Tuesday, September 10, 2013

I Just Gotta Tell Some One

     I was standing on my side walk today when an old beater of a car swung across the road to me. The old guy looked pretty rough and his car was packed with stuff and he had a huge dog in the front seat. I thought he was maybe going to ask for directions. But no. He asked me if I knew about all the magpies around here. My Middle school teacher brain clicked in and I said, "No!"

    Now our area has a very heavy population of magpies. They are all over the place. They are a nuisance and steal lots of little birds from nests.

    The "no" answer didn't stop him for a second. He just had to tell somebody his story. He had just seen two magpies chasing a jack rabbit. One magpie was chasing from behind and one was at the front. He was so amazed at what he had just seen that he had to stop and tell the first person what he had seen. He picked a good person to tell his story to as I am interested in those things and have posted many times on jack rabbits as our area has many jack rabbits as well as magpies. 


A feisty little guy in my neighbor's back yard

A trick rabbit drinking from the sprinkler also from my neighbor's yard

You have to look very hard but you will see a very young rabbit.

I was two steps away from this one when I took his picture.

    Magpies are well known to be teasers. They will tease dogs . When the dog leaves it's food dish in goes a magpie as magpies like dog food.

   Magpies will tease red squirrels. One magpie will be above the squirrel in the tree and the other one will be below the squirrel. The poor squirrel will try to climb the tree and finds Mr magpie. The squirrel goes down the tree and there's a magpie below. The chase gets pretty exciting until the squirrel jumps from the tree and escapes. 

   So watching the critters sometimes gives us unexpected stories.

30 comments:

  1. I love that that man shared his story with you. The magpies sound like little rascals!

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    1. Magpies are complete rascals. They can be very aggressive birds. They are very intelligent birds.

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  2. Those magpies are taking over our neighbourhood too. They are with so many and are very noisy chatting with each other and chasing after other birds. I don't think it is a nice bird, they don't behave! Those rabbits look much nicer.

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    1. It's interesting that your magpies are a different species but has the same characteristics. Ours is the black billed magpie.

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  3. It sounds like they've got a lot of character. Somewhere I read that they're one of the few animals that can recognize themselves in a mirror. Very fascinating! I don't think I've ever seen this bird anywhere.

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  4. Magpies, hunting smartly - one in the front and one in the back - pack hunting like wolves n coyotes. Coyotes are well known for stalking you from behind, while at least one if not more are coming from other direction. Sneaky buggers and we have lots of them here. Neat story Red.

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    1. Yes, when I see one coyote I always wonder where the others are.

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  5. That's interesting, and he was lucky it was you he told, so it an be passed onto those of us who have never seen such things. I love your pretty bunnies, Red. :-)

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    1. I wish I had some squirrel and magpie pictures.

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  6. Very nice tale, I haven't seen many magpies but can visualize them well.

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    1. You're lucky you don't have very many magpies. I don't mind them but we have too many.

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  7. they sound like great amusement! smart and organized!

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    1. Magpies are attractive but we have too many.

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  8. I don't think we have magpies here in the Portland area. At least I haven't seen any.

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    1. They're a very flashy black and white bird with a very long tail.

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  9. I think that's so awesome you took the time to listen to this fellas story. Sounds like the magpies keep the rabbits, squirrels and other critters on their toes.

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    1. I would imagine they watch out of the corner of their eye for the magpies. Magpies don't harass them all day long. Just when they feel full of mischief.

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  10. Hours of entertainment are to be had from watching those we share the world with.

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    1. Yes, and I always wonder about the wary, hidden eyes that are watching me.

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  11. I wish we had magpies here out east!

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  12. Ha! Loved this post. Your blog is such a joy to visit. Glad I found ya!!

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  13. Well, thanks for the nice compliment. I'm sorry I don't have pictures of magpies or squirrels.

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  14. Sounds a little like Hitchcock's movie The Birds. With the demise of rabbits, perhaps the birds will also diminish in population?

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  15. Magpies can be pesky--but that's who they are. My daughter lives on a ranch in eastern Wa. and the Magpies tease her dogs and eat their dog kibbles. Silly birds! We don't have any here on the west side of the state. Whew!! MB

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  16. I'm not surprised to hear how intelligent they are as they're members of the corvid family. I know how clever crows can be. Very cool that this guy told you his story. He knew he had a good listener (and re-teller) in you.

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  17. We don't have magpies, but the crows are as crazy! I love your rabbits!

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  18. Magpie Ravine (our name for it) is on my daily route to school every morning...I see them most days doing magpie chores. Love them! They are always on my Christmas Bird Count and loved by my daughter who has chosen them as an unofficial totem animal. Old rhyme says one for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy.

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