Pretty soon I shouldn’t be missing stuff like that.
A week ago today in the west desert I was mostly frustrated as I tried to get takeoff and flight shots of a Black-billed Magpie that spent several minutes flying back and forth between several small trees in a clump. Each time ‘he’ landed in one of the trees he seemed to be attempting to catch prey within the tree he’d landed on. He repeatedly poked his head deep within the tree’s leaves, as if he was trying to catch something. I thought he was chasing insects.
He always had his back to me as he was doing it so I’m not including any of those photos.
It wasn’t until I arrived home and looked at the photos sequentially on my big screen that I realized what he’d been doing.
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
As I looked at the photos in order, this is the first shot I saw that provided a hint about what he’d been after. He’d been picking and eating berries from the trees. In this photo he has a berry in the tip of his bill. That berry can barely be seen beneath the bottom edge of his left wing.
It isn’t what I expected. I don’t recall seeing magpies eating berries before.
Here he’s about to land on the clump of leaves at lower left.
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I kept him in frame as he landed, but just barely. I have no more room on the left.
1/6400, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Keep in mind, while I was looking through my lens I never noticed the berries – in the trees or in his bill. So I never knew when he was swallowing them and didn’t get any photos as he was doing so.
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
After he swallowed it he flew back to…
1/6400, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
the tree where he found the first berry and…
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
found another one and swallowed it.
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Then he poked around and found a third berry, which he also swallowed. After that he’d apparently had his fill because he took off and left the area. With me still wondering what he’d been doing.
I know exactly why I never noticed the berries while I was looking through my viewfinder. I have a severe cataract in my right eye, my shooting eye, so even though I have the vision-correcting diopter on my camera cranked in one direction as far as it’ll go, everything is still a fuzzy, blurry, cloudy mess. And in recent months it’s been getting worse.
I’ve complained about that cataract for a very long time so I thought readers would be interested in knowing that I’m now scheduled to have cataract surgery on that eye on November 18th. And it could happen sooner. I’m on a cancellation list and I was told that there’s a “good chance” that they’ll call me to fill someone else’s cancelled surgery appointment. If they do, I’ll take that appointment.
It’s way past time to sh*t or get off the pot.
Ron
Maybe it’s more fun to think the magpie was just playing, jumping from bush to bush, but I’m glad you discovered the real reason for it’s behavior and that it spurred you to make your eye appointment! A friend just told me she’s scheduled both her eyes, too! Sending all good thoughts to you for clear eyes soon!
Go, Ron, on the cataract scene. I was one of the early cheerleaders in favor of the surgery. You’ll be so glad you did.
Hey, I wonder if the magpie is a young bird still trying to figure out what’s good to eat and what isn’t….
Hope you are out looking for more eagles this morning. If I can tell on Google map I should send you a pin to where the nest was when I saw it in past years. I sent Mia a photo and location the first year I saw them in the nest. I was surprised to find one in the area. I don’t think I saved any photos, the nest was so far away. I was thinking of going that way this morning, but I have had a busy week and was tired, it’s a long drive for being tired to start with.
I have had magpies eat hawthorn, pyracantha, chokeberry in my yard but it is usually young birds still figuring out what to eat. Both adult and young will eat the Virginia creeper and nightshade berries that grow on my back fence.
I think you will be happy with the vision once you have the cataract surgery, most see a huge improvement. Best wishes to you on it helping!
It’s been several years now but I’m so glad I had this procedure done. The surgeries on each eye were a week apart. That was a frustrating week because the two eyes were so different but after the second eye was done I was so happy. It was such an amazing improvement. I had the choice of near or far vision correction. I chose distance correction because I could always wear glasses to read. It was one of the best things I have done. My current visual problems are the result of something very different.
Berries make a great fall food for many birds and sometimes it makes for a surprise to the viewer. Pileated Woodpeckers love carpenter ants but I was surprised the first time I saw one eating dogwood berries. With birds it’s often best to expect the unexpected.
Alrightie then. I will more carefully read the text as well. It’s early here on the Left Coast.
I get it. It’s the very tip of ‘his’ beak.
I may be seeing things, but what is the orange round object near his left wing in the very first shot? I don’t think it’s in my eye or on my screen. Maybe it’s in my mind?
So, to help support your cataract-removal surgery, here’s a tale from my earlier science illustration days… there was a retired physician who began painting gorgeous butterfly and moth paintings in his long retirement. These were BIG paintings and absolutely amazing, room-commanding portraits of these winged creatures. As his cataracts developed, he failed to realize the impact they were having on his paintings. He had the deed done, cataracts removed. And he was absolutely appalled: the paintings done in the 5 years before his surgery were all far too blue: his cataracts had been yellowing his vision sufficiently to greatly affect his color choice of paints! He started in on redoing the errant paintings because he was so bothered by them! I lost touch with him however, so I don’t know if he decided to fix them all, or to just go on and paint new ones… but he lived a good number of years after that operation, so he certainly painted lots more incredible insects!
I looked up a bit about John Cody, so here is a bio of him:
https://www.johncodygallery.net/about-artist/
Outstanding series of photographs.
Thoughts are with you on the upcoming surgery. Gini went through it two years ago with very good results.
Excellent shots Ron. Not too long ago was reading about Magpies. I knew how popular they are in Europe from hearing Magpie stories from Welsh friends, but there are Magpies all over the world with different beaks and different colors, and different names.
They are omnivorous so eating berries is common.
Well on my way to 87, I still have not had cataract surgery, but would guess it might be coming up soon. Every year I have my annual with my ophthalmologist he says maybe next year.
Like you I discover things when I put the photos on the screen that I did not see while taking the photo. Wish we had Magpies here.
Well, but it’s your eyes! And if something happens to them, life as you know it is screwed. I’m a writer and it took me three years to work up the courage. I’m glad I did. But I understand the hesitation, I really do.
🙂 Glad you’re finally going to “get off the pot” on the cataract surgery. 😉 I think you’ll be amazed and kicking yourself for having put it off so long. Mine wasn’t perfect but no regrets on having it done. A Magpie working the few remaining Buffalo Berries across the creek this week.
SO– it took a berry-eating magpie to finally convince you to get
“it “over and done with ! I think I remember this subject coming up
during this past year, and I and everybody else in your posse who’d
had it, reassuring you that the procedure is a piece of cake, painless,
and well worth a few days’ inconvenience…..I’m glad you’ve scheduled, and you’ll be grateful to that berry-eating magpie soon !
Really like the Magpie’s body position in the 4th shot and his landing position in the 5th. So glad that you have a surgery date!
Had cataract surgery 6-7 years ago. Best and easiest thing I’ve ever done. You will not regret it. Good luck.
Interesting landing shots.
Well Ron, I appreciate this peek into your life and that of the the Magpie.
Hope your cataract surgery goes really well, and that afterward you end up having a more clearer and enjoyable photographic experience.
Great shots Ron! Love this new behavior capture. So admire magpie coloring – oh my! Congrats on getting the overdue cataract surgery scheduled. GSD (getting sh*t done) is an everyday goal in our home – especially the stuff that tends to end up on the ‘tomorrow’ list.