He stole and ate my favourite frog. Should be hung, drawn and quartered
Cheeky blinkin Magpies
- Thread starter Dave7
- Start date
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Threevok
Growing old disgracefully
- Location
- South Wales
As a boy, I had a pet Magpie.
I've owned may species of bird over the years - none as clever though
I've owned may species of bird over the years - none as clever though
glasgowcyclist
Charming but somewhat feckless
- Location
- Scotland
"Until the mid-19th century, magpies were very common in Britain and were popular with farmers because they eat harmful insects and rodents. But from then until the First World War, heavy persecution by gamekeepers caused their numbers to plummet.
Since the Second World War, magpie numbers have increased. Their numbers trebled from 1970 to 1990, since when they have become more stable. Urban and suburban magpies increased much faster than rural populations. In towns they are not persecuted, there is more food available, magpies will nest close to people, which protects their nests from crows, and they can breed earlier in the year because towns are warmer than the surrounding countryside.
Urban magpies will use artificial nest sites and nest materials, and will take food from bird tables, sometimes storing it in man-made structures such as gutters and eaves.
Factors that normally limit magpie populations are lack of nesting territories and high mortality of young birds. The relatively stable population since 1990 suggests that magpies have reached an ecological equilibrium."
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/magpie/population-changes/
Since the Second World War, magpie numbers have increased. Their numbers trebled from 1970 to 1990, since when they have become more stable. Urban and suburban magpies increased much faster than rural populations. In towns they are not persecuted, there is more food available, magpies will nest close to people, which protects their nests from crows, and they can breed earlier in the year because towns are warmer than the surrounding countryside.
Urban magpies will use artificial nest sites and nest materials, and will take food from bird tables, sometimes storing it in man-made structures such as gutters and eaves.
Factors that normally limit magpie populations are lack of nesting territories and high mortality of young birds. The relatively stable population since 1990 suggests that magpies have reached an ecological equilibrium."
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/magpie/population-changes/
Threevok
Growing old disgracefully
- Location
- South Wales
Get a cat ?
glasgowcyclist
Charming but somewhat feckless
- Location
- Scotland
These bird-scaring tethered kites cost a little over a tenner...
Available from Azamon and similar.
12boy
Guru
- Location
- Casper WY USA
Can't speak to your situation but here in the high desert we have lots of crows all year and magpies in the warmer months. They eat carrion in the road but since Corvids ( the crow/raven tribe) are so intelligent, they do not eat fast food thrown on the street. Although ours is fresh from the vendor it's interesting we eat things the connoisseurs of week old road kill will not.
Joey Shabadoo
My pronouns are "He", "Him" and "buggerlugs"
Magpies often tease cats for fun and I've seen them having a go at our cats many a time. Then one morning I heard one of our cats, Trubble, mewling at the bedroom door demanding attention. When I got up, there was a very frightened magpie on the curtain pole in the kitchen with Trubble purring contentedly as if to say "Got the bugger". I caught it and let it go but hopefully it learned a lesson.
Have you seen how big a Magpie is up close?
On one occasion shortly after we first moved to the current house, my cat (when he was much less decrepit than he is now) saw 4 of them on the bird-bath and crashed through the cat-flap in full-attack mode and at maximum closing speed. As he got within a few meters of them the penny started to drop that;
a) there were 4 of them
b) they were large and in possession of very substantial pointy things at the front of their heads, and
c) they had seen him and weren't going anywhere.
After palpably slowing down to little more than a trot hoping to avoid any sort of confrontation whatsoever, I sensed that 1 of the magpies had got bored with the exchange and rather indignantly flew off, prompting the others to follow.
My stupid cat then strutted back into the house, expecting a reception like a returning hero.........and has never been near them since!
Billy Wizz
Veteran
- Location
- North Wales
A crows nest appeared at the bottom of our garden about 15 years ago I haven't seen a magpie in the garden since, my garden wrecker is the woodpigeon like a big fat drunk always on the small bird tables and knocking small pots over.
pawl
Legendary Member
- Location
- Desford Leicestershire
The. two magpies that visit my garden have done a great job of clearing the moss off the house roof.
- Location
- Glasgow
Before I had a cat flap, I used to leave food for the cat in the garden.
The magpies would chase the cat, eat his food.
Threevok
Growing old disgracefully
- Location
- South Wales
Funny you should say that
We had a cat (Tibby - a Maine Coon cross) who was forever carrying his food; chunk by chunk; to the top of the coal-shed and depositing it on the roof.
He would then hide in the bush alongside, wait for the crows to land and then pounce on the unsuspecting birds.
Profpointy
Legendary Member
I'm very dubious, nay, scathing on this labelling of a species as bad "they kill songbirds" and hence "bad". There have always been magpies and songbirds and each has to make a living. Magpies doubtless take chicks of other birds, but songbirds eat worms etc.There is a balance and all seem to do OK, Environmental change is what really hurts species not the ongoing cycle of predator and prey
Pigeons are "bad" because they are sucessfull yet doves are "good" and represent peace.
OK I don't want rats in the house but outdoor rats -live and let live.
We have a cat and she happily hunts birds and rodents as its her nature, and to be fair she eats them mostly, but the garden is full of birds and I have yet to hear of a shortage of rats, however many dead ones she brings in
Back on topic in another life our timid scardey cat maine coon was in the garden growling one day with the other 3 cats looking on from a distance. He proudly munched his way through a whole magpie, bones, feathers, the lot, leaving only a pair of feet. His bigger stronger bolder brother caught nowt as he had the stealth of a herd of hippos.
Pigeons are "bad" because they are sucessfull yet doves are "good" and represent peace.
OK I don't want rats in the house but outdoor rats -live and let live.
We have a cat and she happily hunts birds and rodents as its her nature, and to be fair she eats them mostly, but the garden is full of birds and I have yet to hear of a shortage of rats, however many dead ones she brings in
Back on topic in another life our timid scardey cat maine coon was in the garden growling one day with the other 3 cats looking on from a distance. He proudly munched his way through a whole magpie, bones, feathers, the lot, leaving only a pair of feet. His bigger stronger bolder brother caught nowt as he had the stealth of a herd of hippos.