Befriending A Magpie

You heard it hear first………..yes it’s true…………I’m becoming friends with a magpie.  Who would have thought that I would befriend a loud, squawking magpie.  It started out with me going outside, throwing bread pieces on the ground and whistling the sound of a chickadee.  I was trying to get the chickadees to come in and eat the bread while I sat in my swing to watch and take photos. 

Not to be outdone by a little chickadee, one magpie started coming in every time I whistled.  All the other magpies wait at a far distance until I go in the house and then they will come and snatch up all the rest of the bread.  But Gus (that’s what I named him) will fly in the tree close by and then fly to the ground and get the bread, within 9 feet of where I am sitting.  While he is sitting in the tree, we actually squawk back and forth to each other – too funny!

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In the video below, one of the little chickadees is eating bits of bread.  Not in this video, but shortly after, the chickadee picked up a piece of bread and tried to fly away with it.  I don’t know if it was too big for him or what but he dropped it on the ground.

Chickadee Eating Bread

Gus, standing close by noticed that the chickadee dropped his piece of bread so he hopped over, scooped it up and took it a short distance away and proceeded to bury it in the grass.  After he buries it, he covers it with dead leaves.  He frequently buries the bread he takes and comes back later and gets it.

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I guess if I keep befriending Gus, I’ll have to keep feeding him.  Good thing I Started making bread, hmmm.  I must admit, he is fun to have around.

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