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Magpies

Speaking of maximus otter being trigger happy :D This year there are a load more small birds nesting in the trees next to my house, even got a couple of doves. The problem is, is that the magpies have taken an interest in them, add to the fact that my little dragon likes to run round the garden and there's a serious issue. In the last 3 days 7 magpies have had to be executed and dropped over the fence for the foxes to munch on. I have on occasion had to remove the odd magpie from existence, but never on this scale, there really doesn't seem to be an end to the buggers at the moment. Anyone else experienced a sudden influx of these evil critters?
 
Speaking of maximus otter being trigger happy :D This year there are a load more small birds nesting in the trees next to my house, even got a couple of doves. The problem is, is that the magpies have taken an interest in them, add to the fact that my little dragon likes to run round the garden and there's a serious issue. In the last 3 days 7 magpies have had to be executed and dropped over the fence for the foxes to munch on. I have on occasion had to remove the odd magpie from existence, but never on this scale, there really doesn't seem to be an end to the buggers at the moment. Anyone else experienced a sudden influx of these evil critters?

???
 
Speaking of maximus otter being trigger happy :D This year there are a load more small birds nesting in the trees next to my house, even got a couple of doves. The problem is, is that the magpies have taken an interest in them, add to the fact that my little dragon likes to run round the garden and there's a serious issue. In the last 3 days 7 magpies have had to be executed and dropped over the fence for the foxes to munch on. I have on occasion had to remove the odd magpie from existence, but never on this scale, there really doesn't seem to be an end to the buggers at the moment. Anyone else experienced a sudden influx of these evil critters?

They do seem to be everywhere, don’t they? We have a pair 50’ away, that have taken over squatters’ rights in an old pigeon nest. Unfortunately, because of where we live, l can’t take the necessary action to preserve our local songbird fledglings.

maximus otter
 
They do seem to be everywhere, don’t they? We have a pair 50’ away, that have taken over squatters’ rights in an old pigeon nest. Unfortunately, because of where we live, l can’t take the necessary action to preserve our local songbird fledglings.
Usually there are a couple of nesting pairs of crows and jackdaws which seem to discourage the magpies, these have been noticeably absent this year and the magpies seem to have taken advantage of this fact. I'm not overly kill happy but I do like to encourage the little birds to nest nearby and help them out as and when I can.
 
Wildlife photographer Maurizio Ferrari captured this image of a jackal closing on a magpie in the Danube Delta in Romania.
(Magpie escaped) Daily Telegraph today.

Jackal closing on a Magpie.jpg
 
Obviously didn't like talking to strangers
Australian man suffers double eye injury in magpie swooping attack after 'conversation' turns ugly
James Glindemann, 68, was flown to hospital for emergency surgery after being aggressively swooped in the Victorian town of Sale on Tuesday


Luke Henriques-Gomes
@lukehgomes
Thu 15 Oct 2020 07.37 BST

What started as a “one-way conversation” with a magpie has ended with a Victorian man airlifted to hospital with serious injuries to both his eyes.
James Glindemann, 68, said he was about to tuck into a Chinese takeaway lunch on Tuesday at an outdoor mall in Sale, about 200km east of Melbourne, when he was suddenly and viciously swooped by a magpie.

etc

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ury-after-conversation-with-magpie-turns-ugly
 
It's magpie season here and this short clip went viral a couple of weeks ago. It's almost a rite of passage to be swooped by one, but it can be terrifying and it bloody well hurts if one gets you.
Given that his dad is laughing and filming him in order to put him on the internet as he screams in terror I'd say he has bigger problems than the magpie. :(
 
Given that his dad is laughing and filming him in order to put him on the internet as he screams in terror I'd say he has bigger problems than the magpie. :(
It is sort of common when you are growing up and injury is rare.

You've just got to keep your head down, shield your eyes, and get out of their nesting zone. They'll leave you alone once you've put distance between you and the nest.
 
This is Hans Forsberg. He is teaching magpies to recycle for food.

This is current state of my experiment, trying to teach the magpies in our garden to pick up litter, and get paid with food. Right now, the birds pick-up bottle caps and trade them for peanuts in my machine. I plan to describe the evolution of his work together with plans and details of the hardware and software on this channel. There is also some descriptions and files regarding hardware for the experimental rig available on my thingiverse page https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:460...

 
Magpies equipped with GPS trackers engaged in unprecedented cooperative behavior - to remove each others' trackers.
Scientists Attached Tracking Devices to Magpies. But Nobody Asked The Magpies
DOMINIQUE POTVIN, THE CONVERSATION 22 FEBRUARY 2022

When we attached tiny, backpack-like tracking devices to five Australian magpies for a pilot study, we didn't expect to discover an entirely new social behavior rarely seen in birds.

