One for sorrow, two for joy...by Sheila Claydon

 

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Bad news about my garden this week. My flowering cherry tree, whose deep red blossom and copper coloured leaves have been our harbinger of the very early days of summer for more than 30 years, is dying. So too is the glorious red maple that has draped itself across our tiny pond for almost as long. And to prove the saying that troubles always come in threes, the pink rhodedenron is also fading fast. The tree surgeon says honey fungus is the culprit. This is a fungal growth that spreads underground, attacking and killing the roots of perennial plants and then decaying the dead wood. It is, I've discovered, the most destructive fungal disease in the UK.

There is only one solution of course, and that is to cut them down and then grind out the roots so that the other plants around them are saved. We have a tree surgeon who says he'll come as soon as we call him, so what are we waiting for? The magpies!!

Not only are magpies a protected species in the UK but it is also a crime to cut down a tree containing nesting birds and yes, you've guessed it, this year we have a large conical nest of sticks in the fork of our flowering cherry. So we are having to sit it out until the nestlings have fledged and the family have abandoned the nest.

Despite the hold up, and the worry that the longer we leave the affected trees in situ the more at risk our other plants, the situation isn't all bad. The tree is directly opposite the conservatory where we spend a lot of our day, so we are having a ringside view of what it takes to bring up 3 healthy fledgelings. And we know they are healthy because yesterday, for the first time, we saw their parents persuade them out of the nest with loud squawks and much flapping of wings. Sadly they were all back in the nest by evening so we're not there yet, but at least we're getting closer. 

Watching the babies is giving us lots of laughs too. Sometimes they miss a branch and flutter through the tree to a lower one. And their favourite game seems to be hide n'seek in the tall tree next door. Their energy levels are similar to teenagers. All over the place one minute. Asleep the next. So are their appetites as, despite being almost as big as their poor worn out parents, they still shout for food. 

We've always had magpies in and around the garden and they are beautiful birds to look at. Dressed in their black and white tuxes they strut across our lawn as if they own it, ignoring the plump pigeons and the smaller birds, most of whom keep well out of their way. 

Generations of children in the UK know that you have to greet them when you meet them, especially if you see just one on its own as this is the only way to ward off bad luck!

"Good morning Mr Magpie, where's your lady friend?"

If there is more than one, then they tick off what this means by reciting the following old poem:

'One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told.'

Apart from knowing the poem, however, I knew little else about them until this year when I discovered some really surprising things. They are part of the crow (Corvid) family and considered one of the world's most intelligent creatures. They can recognise themselves in a mirror and have been known to make and use tools, imitate human speech, grieve, play games and work in teams. Not our magpies (except for the working in teams bit) because they are wild, but apparently they can recognise individual humans and be tamed and taught. Once upon a time they were popular cage birds although I'm very glad this is no longer the case. 

I have also discovered they mate for life, and can live for up to 25 years, so we might have them around for quite a while yet, just not in our cherry tree. Plenty other places for them to nest though!