Can you spot the call of a magpie?

I can and for ages I’ve watched them search for young bird’s nests for their chicks or eggs?
They are the poachers of the bird world, never missing a trick.

A couple of months ago, I chucked some bacon fat on the shed roof and a couple of magpies landed and scooped up the lot.
This got me thinking. If I fed them instead of chasing them away, then they’d have full bellies and maybe would spare some of the other birds’ nests?
So now, whenever we have bacon, the rind is cut up and chucked on the shed roof. Within 10 minutes the magpies land and it’s gone.

Now it’s progressed.

Quiet mornings while I’m off work, I heard a tapping sound at the back of the room. I looked around… nothing.
Then again, a clicking noise. I stood still scanning around when I spotted it.
Two magpies on the back window sill looking in and tapping the window!

I cut up a slice of bacon and with cokes sat on the back step chucked it on the shed roof. I went back in and waited. Nothing. Hmmmm.
Then a flash of black and white, four magpies landed but didn’t eat?
Then a big magpie (mum I presume?) swooped down, bounced across, scooping up most of the bacon and bogged off.
The smaller birds finished up the bits then scarpered.

Today, I let cokes out and heard the familiar noise of magpies. I came in and closed the door.
Cut up a rasher, took it out and chucked it on the shed roof, then came back inside.
Within seconds, cokes sat staring at them, all eleven of them on the shed roof scoffing!
Quick as they came, they went. I opened the door two minutes later. No sight nor sound of them.

Just food I thought, until half an hour later, there stood bold as brass, right in front of the kitchen window on a fence post, a magpie stood, looking in. After a couple of minutes it bogged off.

It appears I may have a new friend…