The Magnificent Yellow-Billed Magpie Of Folsom

An exotic looking bird with touch of majestic appeal. The yellow billed magpie in always working in groups. It understands the power of community. Native only to a small area in Northern California where I happen to live.

At my first sighting of them, I was awe stricken. As one perched above my house, I thought this exotic bird had escaped from the zoo. How did it end up here? I thought.

The yellow billed magpie comes and goes like a herd of buffalo. One day they are out in the sun, scourging in front of my home, gathering food from fallen leaves like a squirrel, collecting it away for storage in a tree. Then just like a ghost in the night, they vanish for weeks or months, never to be seen or heard.

They work together in teams. They have unique calls and whistles, they operate efficiently. As a go in closer to observe, one of their team members watching from a nearby tree calls down to alert the rest of my presence. They all retreat back up into the trees and hide.

Their sightings outside is a much welcomed treat. Not very often do they come around. I will leave them walnuts and blueberries for them to which they quickly grab up and hide…I could leave bags of it outside and they would take it all. But I enjoy feeding them slowly throughout the afternoon when they are around, so I can potentially get a closer look at them. They have a mystery about them and a surrounding enchantment.

I wish they came around more often.