Merlin noted for the first time

A carrion crow

Tempted, perhaps, by the 

Frequent corpses left behind by

Predating gulls.

 

Not herrings, or

Scavenged kebab cartons from an 

Overflowing wheely bin but

Today the downy remains of a 

Fledgling jackdaw, a change from the 

Regular diet of pigeons.

 

Merlin recorded the reduced 

Population of birds, the

Absence of woodpeckers and 

Cuckoos from the woods, the

Blackbirds that checked back in at the start of spring on their

Annual visit but

Chose to nest elsewhere, leaving the food in my yard

Untouched.

Were the gulls that are so prevalent now

Driven here by upheavals at their home on the Tyne Bridge,

Men restoring, repainting, fencing off their roosts in the name of progress?

 

I have no way to know.

 Merlin only records, 

But something has changed, and a

Broken backed jackdaw chick

Guts spilling on the tarmac as its killer feasts

Reminds me that change elsewhere can resonate here

Like the cries of a gull on the wing,

Returning to feed its mate, its brood

Living its life the best way it can.