Hello all! I'm relatively new to the RSPB and getting to know about birds.
We have a beautiful, nature-rich shared garden in central Edinburgh with lots of different types of birds.
There have always been a lot of robins and this spring there were more than ever and lots of gorgeous young.
They were pretty tame and gallus too.
Then the Magpies came back about the end of May (do they migrate and return - we usually have a few) and overnight the robins vanished - completely.
Now the predominant bird sounds are those of the blackbirds fighting off the magpies almost constantly through the day.
Can anyone shed any light?
Is this normal?
The magpies appear to be the aggressors but the robins never left before...
Thanks for any knowledge!
All the best, Chrissy
Cin J
Hello and welcome to the forum Christina, and probably more important, you might want to consider changing your user name from your email, because content on the forum is visible to the world, and I'm sure you don't want to become victim to spam.
I felt the same, the robin's disappearing acts, and currently here, we're only seeing juvenile robins, whereas magpies tend to stick around irrespective, nor do they migrate. Magpies are often the aggressors, not just from a territorial perspective, or food, but they too will have young and as any parent will, they also will be very protective toward their young.
I have video somewhere of a magpie challenging a cat in our garden, so they don't hold back.
As already said, it is normal for robins to disappear and nothing really to worry about.
One other thing, keep watching the magpies, not from the aggression perspective, but how they look after their young, how the young play, and the young will be almost adult size now, but more fascinating, is the young will still want the parents to feed them.
Lookout for rapid flapping of wings from the youngster when another magpie, often one of the parents, to be fed, and then the parent will place food into the open beak of the youngster.
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
Unknown said:Thank you all! This is very reassuring!
You're welcome.
We never stop learning, there is always something new to learn and discover.
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
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