The dawn chorus, Sid the sparrow takes lead voice for the first time. Swea-Pea, prowling huntress, stalks her prey, a quick paw and it's hers! The birds set up a raucous screaming - "She got Sid, she got Sid, she got Sid, over and over again.

Sid the sparrow is in her clutches, snatched from his home in the ivy at only half-past breakfast time. He sits quietly in her mouth, hoping, just hoping to get a chance to fly away. He is unhurt - that cat has a big mouth. He bides his time and is carried further into Swea-Pea's lair but, a human appears.

Swea-Pea is snatched up into the human's arms and Sid just trembles visibly as a huge hand come towards him, but no, it's not for a quick death and breakfast for kitty, the human saves Sid, and releases him just yards from his ivy home. Sid flies those few yards, still quivering but knowing he is lucky, last week they got Angelina the wren, it could so easily have been him today. His flock welcome him back and start the dawn chorus once more (with Boris the sparrow [Sid's understudy] taking lead voice this time - Sid is after all still recovering)

And the moral of this story - don't let your cats out? No, it's don't leave your window open just 2 inches overnight in the summer, sparrows can be dragged through that gap and taken for a mad dash round the house at 6:00AM before being having to be released and flying off! That dawn chorus went from pleasant birdsong to screaming yells and back to birdsong in what felt like the blink of the eye but actually took about 5 minutes to happen and it took longer to write about than it took to happen!

PS: Swea-Pea got a breakfast of chicken flavour Felix and the window got shut tight!

Copyright © Lesley Taylor
March 20, 2002