On Seeing And Hearing A Greenfinch In Leongatha Poem by Francis Duggan

In park in Leongatha by small lake on blackwood tree
I heard a greenfinch singing a bird once familiar to me
And there was no mistaking to whom the voice belong
A once familiar songster I knew him by his song.

Introduced in this Country and their numbers only few
With the aid of binoculars I had a close up view
Of a young male in breeding plumage a lighter shade of green
It had been awhile a year maybe since one of his kind I had seen.

Quite different to the goldfinches who seem in plentiful supply
The greenfinches look plainer and of humans they are shy
Amongst all of the greenery they do seem hard to see
But their song distinct from others a clue to their identity.

I can recall male greenfinches in their strange courtship display
Flying high above the hedgerows in a Country far away
And as they flew they twittered as they tried to attract a mate
And the memory of such beauty does not have a use by date.

In Leongatha in a park there on blackwood tree by a small lake
I see and heard a greenfinch singing a bird one hardly could mistake
On a mild evening in December underneath a cloudy sky
And a thing of natural beauty is always a thing of joy.