I haven’t mentioned magpies much lately. They kind of go quiet later in the summer, I guess is one reason. But they’re always around—like crows used to be back in Maine.
Not the same as crows, though. Way too fancy-looking, for one thing. A bit noisier, quicker to freak out. But still you can tell they’re corvids—smart, observant, near to verbal language. Yesterday I spied three or four on the bluff, but they flew as I went to photograph one. (Mostly this was because a hawk showed up unexpectedly.)
Today they were hanging out on the bluff again. And I got a nice photo of one in the process of being noisy.
A lot of folks tend to complain about all the Black-billed Magpies (as humans will do about conspicuous birds generally), but I kind of like ’em.
Lovely nippy hike today. (The temps have begun to dip, as temps will do.)
Grandeur Peak Area List
Beginning at 8:28 a.m., I hiked a few hundred feet up a mountain.
1. Black-billed Magpie
2. House Finch**
3. Northern Flicker**
4. Mountain Chickadee
5. Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay
6. Spotted Towhee
7. Dark-eyed Junco
8. American Robin
9. White-crowned Sparrow
10. Downy Woodpecker (v)
11. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
12. Pine Siskin (v)
13. Black-capped Chickadee
Elsewhere
14. House Sparrow
15. Rock Pigeon
Mammals
Red Squirrel (v)
(v) Voice only
*Also elsewhere
**Voice only elsewhere
Tags: American robin, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, downy woodpecker, house finch, house sparrow, mountain chickadee, northern flicker, pine siskin, red squirrel, rock pigeon, ruby-crowned kinglet, spotted towhee, white-crowned sparrow, Woodhouse’s scrub jay
