found this site by accident when looking for pics sculptures etc of magpies and was horrified to see that people want to exterminate what i think is a beautiful bird and have been lucky to have them living in a tree near me and making periodic visits to my garden ( i live in pretty much central london) and always cheer me up with their call and antics, we humans donot have a great track record we are wrecking the planet and should certainly not be trying deliberately to wipe out species we get rid of loads every year normally. anyone else out there share my view of a much maligned bird.??
All the animals have so much to teach us if we will only listen with an open mind
Hello and welcome Starshine - We had a pair of Magpies nest in our Scots Pine this year and they raised two young ones. They gave us great pleasure despite their attacks on the local Jackdaw brigade also coming to the garden for food for their young ones. Our answer was we left them all to it until it got a bit ot of hand and then opened the door and shouted - thats enough! and the fight was over. The funniest part was when the babies started to feed in the garden they thought they were big and strong like their parents only to find that everyone bullied them and pushed them away from the food but mum and dad hid snacks in the shrubbery for them and off they toddle to feed in peace. All is calm again now mum and dad are still around but the young ones have moved on and there will be no more squabbles until next spring when I hope they choose our garden to nest in again. Their plumage is magnificent - we watched them all thru their moult when they looked most odd and they are now our beautiful birds again.
Hi there and welcome.
I to like magpies, my dad had a talking magpie which he found injured when he was a boy growing up in liverpool
I think they are lovely looking birds and you always find them chasing each other on rooftops.
Hi Starshine,
Welcome to the forum.
We get visited by magpies every year, they often come in making a racket. I wouldn't want to see them gone and I personally would never do anything to harm them. However, our next door neighbour has a rather large Conifer at the bottom of their garden, the majority of it hangs over ours. This tree is literally a "block of flats" for the birds during the breeding months! blackbrds, wood pigeons, tits and starlings all nest in there. What breaks my heart though is when the magpies do their dawn raids and literally descend on this tree, chasing off the birds to get to the eggs. Some days I'm literally out in garden clapping hands and banging on the shed roof to try and scare them off as you can't help be moved by their cries and those of desparate parents trying to protect their eggs or newly hatched.
They are beautiful birds though and as you say, the colouring of their feathers are wonderful.
Regards
Kerry
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kezmo6310/
Hi Starshine and welcome from me also. I have a solitary magpie here (not good if you go by the old poem) and I love him as he relentlessly teases next door''s cat by dangling his long tail just out of her reach! Top bird, in my opinion.
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
hi kezmo firstly apologies for not mentioning you on my latest post, i plead old age as the reason. thankyou for your reply and i've answered it in my newpost hope it is of some use to you cheers starshine
Welcome to the forum Starshine! I really like magpies! In fact, I greatly appreciate all of the Corvid family! They are all so intelligent and resourceful (some might call it mischievious!).
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
Welcome to the forum Starshine, I'm another pro-magpier as well. They are beautiful birds, unfortunately I rarely see them up here! They were fairly common where I used to live and I still miss them!
Millie & Fly the Border Collies
Hello Starshine, I like magpies too as they are very handsome birds but I must admit I do get tired of the racket they make at times! We had a family visit us regularly this summer which were nesting in a large tree about four houses away. My Mum always grumbles that they stop the little birds feeding by hogging the space at the bitd table but I am happy for them to share the food on mine as they are so beautiful.
There is something new to learn everyday...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skylark58/
Hi Starshine - purchased a Victorian Bird Book on Sunday - two subjects in one on one page that reminded me of your comments. They were describing the Magpie and included a coloured plate and then made reference that many Magpies were actually caged as pets! So we have made some progress.
Welcome aboard. I used to be neurotic about seeing solitary magpies (that old poem has a lot to answer for!!) but since a couple started coming into the garden I've realised that they are beautiful and fascinating creatures- I saw them ambush a woodpigeon one day, amazing too see. From the responses to your thread, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that likes the maggies.
I even love magpies