I have a love/hate relationship with magpies. On the one hand I find them annoying when it comes to attempting to attract songbirds to the yard because they tend to scare them all off. A case in point is my determination to build a purple martin palace for my yard this past summer. Well the magpie was not pleased and he pretty much told me so one summer morning when I came across him sitting on my wood pile. We had a staring match for a good minute, which I found amazing because they are usually very shy of humans. Looking at him I had a sense that he was telling me that he didn't appreciate being dive bombed by the purple martins who had taken over the yard. Magpies are a very striking bird and I particularly enjoy seeing them in the winter, when their plumage really stands out. Had a hard time photographing this oil painting, I think the pearlescent paint was messing with my camera lense.
