There are 2 magpies living in our area, I have not know them to be in this area before. On Tuesday a blackbird nest in our garden was attacked by them and the babies were killed. The following day a blackbird nest 2 gardens down the road was attacked and then today another blackbird nest a few gardens up the road was attacked. I am really very upset and wondering how blackbirds will ever be able to breed in this area again. What can be done? Also, o magpies attack other types of bird nest or just blackbirds?
Yes, as Lolly says, Magpies and other corvids will predate any nest they find. It is upsetting to see, but it is part of our natural ecology. On average, a Blackbird pair has three broods of about five chicks a year, a high productivity which helps offset inevitable high losses to predators. If a nest is predated, the pair will hopefully learn from experience and make their next nest in a more concealed place. Blackbirds as a whole must be doing something right - since 1995 their population has increased by 23% in the UK, while Magpie numbers are slightly down over the same period.
The most useful thing that gardeners can do to improve the odds of Blackbirds nesting successfully is to ensure there are plenty of good nest-sites, in the form of really dense scrubby bushes and thickets.
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Nest predation is part of a corvid's way of life, and always has been. Plenty of other species do it including Gt spotted woodpeckers, Gulls, and Skuas. Target species compensate by being prolific breeders and it's a system that has worked perfectly well for millennia.
Concern for your local Blackbirds is understandable, but try not to worry about it. There are far worst threats to nesting birds, and predators are an essential component of the complex web of life that sustains us all.
If it's any consolation, Lucy-lu, I'm pretty sure crows, jackdaws, magpies and jays predate each other's nests if they get the chance.
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
I wonder if part of the problem is that really dense, thick nesting sites seem to be increasingly scarce? Parks and gardens - to say nothing of the countryside and its poor hedgerows - generally seem to be overly neat and tidy to my mind. Think we need a bit more wildness.
Greenbird,completely wrong in my opinion as trimming farm hedges every year keeps a really dense hedge for birds to nest in unfortunately nothing except shooting it will stop a Magpie from sitting on top of that hedge looking where small birds are feeding young.
Proper hedge-laying does tend to lead to a good thick hedge, I'd say. Annual mechanical trimming doesn't - at least, not the ones I see. The hedges also tend to have their sides trimmed as well as the tops, so they're too thin to provide shelter and cover.
Of course, it does depend how big the hedge is to start with and whether it gets properly "laid" periodically.
Hi Lucy-lu not nice to watch but as others have said its the natural thing for the corvids to do,other species also predate,in fact it was only a couple of weeks ago I got a pic of a short eared owl taking a rook (which suprised me didnt think they took such large prey)
its just nature,and a fight for survival.
Des
Thank you for your replies. Would nesting boxes help the blackbirds? Also, I assume that the magpies are feeding their own babies. Do magpies only breed once a year? If that is the case then I guess it is easier for other birds to breed successfully when the magpies don't have young to feed?
Greenbird,lots of misconceptions about hedge laying.It is almost impossible to lay a hedge periodically it is really just a one time procedure when a hedge is usually grown for perhaps ten years then laid.Of course after laying the hedge needs trimming every year or at the most 2 yearly to keep it nice and thick in the bottom.Laying seriously tall overgrown hedges needs tremendous skill and is never as successful as a hedge grown specially for the job.Hedges trimmed once a year properly always give a thick hedge ideal for small birds nesting.
I'm not sure that your view is entirely in accord with the advice from Natural England - they have a good leaflet on the subject.
But I do agree that proper hedge-laying is a real skill.