New neighbors!

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For a while there, I thought they had abandoned their building project. They had started with a nice foundation, then a storm came and I didn't see them for a couple of weeks. But they came back, and they have been busy building one of the most indestructable structures known in nature: A magpie nest. Floor, walls and roof, tightly woven together from twigs, characterizes the home of breeding magpies.

I caught my new neighbors busy working some longish twigs into their ever-growing nest this morning (compression sucks):

I'm told that if they drop a twig, they won't pick it up and use it again.

I am delighted to have the magpies this close! (I may not be after the neighborhood cats discover the nest, though.)

Comments

Anonymous said…
Great video! The one bird's struggle with that long twig is epic!

)You might consider submitting this to next friday's modulator's ark...)
March 25, 2007 4:33 PM
Deadman said…
Here's a soundtrack for your video.

It was written for Janis Joplin after her death:

http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/bird.html
March 27, 2007 4:41 PM
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