Magpies.

dreamdaisy

I freely admit I am new to this whole gardening-and-bird-watching malarkey but I might be getting a feel or understanding of what happens and when. I stress might .

Last year we had two magpies in the garden, from April onwards, who disappeared around November. Earlier this week two returned but whether they are the same two I don't know: neither do I know if they are a pair. They are haunting the garden and have now discovered the drive, hanging around all the feeders and one just had a fierce squabble with a wood pigeon.

I know I can google magpies and discover what-is-what-and-why but (call me old-fashioned because I am) I wondered if any of you have noticed the same? Currently we have blue tits, long-tailed tits, blackbirds, collared doves, robins, sparrows, fat wood pigeons and wrens plus two magpies hanging around, but no crows (yet). DD

stickywicket

Oh do google them! I hadn't a clue either but I looked on wiki and there are some amazingly coloured maggies in other countries. One is clearly a West Ham or Villa supporter rather than a Geordie

theresak

I have to say, I don`t know a great deal about birds, though hubby & elder son are very knowledgeable, which is handy. My hubby says the amount of birds currently nesting in our gardens & hedge we should be charging rent!

The magpies are by far the noisiest, the robins very bold, and the blue-tits & goldfinches the most entertaining, as they dart about like quicksilver. We have a running battle every year to try and discourage the wood pigeons from building a nest on the strut between the Sky satellite dish & the wall - if we lose we have no TV picture! Hubby gets quite excited when the sparrows come, as they are falling in numbers.

dreamdaisy

Thank you both for replying and yes Sticky, I will have a look!

It was bird central this morning around the star magnolia - five blue tits flitting in and out of it, a couple of blackbirds and robins underneath it, one fat woodpigeon staggering around and a sparrow or two. Then in flew the magpies and the rest vanished.

This afternoon, just after my massage had finished a movement outside the window caught my eye: we have a suet ball feeder suspended from a sturdy rose close to a wall opposite the window and there was a magpie, hanging on for all he was worth, pecking away: you could barely see the feeder he was so large. DD

barbara12

I used to feed them before I realized they were raiding the birds nest and taking the young..so they are not welcome in my garden.. :roll:

frogmorton

How lovely

Whenever I think of Magpies I remember Daisycat, (when a kitten), catching one and bringing it live into my lounge!!

It was HUGE!!!!!!!!

Luckily a friend was near enough by to help safely free him

dreamdaisy

I understand your point of view, Barbara, it does seem cruel according to the human moral code. I know magpies are part of the crow family (who don't have the best reputation) but I find cuckoos far more offensive in the way they deposit their young on unsuspecting smaller birds. They have to be the ultimate example of very lazy parenting.

When we moved here, Frog, we had very little bird life due to the previous owner having a cat called (of all things) Mouse. I am so happy to see our feathered population increasing, especially the blue tits (they are gorgeous!) DD

Airwave!

All the usual birds here, but there is a curious one, a crow with white feathers on the wingtips. Perhaps mum or dad came from different breeds? Crow/magpie? Or just a touch of albino? Or what?

barbara12

DD if you want them in your garden they love cat food..well anything come to that..we were putting treats out for next door cats and caught them pinching it

dreamdaisy

They seem to be very bright birds, yesterday I caught sight on one of them rocking the squirrel-proof bird feeder outside the kitchen window, I thought it was trying to get at the seeds within but no, as I stood up to see better I saw the other one hovering up the seeds that had fallen to the ground!

I won't be treating them to anything else, my neighbours have chickens and the risk of encouraging rats is too high. I have plenty of various feeders around the garden perimeters but 've noted that all the birds are now busy on the lawn and the plants so when the feeders run out I won't be replenishing them, Mother Nature can take over feeding duties during the summer! DD

stickywicket

dreamdaisy wrote:

They seem to be very bright birds, I saw the other one hovering up the seeds that had fallen to the ground!

Blimey! That was very bright indeed. Was he / she using a hover mower? Do they mow lawns too?

(Sorry. Couldn't resist. I know you'll forgive me )

theresak

Airwave!

We have pigeons that fly up to the bird feeder and flap their wings at it, the feed falls to the ground and before they can eat it I come flying out of the door screaming my head off..........

Mind you the crows just lift it off its stand and let it fall to the ground.

Its a hard life but etc etc....

pot80

I have a love /hate relationship with Magpies. I tolerate them in the winter months but dislike them during the breeding season when they are out to kill anything that they can. Unfortunate they occasionally nest in one of our trees and sit up in the tree watching everything in the garden and then swooping down to attack. They even drove our cat indoors by attacking her tail whilst she lay out in the sun. Their worst crime was to destroy five House Martin nests and kill the young that were in them under the eaves. It was a number of years before the House Martins returned and they have only returned the last two years. Hopefully they they will return this year again any time soon.I get anxious waiting.

theresak

Twice last year, to our astonishment, we woke to see a sparrow hawk sitting on the back of the bench at the bottom of the back garden - surrounded by a pile of wood pigeon feathers. We only ever saw it on two occasions, and never since, but our next door neighbours saw it in their garden too.