Published: September 10th, 2008 09:48 PM
Last Modified: September 10th, 2008 11:23 PM
ERIK HILL / Daily News archive 2008
A magpie squawks as Delaney Park Strip visitors observe its fledglings. The nonmigratory corvids seem to enjoy tormenting dogs and cats.
I'd like to know what is so great about the black-billed magpie. In fact, I'd like someone to share with me reasons to appreciate this raucous troublemaker that is wreaking havoc in my dog yard.
Because, honestly, I'm ready to get out a BB gun and start target practice.
First, let me provide some background that will help explain why these birds give me the creeps.
About 10 years ago, soon after the birth of my son, my husband and I walked through the front door of our home on Hiland Road. With Roan cradled in my arms, I looked around the room and got that instantaneous adrenaline rush one experiences under dangerous conditions.
There, spread across the room, were hundreds of pages of a manuscript I had been editing, an overturned lamp and disarrayed blinds in the window. My first thought was "We've been burgled," and I stepped back to let Andy go through the house and check for more signs of damage.
What we found upstairs, instead, was a magpie, strutting across the kitchen floor as if it owned the place. Bird droppings were everywhere, and the creature's taunting "yak-yak-yak" screech conjured Hitchcock's "The Birds." I squeezed Roan closer to my chest and retreated to a back bedroom.
It took us more than an hour to battle the destructive bird out of our house, and in the end, it left on its own terms, waddling out the open deck door in its own sweet time after we finally put away the broom, exhausted from chasing it around.
Ever since, I just have not warmed up to these birds. As an outdoorsperson and friend of just about any creature I meet, I have to say this bothers me.
I want to like the birds -- really, I do. They're deep blue-black coloring is gorgeous and their hardy demeanor impressive. They're obviously smarter than the average bird and must certainly play a significant role in nature's hierarchy.
But they're sneaky and unpredictable and just a little bit scary.
Now they are back, flying low in the trees and swooping to torment the sled dogs. Sometimes they walk right past their food pans, and when the dogs pounce, they quickly fly to a tree branch just out of reach and begin yakking again.
I feel sorry for the dogs and understand their frustration. The birds' arrival is a sure sign that winter is on its way -- they usually don't show up here until fall, and they stay all winter. That's when they will begin their next round of bullying, which includes stealing frozen fish bits left after dog feeding.
Fortunately, I don't even own a BB gun, so bird lovers needn't get apoplectic.
But I know a guy with one. And he's not afraid to use it.
Play outdoor columnist Melissa DeVaughn can be reached at adn.com/contact/mdevaughn or call 257-4482.
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