Pigeon TALK

Reenie's unwanted night-time visitor had her spitting feathers

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Trying to bring her blurry eyes into focus, Reenie groaned. The green glare from her digital alarm clock read 5.30am. She fumbled for her eye mask, pulling it down over her face, and wishing she had earplugs. As much as she enjoyed listening to the dawn chorus chatting away like old friends in the trees outside, the wood pigeon on her windowsill was a step too far. Its incessant cooing vibrated around her eardrums and even disturbed her sleeping cat, Dodger, who, having been woken, decided it was breakfast time.
'It's too early, Dodge. Settle back down.'

But there was no stopping the barrage of fluffy headbutts to her face. 'Right, you win!'

As Reenie pottered around the kitchen, the pigeon's cooing seemed even more persistent than before. Her hand juddered and the mug jumped out of her hand, smashing on the tiled floor. Her eyes darted to the sound of the tapping that had startled her. There, at the kitchen window, were beady cantaloupe-coloured eyes, tinged with ruby red, staring back at her.

The cooing intensified and the bird pecked at the glass. The wood pigeons that had taken up residency in the surrounding trees were of a pinkish-brown colour with white-tipped wings, but this bird was grey, almost blue.

Reenie stepped closer to the window, but her sudden movement spooked the pigeon and he took off.

'Five-thirty that darned bird had me up, making a racket.' Reenie relayed the story to her sister Sharon on the phone, later that morning.

'You'll just have to get earplugs. There are so many pigeons in the trees around here.'

'Maybe, but there was something about this one. He almost seemed cheeky, pecking at the window, staring. Not like the usual ones'

'Are you sure it was a pigeon?'

'Yes!' Reenie replied indignantly.

'Earplugs it will have to be, then.'

****