Where has the seed gone?

As I sit and watch the birds having their morning feed, I struggle to understand how such small birds can have such a big appetite.

There’s a robin that regularly visits, and there’s some kind of finch. There are some sparrows, two crows, and a few other smaller birds, but nothing that could eat so much.

I can hear lots of other birds singing. Do they all come here in the night for a banquet?

Steam rises from my first coffee of the day; I can see my breath. I can see droplets of water on the grass. I can see life.

I can’t see a feeder full of seed.

The sun is low in the sky and it’s glancing at me through the trees. A breeze moves the branches and the light dances.

A chill blows through the air. Not a freezing chill like on a winter’s morning; a somewhat pleasant chill.

My coffee is too hot to drink; the irony forces a smile onto my face.

Everything is perfect. Almost perfect.

I first thought it might be a larger bird eating the seed, but I haven’t seen any larger birds. Even at night when I peek through my curtains, there are no signs of any larger birds.

I filled the feeder to the brim a few days ago; before that, it lasted weeks. Now, it’s nearing its end.

I thought it might be a fox, or even a family of foxes. I have seen several instances of bushes twitching; there’s always too much movement for it to be a bird hiding. Could a fox climb high enough to reach the feeder? It couldn’t, but I often see bits of seed on the ground underneath it.

I hear a train in the distance. The tracks are far away enough that the noisy trains aren’t a nuisance to me. Close enough that the station is only a few minutes to walk to.

I should cut the grass. I need to harvest my potatoes and carrots.

I look left to my next-door neighbours’. They’re away for the weekend, topping up their tans in a country far from here. Who’s looking after their cat?

At least there is a cat-flap in the door for it to explore the world.

I have a sip of coffee and take a deep breath of the morning’s air. I wonder what the day will bring.

I know where the seed has gone.