Cyril The Squirrel And His Fine-Feathered Friends! Poem by Denis Martindale

I woke up early once again and put on a brand new wildlife T-shirt.
As I looked out of the window upstairs, once again, Nature put on a show!

Across the street, on the neighbours' rooftop, were four pigeons.
One was definitely in the mood for love, and he got nowhere.
The first pigeon 'nodding heads' with him for a minute,
Then it scooted off and flew far away, and he didn't blink an eye.
He went straight to the next one nearby, and that scarpered as well.

A little later, two magpies were in a neighbour's garden,
Both waddled along looking for their breakfasts, as they do.
A few blackbirds appeared, along with a few sparrows and pigeons.
Then I spotted Cyril the Squirrel! And he put on an acrobatic show!

He was dangling on the telephone pole as he had done before,
But this time, it was completely different to anything I expected.
He scampered up that pole to the very top and settled there.
'Now what? ' I asked myself, as there's no food up there at all.
Then Cyril decided to scamper headfirst down the pole again.
He's a proper little Spider-Man in his own wonderful way.
All too soon, he had crossed the street and disappeared again.
He reminded me of what Batman, the Dark Knight, does in films,
One second here, and the next second he's vanished into thin air.

Pretty soon, another rooftop had been visited by birds,
Ten blackbirds and sparrows perched on one TV aerial,
Settling contentedly for a few minutes before each one left.

On a nearby neighbour's fence, I saw another tiny bird,
And wondered if it really was a robin redbreast bird or not,
Then I noticed a larger bird with a red chest on a rooftop.
I had seen a few finches across the street, and soon after,
A tiny finch landed on a telephone wire, so close to my window.
It was a treat to see its brightly coloured wings so clearly.

Yes, it was a good day for Cyril and his fine-feathered friends!
And, frankly, Nature lovers, you really can't say fairer than that.


Denis Martindale.25th July 2026.


Here is a Nature study poem by the Poemhunter poet Denis Martindale about another local street spectacle. Starting as early as five o'clock, the street was alive with creatures great and small, and even Cyril the Squirrel put on a show, the brave little so-and-so.