This morning, on a last errand through the streets of Strathcona, I hoped to take a photograph of magpies. They’re everywhere in this neighbourhood, gliding down from trees, squabbling, strutting along the sidewalks with their beautiful plumage shining. My granddaughter is scornful of my admiration for them. They’re so annoying, she says. But I love their bold manners, the peacock blue feathers on their wings and tail. I love hearing them in the nest across from my family’s house.
One for sorrow, two for joy. I saw so many on this trip that I’ve lost count. Some people salute them, or wink at them. I was taught the magpie courtesies years ago by a friend who is no longer with us. If you see a single magpie, you call, Hello, Mr. Magpie, how is Mrs. Magpie and all the children? They are fortune-tellers. What was mine this morning, a woman walking through the quiet streets to deliver something forgotten?
In Strathcona, the old elms are busy with magpies, even if none of them would pause long enough for me to take their photograph.
...Theresa Kishkan 
I’ve been unable to get a good shot of them too; magpies are so elusive!
So many of them around in Edmonton but I couldn’t get a single bird to sit still!