'Peggy' the MOORHEN recovers & becomes cycle safety technician

A few weeks ago I noticed a Female Moorhen with an injured left leg severely hobbling about at the Water Gardens beside Moor End Road Car Park. It looked to be in serious discomfort & possibly in pain, avoiding moving about if it could, sometimes crouching down to rest & sheltering in the hedge. I didn't have very high hopes for the poor thing & expected the worst. I considered catching it but with just my hands & no net I didn't want to cause it any extra undue stress, & I thought anyway that at least where it was it had a free supply of food from the duck-feeders, it had shelter if it wanted it, it had some safety in numbers & the weather was mild, so at least if it was going to be its last days it could do what a Moorhen does with relative safety & Moorhen amenities.

Well, despite my fears, when passing that same spot this morning, I had the pleasant surprise of seeing this tough little MOORHEN running around, yes running around, all be it with a limp, grabbing breadcrumbs before its friends could. I was amazed to see that it had recovered so well in the short space of time, & apart from the limp, was very mobile & looking much more comfortable compared to the last time. I sat & watched it feed for a while until I found myself unconsciously call her Peggy, after her peg-leg walk. I decided to take a short video of Peggy on my compact camera & with that she decided to show off by flying up onto my bike beside me, giving it a safety inspection, then when it appeared not to meet her standards fluttered to the ground with a rather clumsy landing.

Now, I'm not saying it was a sign, but, after she jumped off I took a quick look over my bike now that much of the dried mud of recent had fallen off, & to my amazement all four chainring bolts that hold the front gears on had come loose, so loose in fact that I could unscrew & remove them with one turn of my fingers! If it wasn't for Peggy prompting me to look I would never have noticed & it could have caused a potentially nasty accident. Was Peggy looking out for me because I was looking out for her? Either way I'm highly grateful to her for making me take notice, thank you Peggy.