On Wed, 21 May 2003 21:33:29 +0100, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:

Two or three months ago, I saw
from my window 24 magpies having a meeting - and this was before the
start of the breeding season! A few years ago, if you saw a party of
four, it was remarkable, as the famous little ditty proves.

What's a few years?

I used to say the ditty to our children in their pushchairs and we'd run out
of lines (as I remember eight - no seven - was the highest number in the
rhyme), so we'd see far more than four magpies.

Those children are in their forties now ...

It probably depends where you are - in some corners of the UK the magpie
is still a rare bird. But yes, when I was at school in Devon (early
seventies, say), while a party of ten magpies was sufficient to attract
comment, it was certainly not rare.

--
Stephen Poley
uk.rec.birdwatching FAQ: http://www.xs4all.nl/~sbpoley/ukrb.htm