A pair of magpies frequent the rowan tree outside my window.

One morning this winter they were huddled together on a branch, their white breasts gleaming together in the sunlight.

I often see one silhouetted atop a spruce in the distance – a striking tree-topper.

Last month I saw one of them struggling to remove a branch from the abandoned magpie nest in the rowan, and fly with it across the street to a tree in the alley – an early sign of spring!

Three weeks ago this pair were chasing a harassed little red squirrel through the rowan tree (all our squirrels are little and red).

Today a blue jay alighted in the tree with what appeared to be a peanut shell in its mouth. Before long this pair arrived on the scene and chased the jay around the yard and out of sight.