ring-necked parakeet

Yesterday, on the banks of the Kelvin river, I met a guy and we chatted about birds. He was extremely friendly and we swapped sightings. I told him that I thought I saw two ring-necked parakeets a while back as I was walking downhill to catch the bus from my flat. He confirmed that there were, indeed, wild parakeets around Glasgow and showed me a fantastic photo he took of one poking out its nest-hole.
He told me where it was and I knew the location straight away. It was about 100 yards from my old family home. It was almost as if he said, "look, it's been on your doorstep all along."
So, this morning off I went. I found his marker tree and followed the line to the nest-hole. I stayed still and let the sound of birdsong delight my ears. A scuffle on the ground as blackbirds sifted through piles of leaf-litter. I looked and I waited and I backed off a little.
A squawk behind me made me turn and there was the green of a parakeet flying off, probably sounding a warning and trying to lead me away from its nest. So I was led away and tried to find it. I mazed through trees and bushes and couldn't find it.
Then a double alarm call off to my left and a walker with her dog appeared round the path. Again I tried to locate it but failed. I thought of how many times I'd walked this path. How familiar it was, how littered with memories and emotions.
I returned to the tree where the nest-hole was and looked around to see if the original parakeet had returned and was perched on a nearby tree. Nothing, but a symphony of trills and warbles. Yet a stillness found me. Happiness is the wrong word for it. Happiness is a wave of emotion, this was a feeling of being exactly where I was. I breathed, there was wind in the budding leaves.
I backed off around a bush and waited and waited in this still moment of no-time. Standing there, breathing; awash with the movements and sounds of the trees.
The nest-hole was still empty. It didn't matter that I didn't get to photograph one: I knew they were there, and I knew where to find them. The search had led me to a serene place. So I headed off and, one last backward glance, saw something bright green emerging from the hole. Like a dream out it popped as I was walking away. Like a dream I turned around for a last look; and there it was, as if life really could be perfect once in a timeless while.