It's for the Birds

IT'S FOR THE BIRDS
by BumbleBeeBoogie - July 1994

From my corner office window
in the Community Center at Harbor Bay Isle,
one can see a lovely stretch of lagoon
where animal and bird life abound.
Squirrels romp across fence tops
and up the trunks of pine trees.
Occasional opossums and raccoons
make nocturnal visits under
the arching Alder trees.

But its the bird life on the lagoon
that never ceases to enthrall
and even amuse me.

One day as June was drawing to a close,
I was distracted by loud noises outside.
What made me look up from my work
and out the window
was the raucous honking and screeching
of a flotilla of iridescent
blue-green-feathered geese,
white ducks and dark gray mudhens
all frantically paddling
in the same direction.

I walked out to a balcony
to see what all the fuss was about.
Up stream and across the lagoon,
a father and daughter were seated on a dock,
their dangling legs
reflected in the sparkling water,
throwing food to their bird audience.

Clouds of gray-white seagulls
swooped through the air
catching bits of food in their beaks
while the geese, ducks and mudhens
paddled in the water
in pursuit of the bits of food
floating on the water,
bumping into each other
and scolding furiously.

The approaching bird flotilla
from down stream
appeared around the bend,
honking and screeching loudly
to announce its arrival
as if to demand
"save some for me".