The Great Bird War of April 2023

Today was a day of back to back meetings but while I was listening to various people talk about various things, a drama was unfolding outside of my office window. I had front row seats to once of the most dramatic bird fights I have ever witnessed.
For context, there is a small family of Magpies that will often graze on the lawn outside my office window. One of the younger birds is very tame and will often walk along my window sill and tap at the window to say hello. I will wave and say hello back so I have grown fond of the bird.

The young Magpie and 2 of his family were happily foraging across the lawn when a single crow decided to take a stroll through the neighbourhood. Everything was very cordial and even though this Crow found a small piece of bread and was greedily snacking on it, none of the Magpies gave him a second glance and were happy to continue foraging in the grass for other food. However, once the piece of bread had been eaten, the crow decided that the younger Magpie was a bit too close for comfort and on a whim, decided to puff out his feathers, squawked, and made to swoop at him.
The other two Magpies saw it happen and immediately came to the young Magpie's defence. They quickly hopped into the air, took flight, and started screaming and swooping at the Crow. The Crow, seemingly surprised at the temerity and sudden outrage of these two smaller birds decided to make a hasty retreat. In the tedium of my repeated Zoom meetings, it brought a smile to my face and a feeling of pride for the Magpies as they banded together to defend their family and repel the aggressive invader.

I thought that was the end of it but it turns out the Crow had a different plan. About 10 mins later, the Crow came back... but this time he had brought a friend with him.
This had suddenly escalated into a turf war.
The two Crows came swooping in, and scattered the 3 terrified Magpies in all directions. The Magpies made a hasty retreat over the road and away from the intimidating birds. I may have been incorrectly attributing human emotions but to me, these crows seemed pretty happy with themselves and proceeded to strut smugly from one side of the lawn to the other.

The Magpies were not out of it just yet.
4 Magpies triumphantly returned, sweeping in on wide wings, swooping attacks aimed at both the crows. While the much larger crows initially seemed unperturbed, they quickly determined that the Magpies had superior numbers, and most importantly would not give up until the lawn was free of the crows nefarious reign. This was especially made clear when a small Indian Miner Bird (who had a nearby nest) took it upon himself to jump in and help the cause!
All the swooping and squawking got the best of the crows and they finally decided that it was all too much effort and left the scene. While they may have got the food initially, the Magpie alliance had won the war and the crows have not been seen since.

But will the nearby Woodland ducks frequently seen across the road decide that this is the time to expand their territory and stake their claim on the Magpies lawn? We shall see....

A reminder of the initial carnage wrought by the Crows on the unsuspecting young Magpie

One of the Family returns to graze on the lawn