The Chestnut Teal Poem by Francis Duggan

The chestnut teal are dabbling in the shallows of the lake
The loud quack of the female and the soft whistle of the drake
He is of dark brown and chestnut colouring, dark neck and head of a glossy green
And she is of a mottled gray birds I have often seen
In my many walks by the brackish lake in the park of the town
To be often seen within their range their one claim to bird renown
Like black duck and like gray teal their numbers seem to grow
The small dabblers of the town park lake that everybody know
Though they live close to human habitation of humans they are shy
If they think you are too close to them to the centre of the lake they fly
They always do seem ill at ease when humans to them near
Perhaps they have been shot at and man have learned to fear
They live in the big town park lake not remote from Humankind
But they are wary and secretive and their nests are hard to find.