Thursday 23 February 2012


Small is most definitely beautiful.

little birds delight
meals all day
crows, jackdaws, rooks bully
shower seed

longer hangers
little birds return
gorging with glee
smiling inside

jackdaws imitate hummingbirds
flapping indefatigably
desperate to get seed
unsuccessful

crow leans tips upside down
ungainly gawky
balance challenged
leaves dissatisfied

rook stands atop metal tree
watches, intrigued
ravenous, hungry
departs empty

pheasant balances atop fence
stretches body, elongates neck
pecks again,again, at plastic cover
confused, befuddled abandons

ungainly birds are beaten
frustration beats them all
thwarted, unfulfilled, foiled
starving defeated

great tits, blue tits, coal tits
robin, sparrow, nuthatch
return triumphant, feeding
small is most definitely beautiful

26 comments:

The Owl Wood said...

Perfectly conjures up the scene for me and says such a lot about non-avian life too! I love it.

Out on the prairie said...

Love watching the birds with you. I will have to look up the jackdaws, I wasn't familiar with them.

Ina in Alaska said...

Ravens are the most enjoyable to watch. They operate as a "community" and are very comical opportunists. The ravens in downtown Anchorage forage all day long in the trash. They have sharp eyes! And they are very comfortable around humans.

Doris said...

Fantastic picture of your bird table. Very colourful.

Cuby said...

The Owl Wood: I watched, then I wrote and you liked it, I am pleased.

Cuby said...

Out on the prairie: I wonder if you know the jackdaw by another name. Glad you were able to enjoy the birds with me.

Cuby said...

Ina in Alaska: All the big birds have their place but that is not at my feeders!

Cuby said...

Doris: Pleased you could see my birds.

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

They must've loved the seed :-)

Nancy said...

And that's just the way it is outside my window! :)

Cuby said...

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm: Not sure who liked it the most!

Cuby said...

Nancy Claeys: That is why I wanted to put into words because so many of us feed birds in our gardens

Al said...

I do love small birds, they're so pretty. And I've had a hawk try to take my dog, so I have to watch out for them!

I see you've turned word verification back on, I guess you must have had some spam too. It's unfortunate!

Ola said...

nice view of life & birds


Life and travelling
Cooking

Lady Mondegreen's Secret Garden said...

Busy, hungry birds. This poem reminds me of watching the birds feeding in the garden while I was in England at Christmas time. Just as you say, the bigger birds hanging around hopefully and the little ones scattering now and then when the red kites swooped low.

Cuby said...

Al: I don't have a dog so nothing to worry about there! We do have a lot of buzzards but they don't swoop down.

Cuby said...

Ola: Thanks.

Cuby said...

Lady M: Red Kites are not seen in Cornwall, we do have plenty of buzzards but the feeders are too close to the house for them to be a concern.Pleased it took you back to your trip here at Christmas. :)

Viola said...

A very lovely poem! And I sit wonering.. this would ahve been a great song as well.. with melody..

Nice weekend to you! :)

eileeninmd said...

Wonderful poem, so happy to see the songbirds are triumphant. I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Cuby said...

Viola:I had never thought of this as lyrics for song, an interesting idea. That you enjoyed a lot is great.:)

Cuby said...

eileeninmd: Compliments received with thanks. The big black meanies are most definitely thwarted, still trying!

Crafty Green Poet said...

lovely descriptions of the lively bird interactions!

Nuthatches are moving northwards into Scotland, apparently they're in Edinburgh, but I've not had a definite sighting yet!

Cuby said...

Crafty Green Poet: So pleased you enjoyed the bird interactions. I am fascinated by them.Nuthatches do not visit every day but do come sometimes.

Quiet Paths said...

Wow, such a plethora of birds you must see every day. This brought up so many great images. Thank you for the visit to my blog... christine

Cuby said...

Quiet Paths: Welcome here. I have just been watching 3 hen pheasants cleaning up the dropped seeds from under the feeders. I do have a great variety of avian visitors.