Tag Archives: Magpies

Observations of a Wolf

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Observations9729

Wolves are a lot like you and me. When they’re out of regular wolf stuff to do, like running down a buffalo, or snarling at somebody who gets too close at the wrong time, or they’re out of sorts because their kid didn’t make the honor roll, but they’re not at that point where they have to go bite something, they find a quiet place to sit and think and  watch what other folks are doing.

That’s what Rodin is doing at the moment. He’s part of the Fishing Wolves* pack at the Wolf refuge in West Yellowstone and he’s already caught his rainbow for the day and got to eat the entire thing without having to share it with the alpha male. That’s a stroke of luck he hadn’t counted on because the alpha usually takes it away from him before he gets a chance to do much more than hold it in his mouth for a moment.

HIs stomach full and his work done for the moment, he gets to go to his favorite place, the high grass in the boulder field and watch what every one else is doing. The alpha is picking on another young wolf today, running him through his paces, teaching him who the bull duck in the pond is, or in this case who the alpha male is in the wolf pack. That cute young grey is looking at him again. He has to play it cool though so the alpha doesn’t notice. Since they’re in an enclosure it’s not like they can sneak away or anything and right now the thought of the beating he’ll get if he returns her interest doesn’t make him feel very amorous.

Stellar jays have been squawking over something, hopping from the lower branches to the ground and back up again, agitated enough it’s causing the pine cones to fall off the branches and rattle around on the ground. It’s drawing in the magpies who’ll make short work of running them off. Whatever it is it’s outside of the fence so it doesn’t affect him.

It’s a perfect day in the neighborhood. The sun’s out but because it’s mid-September it’s not too hot and the wind is just enough to move the grass back and forth a little. It feels good rubbing up against his side. If nobody notices he might just lay down for a nap, something he doesn’t get a chance to do very often. Maybe he’ll dream of running over the long rolling hills up in the Lamar or setting off with the young grey to find their own territory. After all, the skies the limit when you’re dreaming.

* http://www.bigshotsnow.com/2013/05/05/

Magpies – Good Bird or Bad Bird

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Magpie6604Magpie Rocky Mountain National Park celebrating an early snowfall

As you know, we here at The Institute often get letters from naïve but clueless readers asking burning questions about wildlife. As a research institution we are duty-bound to answer these questions, as this is one of the ways we justify our position of being the leading institute of learning and a source of untraceable income because of the cash fees we impose on anyone who is gullible enough to pay them. We recently received this letter which we reprint in its entirety, asking about one of the icons of the West, birdwise, the Magpie. You may have heard that there is a certain amount of strained relations between our neighbors The Ranchers and The Magpie. We are uncertain how this animosity first started but it’s there, and we must deal with it.

Dear Institute, I have heard from some of the ranchers here in the West that the Magpie is considered to be a “bad” bird. A nuisance bird. A bird of little value. They make some rather startling claims and swear that they are true.

Such as,

Magpies will come in the early afternoon and carry off your smaller children to eat them leisurely at their nests.

Magpies will, because of their innate animal cunning, figure out how to open your mailbox and steal your income tax refund check.

Magpies will imitate the sound of a female dog in heat and lead your good male cattle dogs off into tick infested brush thereby addling their brains.

Magpies will often fly over and drop those same ticks into your potato salad at the church picnic and cause a parishioner-wide outbreak of lemon disease.

Magpies because of their distinct coloring will often conceal themselves in a herd of Zebras so they can get real close to you and you wouldn’t even know it.

Magpies are one of leading causes of divorce in the rural West as their calls can befuddle wives and sweethearts to the point where they will act inappropriately with a traveling seed salesman, thereby ruining their relationships without even getting any discount on the seed order.

Magpies are “tricky”.

Magpies will often steal farm machinery and leave it in hard to find places.

Magpies are mostly democrats but some are republicans. There are practically no libertarian magpies.

The only good Magpie is one that stays mainly on that “sheeper’s” place.

Magpies will steal bright shiny things but worsely, they also will purposely miscount your change back to you.

