A September Night In The Countryside

Out there in the quiet countryside in the still of the night The unmistakeable cry of a hunting fox in the moonlight And perhaps at the threat of a predator to their ground nest nearby The wary spur wing plovers are calling as they fly Like the fox the predatory night birds have young to feed this time of year And the loud screech of a barn owl not a pleasant sound to hear And to the boobook calls of mopoke on the nearby trees The brooding small bird in her nest does listen with a sense of unease On the quiet rural roadway few cars pass up and down On a September night in the countryside miles from the nearest town And the calls of the male ringtail possum one never could mistake He will be back in his leafy nest before sunrise at daybreak The predatory birds and animals who hide from the lamp of day In the still of a September night are out hunting for prey.