©2002 Ashy Macbean

Serious birdwatching

Picture this. You're flying along at high altitude. It's dark and you can't see your mates, but you know they're there because you can hear them. Chirp, chirp. Chirping away, keeping in touch. You've already been flying for ages, but you've still got a long way to go. Suddenly there's a big storm. It just comes out of nowhere. One minute it's calm, the next you're fighting for your life. Flying all over the place, upside down, just trying to keep it together, stay up in the air. Hours it seems to go on for. You just try to fly as high as you can. Stay in the air. Then it stops. And it's getting light. But where's everyone else? You're so tired. You just want to stop flying, have a rest. But you're still over the sea - nowhere to land. There's a wee strip of green on the horizon. Miles away, but your eyes are sharp. It looks like land so you head for it, getting lower and lower, flying just above the waves. And there it is. A beach, grass and, not many, but a couple of small bushes. Straight for the bushes.

You made it. Survived, but you're weak. Tired and hungry. You need to eat. It's cold. There's only these two little bushes, but you hop around. There's a wee fly. A caterpillar. Suddenly these two big guys come out of nowhere. They're wearing green and so quiet, that you didn't see them till they were right there. You fly to the next bush and they come after you. They don't do anything. Just stand there, but you're nervous. Too nervous to eat. They go away at last and you sleep.

It's morning and there's hundreds of them! Everywhere. You fly from bush to bush. Out onto the grass, over the next hill. Another bush. A rest. Here they are again, all day this time. They go away when it's dark and you sleep, but it's cold tonight. You don't wake up. You fall off your branch into the long grass. They come back in the morning, but they don't see you. You're lying hidden in the grass. On your back, legs up in the air, beak wide open, wee stiff body. They wait and wait and then they go home. Did you see it? their wife asks. No, they reply. Some guys saw it yesterday but by the time we got there it had moved on.