So spring seems to have sprung, the days and evenings are warmer, the sun is getting stronger, the birds are staying up later and I can smell the fresh summer scent of flowers. So mummy and I have been having great fun whilst outside, I’m climbing all the trees and chasing all the birds. They seem to like playing with me too but they’re quick little things and as soon as I get anywhere near enough to say hello and introduce myself off they fly.
I love making friends with the animals I meet outside, it means I get to have more friends to play with whilst I’m outside. One little bird in particular always sits on the tree or fence and chirps at me so I can hear where it is and go over and say hello. Lately though this little birdie who mummy calls Robin has been playing games with me. As soon as I get close the little birdie goes very quiet and so I stop and listen very carefully. Normally if the birds I’m stalking fly away I can hear their wings fluttering and can follow the noise so I know where they’ve gone but this little bird is very clever.
As soon as I got close the little bird went very quiet, I listened very hard and crept closer to where I had last heard it, I listened as hard as my giant bunny ears could listen but it had gone so very quiet, then suddenly from behind me I heard a familiar chirp. How did it get over there? How did it evade my super blindie hearing? How did it move without making any noise? Off I went to investigate, over to the tree this time, the little chirp was up above me, I listened out for it and pinpointed it wth my ears, hello little birdie, do you wanna be my friend? There was no answer but I didn’t hear it flutter away but then again, chirp from behind me! What! How is this happening? Is there something wrong with my ears? Off to the bush I went in search of the bird (again), I was getting a bit confsed but always enjoying a chase I followed the birdies noises, I was determined to find out what was going on plus catch the birdie.
Then mummy giggled and said “Oh, Jenny, the Robins are teasing you, there’s two of them and they’re making you play piggy in the middle” Well, that is a relief, I thought as it means that my hearing is fine and I’m not going crazy thinking that the little birdie was magically transporting himself from one place to another. It must also mean the birdies like me, I know my sisters like me because they play games with me and chase me so if the birdies are doing that too then surely it must mean they like me and want to be my friend. Now I know they’re playing with me it all makes sense, as I got close to one robin, it went very, very quiet and then the other one sitting somewhere else would chirp so I would go over there and then that one would go quite and the first one would chirp again and off I would go again. so on, making me do all the running around and chasing.
Next time we went out I listened out for the robins and started the game again when I heard their little tweets, this time though I kept an ear out for the other one that might be somewhere around and just so I knew where it was. That way I could get the upper paw in the game and run off and stalk it before it even started tweeting. It didn’t quite work though as once I’ve locked in on one sound everything else goes kind of quiet, I’m fully focussed on what I’m concentrating on, everything else disappears, gets blocked out. It’s like a sound tunnel and I’m fully focussed on one sound, moving my ears with the tiniest of movements to pinpoint the exact location of my prey…I mean friend. From the sounds it makes I can gauge how far away it is, where it is, how big it is and even when it’s sitting still. Then off it goes, flying away and out of reach and the sound tunnel opens back up again and I can hear everything going on around me including mummy’s feet squelching around after me.
Climbing trees to see the birdies is very different to climbing the trees for fun and exercise and to explore. As you’ve seen before when I’m just having fun and running around or having zoomies I run up the tree full speed and in a flash I’m at the top. It’s all about the fun of climbing but. When stalking to play with the birdies on the ground you need to be invisible, so quiet you’re as close to silent as can be and stalking birds up a tree is no different. You can’t just rush up the tree as this will scare the birds away, so you have to approach in the same way as you would on the ground, just doing it upwards instead, you need the same silence, invisibility and focus. So, slowly and quietly one paw at a time and up I go…I’m coming to see you birdies
With the flowers coming out I know that soon the little buzzy insects will be out and about flying around so I’m getting some practice in and mapping where all the flowers are so I don’t run into them when I chase the insects. I don’t always like to push my way through things as I never know how deep they are but with meowmy’s help I know that if there’s a gently tug on the lead it’s ok to push through to find my way out. Soon I’ll be jumping about in them.
Jenny’s Story 