Flatcap Blackcap…
I see him now, busy at a feeder,
Chunky, formidable,
His needle beak a useful thwart
To fussy chaffinches which flutter nearby.
He hogs the swinging feeder,
Hunched, disagreeable,
Yet handsome, his underparts
A startling pale pastel grey.
Yet it’s his demeanour which fascinates,
His black cap bobbing as he works his beak,
Like an Edwardian factory worker, flat cap wearing,
Huddled over a noisy machine. But the blackcap dominates,
Even bustling greenfinches often hesitate, then seek
Alternative feeders to feast at, if not feeling daring…
Pete Ray
7th March 2023
The blackcap is around the garden just about every day at present but it lingers for many minutes upon the feeders.
It reminds me of a grafting 1920s factory worker at his lathe, perhaps wearing his flat cap, like both my grandfathers wore…
Its chunky body labours as its pointed beak works at the seed and it is not averse either to poking it at invasive chaffinches, tits and even the bullies in my garden, the Greenfinch Four…
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