A pair of magpies and their chick started hanging round a few weeks ago so I put out a bit for them when I was feeding the dog.
Big mistake.

I've never heard a more whinging, petulant creature than this chick. It's there first thing in the morning, sitting on the TV aerial, waiting for me to feed the dog, and calling non-stop. It does this a few times a day as well.

I'm still feeding them but how long does a magpie hen feed its chick. The chick is bigger than the hen.

Oh yeah it can fly. It gets there first and squawks till the hen comes down to feed it.

Very upper class, it expects to be waited on at table.

My poor wife once got her lip torn open by a magpie at Cottlesloe Beach. We were walking along a sidewalk and man in a unit above us was leaning out his window waiting for it to happen knowing about the nest. Rather than warn us he laffed after it happened. Had he been within striking distance I would have punched him in the throat.

 

I don't know much about Magpies, except they have a nice singing voice in the morning's- but it seems that Pelicans will eat almost anything-don't watch if your squeamish.

I watched from between my finger's.

bogarde73 wrote on Dec 10^th, 2015 at 3:19pm:


it won't matter how old or big it gets ... I once had a neighbor who fed a pair of magpies at the same time every day for 5 yrs. If she wasn't there for any reason the squawking would go on for ages.

Black Orchid wrote on Dec 24^th, 2015 at 11:48am:


Have a look at the thread I started here "believe it or not" about magpie rescue, if you didn't see it already

Still feeding them (but just a little). I like having them around.

Of course you are.. you are the keeper of every living thing that falls within your province, and it is your duty as the top of the chain to care for them when needed.

If I said otherwise my Blue Tongues and swallows and wag-tails would object.... also got some red parrots.... bewdiful...

Young maggies have grey feathers that gradually blend to the glossy black and white....

Oh - property is sold and during negotiations I advised the buyers that we had very tame Blue Tongues and that I trusted their dogs would not chew on them.... the lady said her labrador might lick one..... no cats or nasty dogs allowed.... hundreds of trees and bushes for the small birds planted here and we have a symbiotic relationship with the Blue Tongues... I say hello to them when we meet and they eat snails for me.

I had Rainbow Lorikeets who had me as part of their daily feed run... dawn sharp on the window demanding sliced pears....

Aussie wrote on Dec 26^th, 2015 at 5:23pm:


That is wrong - giving them a generous food source - then cutting it off suddenly. Next time try and do the humane thing and reduce it gradually.

AiA wrote on Jan 1^st, 2016 at 6:31am:


And there we have a typical PA post from a PA Moderator and former Admin.  Bloody disgraceful.

Am I my magpies' keeper?

My uncle was feeding the Kookaburras each evening. They would all come around and sit in the trees with their kookaburra laugh waiting to be fed. After a while the magpies got onto the lurk and would be lining up with the Kookas.

In the end the Kookaburras would be laughing and you would go out and find a line of Maggies with no kookas in sight.

The Magpies were imitating the Kookaburra laugh. It was very funny.

An interesting thing about Kookaburras is that the first time I went to Qld was the first time that I has seen a northern kookaburra. At that time around Sydney and the central coast and further north you only seen the southern kookaburra. Now in this area all I ever see in the Northern bird. Have not seen a southern Kookaburra in decades.

Wish I knew what happened to my magpies.
There was a family of 3 and I'm sure they were feeding another chick.
I was feeding them every morning and then suddenly about 2 months ago they were just gone.

I thought maybe they'd been shot but they never seemed to leave my property.
Them I thought, there's a guy up the road a bit who bates foxes & dogs, maybe they picked up a bait. But that's unlikely too, he doesn't bait here.

Maybe it's just some seasonal migration and they'll be back one day looking for a feed.

My guys never swooped me either. They would sit on a tree branch or the pergola waiting for me to come out and they'd look you full in the face.
Probably thinking about which eye they'd tear out if I didn't get on with it.
Then after I'd put the food down and turned away I'd hear this thump as one of them landed on the tin cover of the old bbq. Usually they'd feed one at a time, sometimes two together.

