Photography And Half-Thoughts By Mitchell Hegman

...because some of it is pretty and some of it is not.

Friday, July 4, 2025

Incompetently Flying Juveniles

I’ve got another public service announcement for you. This one is pretty straightforward: be on the lookout for incompetently flying juvenile magpies.

You can’t miss them. They look like your run-of-the-mill adult magpie, except their tails are conspicuously short and they have a bit less iridescence in appearance. And they don’t fly worth a damn.

Since they are just learning how to fly, they’re still working out the details of lifting, landing, and braking. Some of them simply don’t pay attention. In the last few days, while driving to and from town, I’ve nearly collided with two juvenile magpies lifting from roadside ditches. One of the birds remained unscathed only because I swerved and braked hard to avoid striking it.

So, be careful out there. Give yourself a little space as you approach the next magpie.

—Mitchell Hegman

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