Magpies… (photo sequence)

By Words | Published January 17, 2010

Magpies are a much (and in my view, unfairly) reviled bird. These corvids are aggressive, and attack the nests of other birds; but they are also stunningly dressed, beautiful in the air, and great comics. I took these shots out in the local fields by Sheepcote Valley today. The magpies were abundant, and enjoying life among the sheep.

As ever, there were kestrels in the area. I saw one hovering high above the sheep, but these were taken nearer their usual hunting grounds.

The last photo for today is a bit of a surprise. I've seen her on the trail cam. She's the fourth of the foxes (Bold, the trail cam dog fox, and Stumpy are the others). She had wandered to the front of the garden just as we were locking up for the night. I went outside, and to her credit – and my surprise – she hadn't retreated beyond the far end of the garden. I managed three or four photos (from a distance, hence the eye shine). Here's one of them…

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Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 40D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens, except the fox which was photographed with the EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens.

This entry was posted in Bird of Prey, Birds, Foxes, Sheep and tagged , , .

16 Comments

  1. Flying Red Fox Blog January 18, 2010 at 7:01 am #

    Three Magpies 3 for Joy thats good 😀 Nice sequence of photos 🙂

  2. SittingFox January 18, 2010 at 12:01 pm #

    The kestrel taking off is great! :up: And magpies are always fun. Especially when teasing foxes :whistle:

    That fox has nice nose-stripes! 🙂

  3. RobinL January 18, 2010 at 5:01 pm #

    Very nice!

  4. gdare January 18, 2010 at 6:01 pm #

    So, did you decide what her name will be?

  5. Ukwildlife January 18, 2010 at 9:01 pm #

    great photos

  6. Words January 19, 2010 at 12:01 am #

    Mark, I got up to "5 for Silver" in one shot 🙂

  7. Words January 19, 2010 at 12:01 am #

    Adele, it's always nice to get kestrels at that moment (more difficult to get them landing!), but I have to say the magpies excelled themselves. I've seen the fox several times on the trail cam (very distinctive that nose!).

  8. Words January 19, 2010 at 12:01 am #

    Darko, well we could call her 'Stripe' (for her nose).

  9. Words January 19, 2010 at 12:01 am #

    Robin, thanks!

  10. Words January 19, 2010 at 12:01 am #

    Thanks Neil!

  11. CedarFox January 19, 2010 at 12:01 am #

    Nice shots :up:

  12. Words January 19, 2010 at 12:01 am #

    Thanks Eric!

  13. cakkleberrylane January 19, 2010 at 8:01 pm #

    Beautiful trio of magpies! Is the kestrel attacking prey? Wonderfull shot of the wings spread and feet outstretched.

  14. Words January 19, 2010 at 10:01 pm #

    Lois, thanks. The magpies were fun to watch. Very active and lively. The kestrel was just taking off in search of prey. Those talons are fierce!

  15. anonymous January 24, 2010 at 6:01 am #

    TBR writes:

    You've excelled yourself again Words.
    Those Magpie shots are exquisite! I've been after similar myself for a time – nothing doing.
    Thanks for sharing them with us. Wonderful.
    TBR

  16. Words January 24, 2010 at 10:01 am #

    Thanks Doug… the magpies were so numerous and lively that it was actually quite an easy set to get. And even the light was behaving 😉