Runnin' on

Birds in our garden

One day last week we were shopping in Downham when someone said, "Hello there, why haven't you put anything about your garden birds in the Pump lately?" So here is an update on our feathered visitors in the past few weeks, and I'm telling you no lies, just the news for Chippy of some of the more unusual birds that drop in!

Our young tomcat is ready for a challenge at all times but the hen that trails him around our garden has become his companion, Toby has shadowed her, chased her and now he just tries to ignore her. They do make a comical pair stepping out to explore every nook and cranny, the cat leads the expedition with his companion bringing up the rear.

This morning there was such a racket somewhere in the garden, I thought I'd better investigate. We have a greenhouse at the side of the veggie patch, and a pair of guinea fowl were attempting to do a breaking and entering job on the door. We think they were panicking because they had got into the garden and couldn't find their way out. They are domestic birds and they were lost and frightened, the greenhouse door may have looked like a way out. As soon as I appeared on the scene the guinea fowl decided it was time to go home pronto, mind you, they grumbled as they scrambled through our hedge!

The visitors add colour and interest to our garden, and we have the occasional fly past of parrots to entertain us. We paid a lot to visit a bird collection when we were on holiday, here we get a free show and Toby has his feathered companion, she does spoil his tomcat street cred!

Our next door neighbour has fowl problems too, she has four or five hens trying to make a home under her hedge, she evicts them every so often, but they soon forgive her and return to her hedge.

As you can see, village life has its moments, we did once have a small herd of cattle in the garden, we must have some special attraction for animals.

Janet Tilburn