Over the years I have had many Magpies visit me in my mission to attract BlueJays to my balcony. From the early days where Hitchcock numbers of Magpies would gather in the pre-dawn in the tree across the street waiting for breakfast to now only a few popping by. While I have been thrilled in attracting Blue Jays, Nuthatches, Sparrows and the occasional Flicker, it is the Magpie that amazes me for its intelligence, problem solving and learning. My best Magpie story is the day I observed a “committee “ meeting of 7 or more birds who (I assume) were all related discussing amongst themselves what to do with a huge nest in a deciduous tree next to our balcony. The nest had been in use for a couple of years and had never been truly successful. The discussion carried on by soft twitters, burbles, and other vocalizations as each bird hopped in and inspected the nest. Then all fell silent. An agreement had been reached. One by one each bird flew in, took a twig and flew away returning a few minutes later. Within an hour the nest was dismantled and the birds gone.
Great Constance. I have had occasional "conversations" with magpies. One way. They talk and I listen. Once one talked me out of a deep funk. It chattered away for over two minutes which sounded completely like grammatically correct sentences. Never moved except for blinking its eyelids.
Over the years I have had many Magpies visit me in my mission to attract BlueJays to my balcony. From the early days where Hitchcock numbers of Magpies would gather in the pre-dawn in the tree across the street waiting for breakfast to now only a few popping by. While I have been thrilled in attracting Blue Jays, Nuthatches, Sparrows and the occasional Flicker, it is the Magpie that amazes me for its intelligence, problem solving and learning. My best Magpie story is the day I observed a “committee “ meeting of 7 or more birds who (I assume) were all related discussing amongst themselves what to do with a huge nest in a deciduous tree next to our balcony. The nest had been in use for a couple of years and had never been truly successful. The discussion carried on by soft twitters, burbles, and other vocalizations as each bird hopped in and inspected the nest. Then all fell silent. An agreement had been reached. One by one each bird flew in, took a twig and flew away returning a few minutes later. Within an hour the nest was dismantled and the birds gone.
Birds are smart and clever. What a great conversation you had with your magpie friend!
Great Constance. I have had occasional "conversations" with magpies. One way. They talk and I listen. Once one talked me out of a deep funk. It chattered away for over two minutes which sounded completely like grammatically correct sentences. Never moved except for blinking its eyelids.