Magpie on seed feeder !

[Jonny]

Originally Posted by jerryh

I like Magpies as a rule, but was not endeared to them by an incident over the weekend.
I'm usually relatively immune to "nature red in tooth and claw", but this time I intervened in a scene where 2 magpies were attacking a third.
When I came across them the victim was on it's back on the ground being pecked continuously by the other 2. I have little doubt that it would have been to the death. The attackers flew into a nearby tree as I approached, but the victim lay there until I was right next to it, then flew weakly into a bush. As I walked away, the attackers were straight back having another go. I ended up rescuing the victim, who had visible peck marks around the face and legs.
It seemed to recover some strength over a couple of hours and I released it, but frankly don't hold out much hope for it's long term survival particularly while it stays in the other 2's territory. In hindsight, maybe I should have taken it to a sanctuary.

Natural selection in action - except that I interfered!
Jerry

Jerry..........I actually witnessed this for myself today, where I have been working, the magpies have been noisy all week and today there were about 10 of them, squarking and chasing each other, and then one literally fell from a tree and landed on its back and about 4 others pounced on it and attacked it. They were behaving like louts comming out of the pub on a friday night, so mr policeman here went over and sorted them out...............Jon (evenin all)

[jerryh]

Originally Posted by Jonny

They were behaving like louts comming out of the pub on a friday night, so mr policeman here went over and sorted them out...............Jon (evenin all)

Good work, Constable!

[nightshade]

Sorry constable but the local magpie has just visited all my nest boxes and the starling in the eaves,much as I like and admire them, it is stealing "my children" on my territory.
It could be the one you saved whose peers decided that it was giving them a bad name and should be given a slap so it stayed in line.
All Corvids are intelligent birds and mete out punishment for good reason!

[Gill Catton]

On my birding forum, no one is allowed to talk about magpies anymore because people feel so passionately on both sides!
I can't help but feel that the evolutionary arms race between magpies and smaller passerines has been on going for as long as they have existed and to step in too frequently is to weaken this relationship.
As for territory presumably before houses were built, all territory belonged to the magpie?
Or would it belong to the blue tit?
Oh my god can you tell it's three in the morning and I just got in??!!!!

[gez]

hi there this is my first post as ive just joined this site mainly for the photos, re the magpie. now im a newcastle united fan so for me the magpie should be a bird to honour. but i hate them. i read one above post about do they kill enough birds to make a difference i belive they do. remember the poem. 1 for sorrow 2 for joy etc. well does it go up to 30+? but why do i really hate them. well last year i had a bird table with a bird box in the top. i had a blackbird nest on the table & bluetits in the top nest box. the magpies killed every single chick. they were very cunning or well trained at doing this also. how many other broods did this one pair kill? where i live now there are magpies nesting all over on a trip to town on the metro i can count over 25 nests. rant over & i hope to post some happier notes soon...gez

[Jonny]

Originally Posted by gez

hi there this is my first post as ive just joined this site mainly for the photos, re the magpie. now im a newcastle united fan so for me the magpie should be a bird to honour. but i hate them. i read one above post about do they kill enough birds to make a difference i belive they do. remember the poem. 1 for sorrow 2 for joy etc. well does it go up to 30+? but why do i really hate them. well last year i had a bird table with a bird box in the top. i had a blackbird nest on the table & bluetits in the top nest box. the magpies killed every single chick. they were very cunning or well trained at doing this also. how many other broods did this one pair kill? where i live now there are magpies nesting all over on a trip to town on the metro i can count over 25 nests. rant over & i hope to post some happier notes soon...gez

Hello Gez and welcome here...........Maybe you should of put up a newcastle united flag near the feeder to scare the maggies away, actually it probably would of scared all the other birds away too. Only joking..................Jon

[fudgeybabe]

I too have had a magpie on a bird feeder. This was two weeks ago when I saw a magpie swooping low under the eaves of the bungalow. When I looked through the glass door I saw him sitting on top of the feeder. Mine is the squirrel proof type which has been filled with nuts for the tits over the past 8 years. The first year I moved in I struggled with keeping the nuts for the tits as squirrels dismantled all the wire ones I bought. This one has been ideal as it is now situated attached to the brickwork of the bungalow just under the large porch and I have watched my family of tits enjoying the nuts over the past seven years.
Lately I have not seen them and the nuts are not going down. I fear that the magpies have killed off (or frightened off) my regular family of tits who always inhabited the bird box.
Is there anything I can do to (sorry folks) get rid of the magpies from my garden? I must add that we have a large garden whose perimeter is surrounded in very old tall trees which we are not allowed to prune because of a preservation order.
Sorry folks but I miss my family of tits, indeed all the little birds, who used to live in my garden, seem to have been missing this year and I miss all of them.
Incidentally, talking of cats - a neighbour had her cat attacked by two magpies and the cat had to undergo a great deal of surgery as a result.

