New arrivals and old friends

This morning while gathering my wits before I get up, I was startled by the worst screeching I ever heard at my bedroom window.

I will admit that my first thought was that the geese had finally managed to kill somebody or something.

I walked out on the stoep to see what they have done. Turns out nothing. I was greeted though by a strange looking bird with a voice that makes nails on a blackboard sound like Beethoven.

"What the hell! Who are you?" I asked.

The bird made a terrible noise.

Even the geese looked startled.

"Where did you come from?"I asked.

The bird answered - am only assuming that the horrible sound meant somewhere where there were lots of deaf people.

"You can't be pecking on the bedroom window this early in the morning," I said. " That is the little brown bird's job - and if he is not available he has subcontracted to the finches. We have no space for another window-pecking bird. The vacancy is filled."

At this stage I must say little brown bird looked on proudly and pecked away even more energetically than usual.

Awful-Noise-Bird flew to the birdhouse where he ate almost all the breakfast seeds in big beaksful.

"I am not sure if we have space for another eccentric at the cottage," I say.

Awful-noise-bird made that sound again.

The geese looked on in horror. The ducks were trying to hide under each other's bums.

"The noise will have to stop," I say putting down apples for Jean-Luc (the mongoose). "You are disturbing the peace. Jean-Luc was peering around the corner at the horrible new thing.

At this stage I saw Rambo hopping into the garage confirming my suspicions that he really did spend his nights making dark plans with other members of the froggy mafia.

Awful-Noise-Bird continued his one-sided conversation - and then he tried to eat Jean-Luc's apples! Jean-Luc charged at Awful-noise bird but thought better of it and retreated to the tree where he started digging, what I presumed was a trench for when he co-opted Rambo in a strange and mysterious froggy-mongoose way to assassinate Awful-Noise-Bird.

Then the one swallow peered out the nest. Next all four of them attacked awful-noise-bird. Well well...and here I thought the geese were the aggressive ones.

Awful noise bird retreated 30 m away. He flew into the high branches of a tree and sat there complaning loudly.

"Thank you," I said to the swallows. "I couldn't take it either anymore. I will forgive you the awful mess you make on the stoep every day. You are my true friends.

I hope Awful-Noise-Bird got the message loud and clear. Otherwise I will need to have a chat to a frog and a mongoose.