We've always had the joy of Australian Magpies visiting our suburban block. Magpies sitting on the deck warbling early in the morning is one of life's pleasures. Every year we see the parents feeding the begging young so we knew we were living in their breeding territory.
Today I was in the garden and noticed a magpie walking on a garden bed with a tuft of small sticks in its beak and watched to see which of the surrounding trees it would fly to. And was very surprised when it flew into the only gum tree in my garden, a Yellow Gum. I searched through the leaf canopy until I found the nest, almost completely constructed. Obviously, judging by the size of the nest and the size of the sticks being added to it, the magpie was fussing with the final touches. So now I'm eagerly waiting for the next phase.
The incubation period for magpie eggs is 20 days and the chicks fledge at four weeks. So I should be back from Queensland just before they hatch. Something to look forward to.
2 comments:
I agree Boobook, Magpie carolling and yodelling is a joy to hear. Your wind down there is no doubt as strong or stronger than ours at present, I hope their nest is well built - they usually are, hey?
Hi gouldiae
I've just been out to check, because we had a wild and woolly night here, and all is well.
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