Copenhagen, Denmark. October 28 2022. Watching a couple of Magpies scavenge noisily from one face of a high-sided city street to the other, an inner voice sneered, ‘Urban urchins”. In that setting it might seem apt but another voice, the voice of reason, protested, “No, wait. Not urchins; urban opportunists!” Opportunists they certainly are, equally at home in open countryside, suburbia and the heart of this city. I love Magpies; they always seem to come with a story, they are striking to look at and self assured in behaviour; but then as members of the crow family assertiveness is their brand.
I hand-reared one when I was a teen, I raised it from lost nestling to become the raucous tenant of my dad’s shed. It grew quickly, and my dad was happy when I released it to woodlands where it belonged, he could then restore order among the many bits and pieces that he had once sorted, labelled and filed.
One of our favourite urban walks here is along the paths of a large, walled cemetery. Magpies criss-cross the paths wherever there’s room to fly. With a bit of imagination I like to think they add a little atmosphere to the much-visited grave site of Hans Christian Andersen.
Looks like a lovely trip you are having Peter. I am watching a very clever mystery on PBS right now called The Magpie Murders based on the book. There is a magpie watching the action or calling in several scenes……very well done and would recommend it.