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Help please - how to save chicks from Magpies

Yulia Danilova
09/05/2023 17:37

Hello everyone!

I live in London, Docklands to be precise.

I had a Blackbird nesting in my garden and just as the bird started to incubate her eggs, a Magpie attacked and ate some eggs and smashed others. Then 3 days later, ate a whole nest of robin chicks.

I have a new robin incubating her eggs and its in a roof area with a large opening where a Magpie can get in. I was thinking of using a grille to reduce the opening to 6cm square to prevent a Magpie getting in. 

That may frighten the Robin to see me putting the grill up, or if it feels that the nest is unsafe. But if I don't do anything the Magpie will eat the chicks anyway.

What shall I do?

  • 09/05/2023 19:23

    Magpies and Blackbirds are protected. One more thing if saw a raptor(bird of prey attacking a Blackbird you could do nothing. As most raptors are schedule1 prorated birds and raptors kill more wild birds. I’m afraid that’s Nature. Lots of wild birds and other wildlife to die You’ve got to accept that in nature and wildlife. Sorry if I sound harsh. But I’m just being honest,

    Regards,

    Ian.

  • 09/05/2023 20:23
    Thanks Ian, you may have mis-read my post, I was seeking opinions on nstalling a grille on the entrance to the robins nest to stop the magpie from getting in.
  • 09/05/2023 22:26
    I think it's too late to do anything now as installing a grill at this late stage may cause the birds to abandon the nest...
    Perhaps for next breeding season you could install some nest boxes but at the end of the day it's nature as Ian says and is usually best left alone as heartbreaking as it can be to watch but also wonderful sometimes aswell!

    (Pardon the Scottish Accent)

  • 12/05/2023 18:13
    Thanks Linda. Yesterday, I took the risky step of installing a grill which reduces the entry hole from a 50cm x 8cm gap to a much smaller 13cm x 8cm. All good and the mother has been going in and out every 45 mins or so as she's still incubating. Planning to reduce the gap a little more to 8cm x 8cm but will do so in small increments.

    I do have nest boxes but they are too visible I think, so that is why they have not been occupied. But I will relocate them and make them Magpie proof as much as I can.
  • 12/05/2023 18:59 in reply to Yulia Danilova
    Please keep your next move for next season as you have already ran the risk of abandonment ! I know you are only thinking of the birds but nature really is best left alone especially at this time of year...just think of the guilt you will carry should you do another adjustment and the nest gets abandoned with possibly live chicks in it !

    (Pardon the Scottish Accent)

  • 12/05/2023 20:01
    Thank you Linda, once I've made the opening small enough, I shall leave it alone. I'll make the gap smaller in 1cm increments over 5 days.
    Without any action, I'm afraid, the risk of a Magpie attack is just too high.
    I shall keep everyone informed!
  • 12/05/2023 20:49 in reply to Yulia Danilova
    No you have to leave it alone now! All nests are protected by law and you are being unlawful continuously interfering with it!

    (Pardon the Scottish Accent)

  • 13/05/2023 07:26
    Thank you, I shall let you know what happens.
  • 06/06/2023 21:47
    Good news. The chicks (not sure how many) hatched 2 weeks ago, the parents fed them regularly, and yesterday one of the parent robins was singing loudly for a long time from a distance. The chicks have fledged, and are in a bushy area on the ground being fed by parents. There are 2 or 3, I could not see them all at the same time, so can't be sure.

    I had installed a grille to the entrance to the nesting area which was 5cm x 8cm, so no Magpie could enter, so they were safe. Yes, I know its illegal, but to give them a chance, I'd do it again!