I had an interesting experience with some magpies the other day. A lot of cotton/fluff had fallen from the poplars near the Cultural Centre, blanketing the ground beneath the trees, so I went out to snap a few photos. As to be expected, there were magpies stalking the grass. We all minded our own business until I approached the area covered in fluff.
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| A curious juvenile magpie |
The interesting thing was that as I went into the fluff-covered area, two of the young magpies followed me. And as I crouched to take photos of the fallen leaves, they approached me very closely. Before, all of the magpies had been sticking to the open grass. As the young magpies followed, an adult followed them in turn. Which made me nervous... I wasn't the one getting close to the juveniles, but I didn't want to get swooped if the adults felt threatened!
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| Juvenile magpie on the left, adult on the right. |
One of the young magpies lost interest but the other continued to follow me into the deep fluff. It was quite peculiar. I had the feeling I was less of a curiosity than the fact that I was wading into the fluff for no apparent reason, or that the fluff was just as peculiar to the magpie as the magpies following were to me. But, of course.. it is easy to anthropomorphize and extrapolate upon these things.
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| Knee-deep in fluff |
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| The leaves nearly glowed in the bright afternoon sunlight. |
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| Caught in the tall grass. |
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