Cat Daddy and I have been struggling to sleep since returning from holiday. This is partly down to our post-holiday body clock stuffage, but also because of the Angry Birds, a flock of attractive but maddening bright green parakeets who have nested in the park across the road. Our neighbours hate them, too, and, if we are to hope for any sleep at all, we have no choice but to either keep the windows closed in the heat or to do Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who will be the one to get up and shut the windows once the racket starts at dawn.
Cocoa the babysit cat is doing his utmost to keep their population down – and has had some success – but he has a way to go before he makes a significant difference. Not that we actually want to see them all killed but, after several consecutive nights of no sleep, we can’t help but cheer on Cocoa just a little bit.
Sometimes a squawky magpie or two also join in, resulting in a cacophonous chorus of “Screech-screech-screech-screech-screech-screech-screech-screech-cawwwwww-cawwwwww!” It’s quite the most dreadful thing imaginable.
Not long ago I was forced to get up upon hearing the hellish alarm call, because just lying there would have made me more annoyed. I looked out at The Back and saw about a dozen or so parakeets perched on the telephone wires screeching at something below them. And now I know what has been making the Angry Birds so angry. Most of them flew away when I went outside, but I managed to catch one bird with the object of its enragement:
Oui, Mesdames et Messieurs: what’s making them so cross is a little black sod, pitter-pattering about the garden, stopping occasionally to look up at them and meow back. As I watched, open-mouthed with shock, I observed that the meowing only made the Angry Birds’ screeching worse, which in turn made the meowing worse, and so on, just as it does with Oscar the dog’s barking. Oh. Mon. Dieu.
I have no idea whether the Angry Birds are screeching to alert their comrades of the potential predator danger, or whether they are just shouting insults and swear words (which, frankly, is much more likely). Whatever the reason, we apologise unreservedly to the neighbours who follow Le Blog and, erm, might just keep quiet about this when we bump into the neighbours who don’t.
jesuisleroisoleil 
We have Clark’s Nutcrakers who screech, it’s horrible, but it doesn’t last long, just when the piñon cones open up so they can get at the pine nuts. I’m tempted to enable drastic measures. Sorry you have to endure. Are earplugs out of the question?
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Oh, and I love the photo.
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I can’t sleep with earplugs. If they don’t fall out, they make me hear my heartbeat in my ears which is quite disconcerting. One of my neighbours reckons the Angry Birds will disappear once the trees have finished fruiting. So, erm, only another month to go. 😳
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They are screeching …’stay away from the Forbidden Greenhouse’…!
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I sleep with earplugs because of Steve’s noisy breathing, but when we stayed with you they didn’t keep out the parakeets’ screeching. Nor the low flying aircraft! I kind of miss those birds, but not their noise when trying to sleep, that’s for sure. Love your description and the photo 🙂
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Sadly earplugs don’t work on me. Either they fall out & I spend the night chasing them around the bed, or, if they fit, they sound like a seashell & I can hear whooshing ocean & my own heartbeat all night. 😢
I was lucky with that photo, wasn’t I? Shame most of the birds flew off but I got one little green sod.
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Magpies scolded my 7 lb ginger, Jammie (RIP) at 5:30 am during nesting and fledging season. The birds moved into the city as the suburban open space of Denver, Colorado grew. Jammie always liked to greet the dawn.
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Oh my, don’t even get me started on Le Roi’s relationship with magpies. Even when he was in a cone he managed to have a stand-off with one. (He also weighs 7lbs, by the way!) 😆
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If earplugs dont work, switch on a noisy fan and point it away from you, if air is not needed. Or you could try taxidermy.
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There are a lot of things… including living things that could bother me if they woke me up… like low flying helicopters… or unmuzzled motorcycles. Even my beloved cat checking to see if I’m still alive when I’ve managed to fall asleep can earn her an acetic comment… but for some reason, I am usually very forgiving towards birds. Including magpies and crows. But I suppose we all have our preferences in this world, and I can sympathize with you. I have never weighed my cat. So I don’t know if she is heavier than Le Roi, but I can tell you that she co-exists with both magpies and crows with mutual respect. She prefers to hunt after smaller birds, or to eat chicken straight from the market… All the same, I enjoyed your narrative.
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I’m so sorry, I’ve only just seen this comment! It seems there are many that I didn’t realise were there. I do apologise! Thanks so much for commenting.
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I am not going to romanticize your life by the French aspects~ as it is easy to do- but seriously- hit me up- let us talk about animal and plant whispering… I want your interactive perspective from way over yonder.
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Oh my, after emailing you I completely forgot to approve this comment! And, alongside it, I found many other unapproved comments going back years! I feel awful that people must have thought me very rude when in fact I am just, erm, forgetful and un-Wordpress-savvy. 😩
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No worries Jelly bean- I have the same issues. It’s easy to go through spells of inactivity for me using this as a personal blog site, I am far from professional! No harm over here – thanks for getting back to me .
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I’ve never known how to access old unapproved messages until now. 🤣🤣🤣
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When I lived in Northern California I found the neighbor’s rooster to be insufferable. BTW, they will crow at ANY time of the day or night. But after a couple of nights it got to the point where I didn’t “hear” them any more and began getting good nights sleep once again.
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Oh my goodness, the Dog Family lived down the road from a PAIR of roosters who would start their racket at 4am and carry on several times an hour until sunset.
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