I was used to hearing the birds sing.  In fact the bird music, or twit hop is one of the most relaxing sounds to a Camping Ninja’s ears – the sweet sounds of those delicate tweets from nature when you’re camping.  But this time these bird-like noises were different. 

Not specific to early in the morning, or to the early evening when most birds start do their final chatting before going to sleep – these softly spoken bird tweets seemed to be only audible when I was either on my way in or on my way out of the campsite shower block.

But where were the noises coming from?  Was I picking up some kind of alien activity due to my super powerful ninja sense of hearing?  Or had I gone completely mad and started hearing voices in my head?  I hoped it wasn’t that, and I didn’t think it was as I didn’t yet believe that the doors and walls of the shower block had three heads and the voice of my Auntie Matilda, or think that they were out to get me.

I tried to pick out the words they were saying and translated it from Bird to English on the ninjabile.  Something about being hungry for worms and growing feathers.  Very strange.  I wondered what it was all about and despite racking my brains and thinking with all my ninja power, I still couldn’t figure out where the little noises were coming from.

Back at the tent I asked the others if they’d heard the funny noises too, but no one had.  I was sure I wasn’t just being paranoid.  Had I forgotten to take the ninjapod out of my ears?  No, and I didn’t remember ever downloading a track with lyrics about worms and feathers anyway.  Had my Twitter feed gone into a live broadcast directly into my ears? … I thought about the possibility of that one for a little while, until I remembered it was only 2011 and not 2015.  Technology via the ninjabile was not that advanced yet.  There had to be another explanation.

The next morning it all became clear.  A note had been taped to the cigarette bin that was attached to the outside of the shower block.  It read ‘Birds nesting. Please do not use’.

Ah.  That was where all the little twittering had come from.  A family of birds had ingeniously turned the cigarette box into a nesting box and made it their home.  It dawned on me that the reason the chicks only seemed to be tweeting at me, was probably because they thought I was their Ninja Papa going past (same kind of nose you see). 

Well who can blame them for wanting to stay at the campsite, as this campsite has been great.  So good in fact, that these non-ninja's have extended their stay and made a temporary home here.  Actually I am tempted to do the same myself too, but I’m built much more for tents than little boxes.  Big ninja head, small cigarette box, it wouldn’t work!