It’s Still Spring… Even at Home #12

I’m a bit late to this week’s party (Tracy’s Corvid-2020 Challenge – Week 9), but nevertheless here I am with another small tribute to the winged creatures that provided me with entertainment over two months of lockdown. It doesn’t seem fair to ignore them, now that we can carefully venture out again. Not that anyone could actually ignore these particular neighbours, the magpies…

It’s amusing to notice how they’re getting bolder and bolder, shamelessly taking over the garden. I have a feeling that soon they’ll be chasing us, humans, away as well.

You’d think a lazy tomcat taking his nap would be safe… well, not quite. I’m not exactly a cat person, but I couldn’t help feeling slightly sorry for him – tail bitten several times, he had to finally get up and leave in search of a quieter, friendlier spot. Since that was no isolated incident – any cat stopping by gets attacked – I can only hope the constantly on the offense magpies have become parents. But whatever their reasons, they’re both hilarious and impressive, forming a formidable power couple. Relentless bullies, they never seem to give up harassing their neighbours, even the crows who generally win the battle.

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Forgive the quality of the photos, they were taken in a rush and the subjects weren’t exactly still and cooperative. And if you think I managed not to incur the magpies’ wrath… well, while one of them generally ignores me, the other one clearly doesn’t like the paparazzi, and has no problem making itself heard. Yes, I did get the occasional evil looks and verbal abuse to go with it, when my clicking was becoming too disruptive.