[Gill Catton]

welcome to the forum first of all!!!!
There's not an awful lot you can do to get rid of the magpies, they are still wildlife and yes they do eat baby birds but they have to that's what they have evolved to eat and that's what blue tits and blackbirds and their like have evolved alongside and they still survive - it's a big part of why they lay so many eggs every year. If you remove the magpies they lose an opportunity to evolve still further against these predators.
Cats may well be as much to blame for your family of blue tits moving on as magpies really, but I'm sure sooner or later they will be back!!!

Nice dense and prickly shrubs are good as protection for most small birds and their babies so plantng some of them will help. Try ones that produce fruit the birds can eat too or that attract lots of insects with flowers.
I do think giving the small birds a helping hand is more valuable and more practicable than trying to deter magies as all small birds will come across magpies in their life at some point and it's probably not a bad thing to learn about them while young as then if they learn and survive, they will be more prepared as an adult and maybe build a stronger more hidden nest as a result.
Good luck and I'm sure your little birds will be back once they've fledged their young and are then more wide ranging.

Gill

[nightshade]

Hi Fudgeybabe,I have said before that I have corvids in the garden and I greatly admire them!
There are Magpies,Jackdaws,Crows and now I even have Rooks!These are as welcome in the garden as the smaller birds.The great tits and blue tits have each raised a brood with only one incident that I am aware of when a magpie tried to examine a tit box,a short extension was fitted to the nestbox enterance hole to prevent access and the tits raised their brood undisturbed.
I feed the corvids away from the bird feeders and only occasionally do they wander over to glean under them.
There are 4 Jackdaws a Rook and a Magpie along with a Blackbird,2 Goldfinches,and a handful of Spadgers in the garden at present and it is not a big garden!

[wildone]

Further to the Magpies on seed feeders, yesterday I saw Jackdaws at the peanut feeders. Anybody seen any other unusual birds using feeders?

[Jonny]

Originally Posted by wildone

Further to the Magpies on seed feeders, yesterday I saw Jackdaws at the peanut feeders. Anybody seen any other unusual birds using feeders?

We have a pair of doves (collared) on a feeder, is this unusual............Jon

[Mozzie]

I can't make up my mind about Maggies.

They are great to watch but due to Man I feel the balance of Nature between many corvids, especially Magpies and their prey has been disturbed.
Unfortunately because of us, many more Magpies are surviving Winters due to the availability of food from road kills. Therefore in many areas they are at unnaturally high levels and this must have an adverse effect on garden birds.

[chris59]

Originally Posted by Jonny

I am not sure if it lucky or not, there are a lot around and I hear so many stories of nests getting robbed. Saying that I do like magpies and think they are fun to watch.
I was sitting in a hide trying to get a shot of some terns, when I noticed maggie on the feeder.................Jon

I agree, magpies are great fun to watch. I am getting worried though now that the time is coming closer for the baby birds to be at risk from magpies. Does anyone know if there is a food I could put out that magpies like more than anything else ?? I get a lot of magpies visiting my garden, and they dont bother the smaller birds at all . But I know that they are a great risk to baby birds.:

[chris59]

Originally Posted by Jonny

I am not sure if it lucky or not, there are a lot around and I hear so many stories of nests getting robbed. Saying that I do like magpies and think they are fun to watch.
I was sitting in a hide trying to get a shot of some terns, when I noticed maggie on the feeder.................Jon

I agree that magpies are great fun to watch. Does anyone have any ideas of favorite foods for them, so that i can maybe get to leave the baby birds alone?? I have a few magpies that visits my garden daily. the smaller birds dont seem to be afraid of them at all. but time is getting closer for the eggs to be in danger from the magpies.