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Twink55
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Twink55 is offline
Cheshire, England
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21-06-2018, 12:56 PM
1

Help, I need some advice about magpies!

I have a big garden surrounded by farm fields & I feed the birds every morning. The smaller birds are no problem but I also feed crows, jackdaws wood pigeons and magpies and this is why I need advice!

These larger birds have been coming here for years, but in the last month the magpies have become very aggressive to the others & are making a lot of noise. Last night 3 of them were trying to kill a baby wood pigeon, who was being fed by a parent and was bigger that the magpies.

I have lived here for 30 years and have never seen this happen before, so I am hoping that some of you bird experts can offer some kind if explanation, please.

This isn't an odd occasion, they have been continually aggressive over the past 4 weeks.

I just hope this isn't a real life re-run of Hitchcocks film "the Birds"
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21-06-2018, 01:14 PM
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Re: Help, I need some advice about magpies!

Originally Posted by Twink55 ->
I have a big garden surrounded by farm fields & I feed the birds every morning. The smaller birds are no problem but I also feed crows, jackdaws wood pigeons and magpies and this is why I need advice!

These larger birds have been coming here for years, but in the last month the magpies have become very aggressive to the others & are making a lot of noise. Last night 3 of them were trying to kill a baby wood pigeon, who was being fed by a parent and was bigger that the magpies.

I have lived here for 30 years and have never seen this happen before, so I am hoping that some of you bird experts can offer some kind if explanation, please.

This isn't an odd occasion, they have been continually aggressive over the past 4 weeks.

I just hope this isn't a real life re-run of Hitchcocks film "the Birds"

Twink darlin' - Magpyes, being part of the Rook and Crow family are predator birds and either kill and eat smaller birds or feed on them as carrion.
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Twink55
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Twink55 is offline
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21-06-2018, 01:28 PM
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Re: Help, I need some advice about magpies!

Originally Posted by Uncle Joe ->
Twink darlin' - Magpyes, being part of the Rook and Crow family are predator birds and either kill and eat smaller birds or feed on them as carrion.
Thanks UJ. I was aware of that but I have never seen them as nasty as they currently are, they are even attacking each other!
I know the jackdaws are trying to get the baby starlings, that are nesting in my roof, but the magpies are not bothering with the small birds they are attacking the ones that are bigger than themselves. The only time it goes quiet is when it starts to go darker.
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21-06-2018, 01:34 PM
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Re: Help, I need some advice about magpies!

They must be illegal immigrants
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Twink55
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21-06-2018, 01:51 PM
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Re: Help, I need some advice about magpies!

Originally Posted by Purwell ->
They must be illegal immigrants
I was expecting intelligent replies from somebody who could help!
Purwell
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21-06-2018, 02:14 PM
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Re: Help, I need some advice about magpies!

Originally Posted by Twink55 ->
I was expecting intelligent replies from somebody who could help!
Sense of humour failure, you know as well as I do the only thing you can do is shoot them.
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21-06-2018, 02:16 PM
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Re: Help, I need some advice about magpies!

Originally Posted by Twink55 ->
I was expecting intelligent replies from somebody who could help!
There is no one that can help...unfortunately these aggressive birds have developed what you see as over the top behaviour.
Nature is sometimes cruel...the most you can do is shoo them off every time they turn up. But their behaviour will just appear in another neighbourhood.

Fifty years ago these birds were rarely seen in towns...but the massive increase in the motor car (road kills) and fast food litter has encouraged them to breed in towns.
There are available various mesh screens to keep larger birds off your bird tables.
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21-06-2018, 02:41 PM
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Re: Help, I need some advice about magpies!

Originally Posted by Twink55 ->
I was expecting intelligent replies from somebody who could help!

This is where you could do with our Nomkins thoughts, Twink.

Upsetting though it is, at this time of year I guess all wild creatures want the food for their own babies first, so will chase away or attack others who are taking it.
Hard to watch, but still natural behaviour.
Survival of the fittest and all that.
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wild blueberry
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21-06-2018, 02:53 PM
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Re: Help, I need some advice about magpies!

Hi Twink

I had this problem with the squirrels here. One larger squirrel bit the small one on the nose (while I watched, and I was horrified). His little nose was bleeding and he was crying.

Even that night I could hear him up in his nest crying. I would go "click, click" and he would stop crying, he was listening to me...and I think it comforted him.

I had to stop feeding them, because the bigger ones were too mean to the little ones.

The squirrel with the deformed nose (yes, he survived, but you can tell when you see him, as his nose is badly deformed)..gets treats from me that the others don't know about.

I carry peanuts with me all the time, especially for him...all I have to do when I am out walking is, click click with my mouth and he comes running.

So he was the winner in the end, as I will always look out for him.

Twink, I think you have to stop feeding them in order to "save lives". Sometimes tough love is the best in the long run. I don't feed the squirrels anymore because I couldn't stand the pain of watching them fight for food. Even if there is plenty of food, they still have to fight for it.
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21-06-2018, 03:09 PM
10

Re: Help, I need some advice about magpies!

Magpies will catch, kill & eat young birds of most species, they take baby birds out of nests, in my garden they did this recently, the Blackbird parents were going nuts & the Magpie flew off with a nestling in it's bill, sadly now it knows where the nest is it's liable to take all the others as well to feed it's young.
 
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