At 8AM I exited my building’s entry door and there were magpies everywhere. This is uncommon.
At first, they were all on the ground. When I returned from my three mile walk there were three times as many. Maybe three dozen, perched on the roof and flying about. This is strange behavior for the birds.
My understanding
is unclear. I’ve been living with these birds for nearly six years. I started feeding them about four years ago on my balcony. I call my apartment The Magpie Cafe. I love these birds and have observed them and written about them before. Often.
Back in April I stopped feeding them because of an invasion of starlings. After the starlings left I waited a while longer and began feeding the mags again. They returned. All the while I continued to feed Farrah and the rest of the finches. Different species of birds eat different kinds of food, depending on their beaks and other evolutionary adaptations and mutations. This all fascinates me. Morning doves, flickers, and blackbirds will nibble at all the food; but not regularly.
Anyways, the starlings eventually returned so I stopped the feeding again. (I don’t like the starlings. They are loud, mean, and dirty!)
So I’m wondering, are the magpies trying to tell me something? The last couple of days one of them came ’round and hung out on the balcony for a while. Now this very uncommon, large gathering.
If you’ve any knowledge or guess, let me know in the comments.
Thanks, and take care of yourselves, and your fine feathered friends. 😉
Beyond me, kemo sabe. God’s creatures are intriguing. Just when you think you’ve got them figured out…
I’ve noticed this year that there don’t seem to be as many crows as I’ve seen in previous years, but the robins are everywhere and bold. Earlier this year I walked past a flock of about 30 or so robins hanging out near a convenience store gas station. Never seen so many in one place before.
And I’ve seen Canadian Geese hanging out on rooftops, another sight I can’t recall noticing before.
Must have something to do with the Earth’s magnetic field! 😁
Something’s definitely going on. Today I covered the usual two square miles of habitat where the magpies have their nests and hang out. Nothing. Then upon returning to my apartment complex – there they are, at least two dozen hanging out together in the shade of a couple trees. It’s weird. I put out their special food again. We’ll see what happens.
Magpies and crows are very territorial, and the territories don’t overlap. There are distinct boundaries. I’ve mentioned that in an earlier post. Cheers.