I knew it the second I saw him;
his stillness,
the way his feathers drooped over the feeder...
Something was wrong.
He didn't startle at my presence,
at the scraping sound of the shovel,
or the snow being tossed into the air.
Not normal behaviour for this Common Redpoll.
This is what I was shovelling my way to,
the spot where my husband and I sit to watch
the birds flit between the feeders and a nearby fir tree.
Rather than continuing to make any more noise,
nervous of scaring him away
when, perhaps he wasn't well,
I decided to leave this little guy in peace.
The shovelling can wait.
