I photographed this magpie or “Maggie” at my friend’s place today. While they can become territorial and aggressive during Spring, they’re found throughout most backyards, at least around here, and are mostly very tame. It’s quite clear that they’re worked out humans are a great source of food and they make themselves part of the family. Our elderly neighbours were being eaten out of house and home by their baby magpie who’d also make quite a lot of noise demanding to be fed. My friend volunteers for an animal rescue service and the magpie has discovered the puppies food bowl and helped itself. I guess you could call it “fast food”. Apparently, we have a family of maggies living in our jacaranda tree out the back. Geoff tells me that they’re “resprayed” our Morris Minor.
What types of birds do you have in your backyard? Please share in the comments below.
xx Rowena
Beyond the Flow 
Hi Rowena! Hope all is well with you!
That’s a great shot. I don’t think we have magpies here in NJ (or jacaranda trees), but we do have many crows and blue jays, which they’re related to, I believe. We have mockingbirds–there was one that sang through the night in May and June in a tree outside my bedroom window. We have robins, cardinals, sparrows, tufted titmouse, mourning doves, hawks, sometimes owls, turkey vultures, and many more. I’ve even seen a hummingbird once or twice, but not recently. 🙂
We have robins, blackbirds and pigeons here. On the marina, it was ducks, swans, moorhens, grebes, swallows and geese. Today coming back from our walk, a buzzard was hovering overhead. There are sparrows, thrushes, goldfinches and wrens in the hedgerows, and opportunists such as magpies, crows and seagulls lurk to pick off the waterfowl babies just after hatching. I’m looking forward to putting out food for the birds in our new garden.
Those talkative little guys are very plentiful in our parts too. For years as a kid, I kept getting them mixed up with our state bird the Lark Bunting which looks similar. The bunting is a bit smaller, with only the white on its wings. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lark_Bunting/id
Monika, I checked out your Lark Bunting and they do look quite similar, although the beak is small and less intimidating. Hope you’re having a great weekend! Best wishes, Ro
Wow! You have so much birdlife there. You must have an amazing garden!
xx Rowena
Hi Merril. Great to hear from you again. I’ve been struggling through flu season here with a nasty cough and asthma issues. Am on the mend now thankgoodness and getting back out and about again.
Sounds like you have such a wonderful range of birdlife there. Was the mockingbird outside your window a blessing or a curse? A friend’s mother had planted a red bottlebrush tree outside his bedroom window and when that was in flower, rainbow lorrikeets would flock there at wake him up at dawn every morning. Ouch! Take care & hope you’re having a great weekend.
xx Rowena
Oh I wish. The marina is full of various waterfowl and the gardens and hedgerows here host a lot. In the cottage, we had 2 pairs of blackbirds (up to 4 broods each every year), 2 robins (punch ups if one strayed the wrong side of the washing line!), greenfinches, gold finches, thrushes, sparrows, tawny owls (one evening a family of three were sitting in the silver birch tree), pigeons, ducks (well, one duck having a rest in the shade of our apple tree), starlings, buzzards, a sparrowhawk, magpies, crows, jackdaws. It was wonderful to watch the smaller varieties bringing up their families. I’m so looking forward to doing it again and taking part in the RSPB garden watch in January.
Lark Buntings are smaller all the way around but to a kid, they sure seemed very close. I later learned the buntings are far rarer too. Cheers!
I’m glad you’re feeling better, Rowena! Summer is winding down here.
I liked the mockingbird. It didn’t really keep me awake, but if I woke up, I listened, and it made me happy. 🙂
We do have magpies around and they get chased away by the dog. Fortunately none have attacked or swooped upon us. We have kookaburras around, I see them perched on TV antennas (gum trees are so passé). See Lorikeets every morning. Plenty of cockatoos (who eat up everything on my peach tree). Egrets I have a few (sorry wanted to say that). The occasional bush turkey. The bird-life on local golf course nearby course is prolific, too many to list.
Cute Maggie I love them but don’t have a family of them at the new house. I miss them Rowena. We do have king parrots here which leave me smiling.
Doves, more doves and then more doves….they are everywhere….ring neck and a grey ones, roadrunners, owls, hawks/raptors, ducks out in the marshes of the Colorado river….we have quite a list of fowl….and depending on the time of the year is what is here…..beautiful picture…kat