Pied Wagtails

When mountains wear their Winter hats of snow And cold winds down from the cold Northlands blow And fields from heavy frost are looking gray Pied wagtail in the farmyard spends his day. In feathers mostly dark and gray and white Distinctive even in his undulating flight On flies and insects he ease his appetite And he's one you will remember from first sight. Pied wagtails even live in rural town And as they walk their tails wag up and down But to Nature's finer minstrels they do not belong As many others sing a finer song. They build their cup shaped nests of moss and grass and leaves In cavities in walls or under roots or eaves And five to six whitish speckled eggs they lay From April onwards through the month of May They like the watery places it would seem And they often perch on rock in rill or stream And i've often seen them jump to catch a fly Or insect o'er the water passing by. The memories of a bird i used to know From places far away and long ago And pieces of my past with me remain And wagtail comes to visit me again.