Out my
office window this morning, I enjoyed the drama playing out on the ridge above
the house.
The cows were fed, and yesterday’s rain left it too wet for farming, so it was time to
pay bills - I was back at my computer.
Magpies are common in Montana. They are big, they are smart, and they are
omnivorous. They like dog food, and they
like to play with the dogs.
A magpie
will swoop down to the dog-bowl and steal some of his food, then fly to the top
of a nearby tree to gloat. The dog will
chase him and bark, until the bird swoops down again, and leads the dog to
another, higher tree. If the dog becomes bored
with his barking, the magpie will swoop down again, and lead the dog to another
tree.
As I looked
out this morning, there were a magpie and a bald eagle sitting in a tree some
300 yards away. By the time I got my
camera, of course, the birds had taken flight.
When I again spotted the now-airborne eagle, he was accompanied by a
crow. I tried to read the story.
Had the
eagle found the crow’s nest? Was the
crow trying to divert the eagle away?
Crows, like
magpies, are known to be intelligent. Was
this crow just playing with the eagle as the magpie was playing with the dog?
I watched
for a while, trying to understand the nature of the drama playing out above
me. The eagle circled higher and higher –
the crow always nearby. I was reminded
of a bomber being harassed by a fighter-plane.
The eagle
seemed rather bored by the whole affair, and eventually floated off up the West
Boulder River and out of sight – the crow still in pursuit.
