The Pied Stilt Poem by Francis Duggan

It is not a barking puppy that you hear
By the lake shore in the shallows very near
To where you stand it is the black and white bird over there
The long legged one the pied stilts are not rare
In the bird World they are strangers to fame
And pied stilts for them does seem an apt name
Their stilt like legs by Nature ready made
In the lake shallows all day long they wade
They search for water plants and tiny water life to eat
Such things that to their taste buds does taste sweet
In the shallows from land a few metres away
On nest of mud and reeds four green blotched eggs the female lay
Tall frail looking birds often seen on water covered ground
They make a yelping puppy sort of sound.