I saw an unusual site this week on the balcony of delight, a bird which I’ve certainly not seen feeding there before.
Hanging off the bars of the fat cake feeder was a mature magpie, pecking with gusto at the fat cake. I’d seen a blue tit zoom away from the balcony into a tree just before heading into the kitchen and somehow had a feeling that something had scared it off.
The magpie was surprisingly agile and was doing its best to hang on upside down, tit-like to the grill so as to get its beak through to the food. It was not there long. A couple of hefty pecks, a head jerking swallow and it was gone.
I was instantly reminded of the one song I have been able to teach Emma. The theme from 70s childrens’ program “Magpie.”
Here’s a reminder of it, with a visual representation of the volume of our preferred rendition.
One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold
Seven for a secret never to be told.
MAAAAGGGPIEIEIEIEEEE!
MAAAAGGGPIEIEIEIEEEE!












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