| Joined: | Wed Apr 18th, 2012 |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 4204 |
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Sat calmly sipping my 11am brew when I was startled by a mass of furred and feathered bodies bouncing across the patio.
The sparrow hawk had swooped in to grab a blackbird at the same time as the local feline assassin had gone for the same blackbird.
Those talons would have hurt the moggy but as is often the case with birds of prey, despite potentially more lethal weaponry they don't risk flight incapacity in a fight and it flapped a hasty retreat.
The blackbird sat stunned into motionless. So did the cat a mere foot away from his prey.
I unlocked the patio door (that sound is all that's needed) and the cat was off. The bird sat motionless. I noticed it was blood red in the beak....not a good sign.
I decided to leave it and let nature take its course....but kept an eye out for the cats return.
15mins later the bird was still sat motionless there.
After 20mins I decided to go out and 'do something'. But as I approached the window the blackbird turned its head to reveal it was holding a red holly berry in its mouth, not blood. One click of the door lock and ...whoosh....it flew off down the garden. One lucky blackbird. Wonder if he had time to swallow that berry?
About 20 mins later a black and white figure slinked across the patio to the spot where the blackbird had sat. The bird had clearly left the scent of his panic...... if not a residue.
Happy New Year to everyone....and the blackbird.
Last edited on Wed Dec 30th, 2020 06:42 by Eric
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Eric