha.
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