Goldfinches on a feeder

I listened to the birds as I sat on the deck
so cheerful and happy was what I could hear
for all I know, their song may,
create fear to other birds that hear the same sound.
To me, the song is happiness and joy
and good feeling all around,
but to the bird it may well mean
things totally different than what they may seem.

Are they singing because a great day
or maybe to locate their mate away
out of site but the trills that the one bird sings
can be recognized by the other who will then take wing
and find its mate guided by the sound that I find
so pretty and peaceful but then
I am hearing the sound and not the message within.

I listened to the water as it flows through the ponds
tinkling and splashing and making its sounds
as it rushes over waterfalls and down the streams
and up through the statues and urns
as it careens on an endless cycle round and round
driven by the pumps that so quiet they
that you don’t hear their sound over the waters play.

Do the birds hear the same sounds that to me please
as they sing their songs sitting  in the trees,
Or, are they attuned to a different noise
and the sound of the water does not bring them joy
but rather are grateful to have it to live
as without the water they would not stay
and would find another yard to play
and sing their songs of the day.

It matters not that food I provide
for without water, they cannot survive
my garden, a haven for my feathered friends.
So do they repay me by singing their song
or is that wishful thinking as they go along
doing the things they normally do
as I, a human have no clue.

I guess that the important thing
is the pleasure it brings for my friends on the wing
for me to watch and feed and do my best
to look after them and help them along
so they in return can sing me a song.

Bird singing in the sunset