Our goal was to learn more about the movement and social dynamics of these highly intelligent birds, and to test these new, durable and reusable devices. Instead, the birds outsmarted us.

As our new research paper explains, the magpies began showing evidence of cooperative "rescue" behavior to help each other remove the tracker.

While we're familiar with magpies being intelligent and social creatures, this was the first instance we knew of that showed this type of seemingly altruistic behavior: helping another member of the group without getting an immediate, tangible reward. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.sciencealert.com/scient...vices-to-magpies-that-s-when-things-got-weird


Here are the bibliographic details for the published paper and a link where you can access it.

Australian Magpies Gymnorhina tibicen cooperate to remove tracking devices
Joel Crampton, Celine H. Frère, Dominique A. Potvin
Australian Field Ornithology Vol 39 (2022), pp. 7-11.

FULL REPORT: https://www.birdlife.org.au/afo/index.php/afo/article/view/2247/2269
 
Magpies equipped with GPS trackers engaged in unprecedented cooperative behavior - to remove each others' trackers.

FULL STORY: https://www.sciencealert.com/scient...vices-to-magpies-that-s-when-things-got-weird


Here are the bibliographic details for the published paper and a link where you can access it.

Australian Magpies Gymnorhina tibicen cooperate to remove tracking devices
Joel Crampton, Celine H. Frère, Dominique A. Potvin
Australian Field Ornithology Vol 39 (2022), pp. 7-11.

FULL REPORT: https://www.birdlife.org.au/afo/index.php/afo/article/view/2247/2269

I watched a documentary once about a pod of whales that did the same thing except it also had a camera (including sound) attached.
 
Strange behaviour from Australian magpies has a logical explanation:

magpies.jpg

Avian expert explains magpie act confusing Australians​

Australians have been left confused by the strange sight of magpies laying flat with their wings spread on the ground.
Most of us have probably seen a dog do a sploot (laying on its stomach with its legs stretched flat), but a magpie?

If you did not know better, you could think the birds were injured or unwell. The truth is quite sweet: they are just sunbathing. And not only because they like the Aussie sun.

“The heat from the sun heats their feathers and kills any feather mites and lice that may be present,” avian veterinarian Dr Adrian Gallagher told news.com.au.

A video was shared of three magpies engaging in the activity on social media, with the uploader wanting to know what they were witnessing.

Dr Gallagher added: “I would presume that there is extra heat from the wall as they appear to be closely associating with it.”
https://www.news.com.au/technology/...s/news-story/902cd60864038d59879afebe29337df4
 
I do love corvids, they are such intelligent creatures. I do however feel compelled to say, “Good morning your worship, how’s your ladyship” whenever I see just one magpie.
 
I do love corvids, they are such intelligent creatures. I do however feel compelled to say, “Good morning your worship, how’s your ladyship” whenever I see just one magpie.

Magpies (at least here in Australia) have a notorious and valid reputation for swooping people, especially during breeding season. However, I have always found that if you talk to the magpies in your yard and surrounds, they do get to know you and no longer perceive you as a threat and hence won't dive bomb you from trees or launch a sneak attack from the rear as you pass them by.
 
Strange behaviour from Australian magpies has a logical explanation:

View attachment 60577

Avian expert explains magpie act confusing Australians​


https://www.news.com.au/technology/...s/news-story/902cd60864038d59879afebe29337df4
Yes, I've often seen birds (especially UK Black Birds) outside sunning themselves - which is not the sole purpose behind what they are actually doing. They are de-bugging themselves from fleas, mites and other irritations. Letting their bodies heat up brings out the nasties onto the surface of their feathers where they can then vigorously shake them free or bathe them away.
 
Magpies (at least here in Australia) have a notorious and valid reputation for swooping people, especially during breeding season. However, I have always found that if you talk to the magpies in your yard and surrounds, they do get to know you and no longer perceive you as a threat and hence won't dive bomb you from trees or launch a sneak attack from the rear as you pass them by.
Interesting! We get the odd magpie in the garden but the main birds which visit are sparrows and wood pigeons. We do get a colony of herring gulls (and we are as far from the sea as you can get in England!) start moving in every March onto a neighbouring workshop roof, they nest and have young, then go off somewhere else come September, then it all starts again the following year. I wish they were receptive to being talked to, could ask them to stop shasting everywhere and squawking throughout the night. Other neighbours have been swooped on and I’ve been told one of their cats was mobbed once.
 
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