Over the last month I have been woken up around dawn by strange noises coming from the roof of our place.

At first I could hear a bang, bang, bang. My sleepy brain started to wonder what was making the noise but my body was reluctant to help out by getting up. Was it a person on the roof, why are they up so early.......hang on a minute I haven’t asked any body to go up there and other thoughts that seem to make so much sense when one first wakes up.

The banging suddenly stopped.  But it was replaced by what can only be described as the noise a pin ball machine makes when the ball is launched – a thud followed by a rolling noise. The noise started on the top of the roof and moved down eventually ending in a clunk.

By now my inquisitive mind was fully awake and eager to find out what was creating these early morning disturbances. So as quickly as I could, well as fast as any one can early in the morning, I made my way a roof light to see what was going on. But, of course, by the time I got there the noises have stopped and there’s nothing to be seen.

I didn't get the noises every morning; it was on and off over the next few weeks. The only set pattern was that I only hear them around dawn.

But the other day I happened to be up a bit earlier when I caught sight of a crow flying past my window. I didn’t think much at first but then I noticed that it has something in its beak. I followed its flight path until it hovered over our neighbour’s roof before landing.

It then hit the thing it was carrying on the roof tiles, bang, bang, bang – bang, bang, bang.

After about 30 seconds it flew up and dropped the thing onto the roof tiles where it roiled down and 'thunk' it landed in the metal gutter. It was then that the penny, or should I say walnut, dropped. The crow was trying to break open a walnut it has taken from a nearby tree!

With the mystery solved I can now snooze in the morning without puzzling over the strange noises from above.