And there were other more outlandish claims but some were too vicious and vulgar to repeat to a shocked but interested public, so I have omitted them. My question to you is, Are these things true? Should I think rudely about a Magpie? Do Magpies truly befuddle women with their calls and how do I learn how to make that call, or if that is not possible where can I find a job as a traveling seed salesman?

Concerned in Colorado,

Well we were shocked to hear some of these rumors which are apparently rampant amongst the bird rumor people and we felt that we must get an objective opinion on this matter. We turned this letter with its probing questions over to our resident birdologist, Dr. Lem Beakston, with instructions to ” find out about this, goofball, right now, earn your keep for a change,  go to the home of the Magpie and interview it until we get the truth “.

Three weeks later Dr. Beakston returned with nothing, bupkis, nada. The bird completely rebuffed every effort to have any kind of meaningful dialogue about this potentially dangerous situation and wouldn’t talk to him. In fact the bird became abusive, caustic, rude, self-centered, mean, and opinionated. We were beginning to believe some of the accusations made in the letter. After many exhaustive attempts to engage the Magpie Beakston finally gave up and returned with his miserable excuse of a report. He got nothing, we’re out over $15.00 for the week he was there and the bird continues on oblivious to the mounting prejudice against it. In fact as a parting shot to Beakston he presented his famous “Fantail Salute” to the departing researcher. Magpie6608

Fantail Salute

A final indignity that was totally uncalled for. We can only conclude that there must be some validity to the rumors making their way around the west about this misguided but arrogant bird species. We will try again sometime in the future to interview this unfriendly creature but are beginning to think that this will not be productive. Until then we advise the ladies in our readership to not listen to the call of the Magpie. You’ve been warned.

Dr. Beakston’s reply to our letter writer was short and direct.

Dear Concerned in Colorado,

“yeah they’re all true. I’d buy all your womenfolk earmuffs if you are going to be in ‘Magpie’ country and use the net to order your seed.”

Yours truly, Dr. Lem Beakston; AARP, USDA, MMPI, NSA, PPFA, NOW, MADD, AIM

Slowing Down the Days

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WesternTanager3910Western Tanager                                 click to enlarge

Not quite yet. It’s not quite Spring enough and certainly too soon for Summer but it’s starting. The birds are coming back. We tell time here by when certain birds return, it’s one of  the ways we make the year last longer. If you’re waiting for something to arrive it makes time slow down but the trick is you have something else lined up to wait for when you finally get what you’ve been waiting for in the first place. If you don’t then time grabs the bit between its teeth and races hell-for-leather forward and before you know it its way too late. You’ve lost a whole month or even a year or if you’re not really careful a whole damn life. We don’t want to lose a second, let alone a whole life, so our waiting calendar is pretty full.

Back in February the bluebirds arrived, then Robins, some people say the Robins don’t leave but I can tell you they avoid the high country until it warms up some. The Camp Robbers or Clark’s Nutcracker have been here all winter. They moved on down to get out of the miserable weather above the tree-line in December. We’re waiting for them to go back home. Magpies are another year-round bird here. We’re just waiting for them to do something different. Stellar Jays head downhill when the weather gets bad but they’ve started returning now, so all’s well with them.

Golden eagles are hanging out more on the cliff face behind the house and the Great horned owls have started nesting. There are a pair of Redtail hawks checking out the nest on the road to the cement plant so maybe we get to wait to see what happens there. And one of the big arrivals that screams out Spring, is the return of the Willox St. ospreys and they’re back. I saw the female sitting on the nest yesterday and the male perched nearby guarding her. Now we can wait for this year’s chicks to arrive. That cements Spring firmly in place. The world is becoming right again.

The glitterati of the bird world hasn’t shown up yet but that’s what happens when you wait. You gotta wait. We’re talking hummingbirds in all their various flavors and one of my personal superstars the Western Tanager pictured above. I’ve got time slowed down to just over twice its normal speed which is pretty good actually. There’s a line in an old song about going so fast that telephone poles going by looked like a picket fence. It used to be that days were the telephone poles, now it’s years that are the telephone poles. I’m actively considering adding waiting for the coming of free-range penguins to my wait list. That ought to slow things down pretty good.