Sometimes 'gracious hospitality' can take unusual twists and turns. This spring we were gracious hosts to a magpie family that set up housekeeping in a tree right outside the kitchen window. Talk about noisy! The parents took over the territory, and since it was in an area where the cat has been fed for years, it was quite interesting. The birds decided the cat was an intruder and not only stole his food, but shadowed him, pecked his tail, and basically harassed the poor thing. The cat was not intimidated, though, and when a magpie parent would dive bomb it, he'd just try to play with it or act uninterested. Eventually six fledgling magpies made their appearance, trying out their wings in our back yard. Once they left their nest they found shelter and safety in the brush pile, but could been seen early mornings, all sitting in a row on the trellis. They are gone now and the back yard is again quiet and serene.
Brent caught one of the babies briefly and brought him into the house for a few minutes. The bird let his dissatisfaction be known and he soon was back with his siblings in the brush pile.
You can teach magpies to talk ! But getting them younger, when they look like a featherless ball of black is the age to bring them in and train them. Hard work, lots of patience and lots of squawking on their part takes place in the begining.
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