Magpie party

I'm finally beginning to settle back into the usual routines - I can't believe how enticing and unsettling I found Orkney. We've even been giving thoughts to moving there, though probably not for a few years, as we would need to get Ben launched into the world first.

After a couple of hours sorting and processing photographs this morning, I went out into the garden to have a quick cup of coffee. I could hear the chattering of magpies, and when I looked up into the tops of our neighbour's very large Lawson's cypresses, there were about a dozen of them, hopping around on the branches and then launching themselves into the air, before returning to do it all again.

At first I wondered if they were mobbing Russell the baby crow, who was sitting in the middle of them, but they didn't seem to be taking any notice of him. I dashed inside to get the 300mm lens, and took a few shots, several of which showed them with something in their beaks. On close examination the objects looked fluffy, but neither Pete nor I could work out what they were.

The whole procedure lasted about fifteen minutes, and then all the magpies disappeared, as quickly as they'd arrived. I'd be really interested to know if anyone else has observed similar behaviour or has any ideas what they were doing.