As some might recall me mentioning before, back in spring/summer I was having problems with being frequently disturbed by a neighbour's noisy bird.
It started last winter but kept getting worse, and during summer became even more annoying, as then the neighbour also kept their balcony door open most of the day.
I kept thinking of complaining to our housing company's office; but I hate conflicts, and could not really think of a "solution" other than the neighbour getting rid of the bird altogheter, which I wasn't sure was something I could demand.
It was also more about being frequently disturbed, rather than each session always lasting very long. (But that one would never know until afterwards!) Was I to try to report an ongoing disturbance by phone, it was likely to stop (pause) before I managed to get through to anyone. And in the nighttime I did not hear it. (I imagine the owner throwing a blanket over its cage in the evenings and until next morning.)
Summer came, and with it the usual period of noise from big birds outdoors: seagulls, crows and magpies fighting each other over food, and anxious to protect their own young offspring. And with that background noise added, it seemed even harder to "plead my case" about the single pet bird next door (even if to my ears, that was still much worse!).
In July, neighbour + animals (there's also a dog) went away for three weeks or so. Blessed silence reigned for a while in their absence - and my nerves calmed down... But at the same time, that also made me realise how much the frequent daily screeches from that bird had really come to affect me!
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| Sounds of silence |
... And as soon as they were back from their holiday, it all started again.
After my own mini holiday in August, I decided to keep daily notes for a while (time of day, for how long, frequence etc); and after a couple of weeks of that, I did try to sum up my complaints in an email to the landlord's office.
After a week or so I got a reply back that they had talked to my neighbour. (Their general policy is discretion towards both parties, so no details about what was said.) I did not really expect any sudden major change... But after that, it did actually seem like the owner was probably at least trying not to encourage the bird to chatter away as much as before.
However: Since the beginning of October I haven't heard a single chirp. And as there have still been sounds/signs of normal human activity, I'm actually beginning to think (fingers crossed!) that a new home must have been found for the bird - somewhere else entirely. (Hopefully permanently, and with someone living in a house of their own this time...)
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| Blessed Silence |
All illustrations in this post created with the help of Microsoft Bing Image Creator.
10 comments:
Now I am really curious what happened to the bird!! In most states here, there are certain hours set aside for low noise. It is from bedtime till morning, but I don't know the exact hours. So you can complain about noise during those hours, but not the rest of the day.
Before I read your info about the illustrations, I was pretty sure that they were AI-made 😊
The last one is super kitschy, but I do know from my own hiking holidays in the mountains that sometimes the landscape can really look like a photoshopped postcard image.
Noise like screeching is hard to bear, and to keep noisy pets in a block of flats shows how thoughtless some people are - surely the bird is much happier in a place where he or she can fly about sometimes.
You are the queen of Bing AI, wow, i knew they were but they are so good and I am a tad jealous that you do it better than I do... I am so glad you reported it, and that things are working out now. I can tell you I would have reported it and if not taken care of been looking for another apartment. glad it worked out, pat on the back for taking care of business
How annoying the screeching must have been. Perhaps the bird has died (hopefully of natural causes) or has been given away to someone in a house with no near neighbours! I'm glad the problem has been resolved for you.
We have barking dogs here, sadly my own included - one starts and they all join in. As all my surrounding neighbours have dogs, none of us can complain!
Love the cartoon parrots.
Ginny, that's pretty much the general rule here too I think, and there are some sounds you have to accept in the daytime - but perhaps not everything...
Meike, I agree - too many people seem to get pets without really considering all the consequences first...
Sandra, if not for you I might still be unaware of the Bing AI being there to use for free. A lot of images still come out very weird, but I guess we also learn as we go along. I like the possibility to try and create illustrations when I don't have photos of my own to match what I want to write about. ;-)
Carol, I think it's too much of a coincidence if the bird should have died of natural causes just after complaints about it being made. So more likely that it was given away or sold. (I also can't help but think that the even the owner may have had certain regrets, so perhaps was not really all that heartbroken to get a "reason" to get rid of it... But that may just be hopeful thinking on my part!)
I'd hate the noise and I hope the silence is permanent. The first 'Sound of Silence' picture is ethereal and very beautiful.
Graham, it's still blissfully quiet, as in still no screeching bird heard since the end of September... I really think the neighbour must have got rid of it!
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