We have a pair of magpie guards

On worm patrol in our back yard.

Snazzy-sharp in black and white,

They gourmet-gobble squiggling delights.

Their friend the woodpecker joins the crew,

He’s good at scarifying, too!

He’s rather stiff, a jerky dude

Who Charlie-Chaplins for his food.

The sparrows can be rather rude,

And wait for me to serve their food.

They hang out on the garden fence,

Demanding my subservience.

Then there’s snooty Mr Hawk,

Who glides above squawking Ted Talks.

He gets rodents in a right flap,

His tailspin drops even scare the cat!

Bluetits, those mad acrobats?

Well, they just want their bacon back!

They love those greasy bags of seed

I’ll soon hang up bushes, trees.

We have an owl, a real hoot, he!

He sings when all the others sleep.

I love to hear his calming sound,

Tucked snug beneath my eiderdown.