I miss them.

bogarde73 wrote on Dec 10^th, 2015 at 3:13pm:


I had the same problem for years with the same female and her babies. She'd drop them off at my place to be babysat and they never stopped squawking for food or attention.

You can't let them be too dependent unfortunately because eventually the father drives them out of the area so the female can start the  breeding process all over again. They would have had a hard time looking for natural food after being so spoiled.

After 5 years the female has stopped breeding thankfully - so only her daughter and a niece (I assume) who's brain damaged visit for a feed. Mainly I've fed them on perches so they wouldn't wander around on the ground and get caught by the cat.

If I had the chance to start over again and not feed them - I wouldn't encourage them, but I'd have to get rid of the cat first.

I am not absolutely sure yet but I think my magpies might be back.
Is this the breeding season? Have they returned to Bogarde's soup kitchen?

PS I'll be checking they have valid visas and are not carrying laptops or other devices.

My Magpies are back.  One mature (white beak) and a "juvenile" here this morning .... probably the rest of the family was around too .... I didn't notice.

I still don't know how to distinguish male/female Magpies ... something to do with the "white" bit on their neck?

I thought my magpie was back snitching my white stones..as they get dropped around the place..lol..

however this one was a huge all black bird.. a crow maybe ..beautiful very selective on the size of stone he/she wanted...will have to buy some more as the smaller ones have all gone...I would love to know what they do with them.. I mean a nest full of these stones...couldnt last long...

Lord Herbert wrote on Apr 10^th, 2017 at 1:56pm:



your so smart herb,.. I didnt think of that..

I was thinking more along the lines of a nice pebble path leading to their nest..

Lord Herbert wrote on Apr 11^th, 2017 at 8:58pm:



they could have dropped on your head herb...whilst you were keeping an eye on the neighbours..

you do do neighbourhood watch dont you?

Lord Herbert wrote on Apr 12^th, 2017 at 8:46am:

herb this morning I have had a blackbird... completely black...nicking my white stones again  it has been going on for about 3 qtrs of an hour.. no sooner gone with stone firmly clutched in beak than its back again..I have stones all over the front brick work  where he/she throws them around until they fit the beak right...it must have made off with over a dozen so far..its amazing to watch...I tried to google how a blackbird would use stones   but there isnt really anything....some of these stones are bigger than a 20cent piece....

mantra wrote on Apr 16^th, 2017 at 10:11am:



really... mantra these are big stones...you buy them by the bag in Bunnings garden dept...they are too big for their beak  the bird keeps dropping it until he gets it balanced I think in his beak...I find the odd one down the driveway as if its dropped it on the way out....I cant see them swallowing this I am afraid...I have also a lot of tiny stones.. yes previous owners must have had a stone farm somewhere...but they never go for them  its these largish  flatish smooth white ones they like.... I dont have a lot.. and they are diminishing every day.. lol..

Lord Herbert wrote on Apr 12^th, 2017 at 8:46am:


Really?

mantra wrote on Apr 16^th, 2017 at 12:31pm:



the bird is completely black...

This is a Currawong.

Neferti wrote on Apr 17^th, 2017 at 2:46pm:



I was too busy watching the way it picked up the stones to notice the colour of its eye...  will do the next time round...it makes a huge mess... which is fine....and must have pinched about 12 stones..lol...I have two cats so its quite bold...I would just love to see what they do with  them......

It sounds like it's a raven Cods - a species of crow. They could eat the pebbles or just store them somewhere - no-one knows for sure. I hope one of your cats doesn't get him, but hopefully they are a bit wary of large birds.

Quote:

I was thinking that it could be a Raven too ... they are larger than Crows.

Have you thought about getting in touch with the Canberra Ornithologists Group about why the bird is collecting pebbles?  Bird Watchers would know a lot more about sort of thing than I do.

That link didn't seem to work all that well.  Try this one.

http://canberrabirds.org.au/

cods wrote on Apr 19^th, 2017 at 10:42am:


It could be using the stones to file its beak a bit. If they've been eating soft food - their beaks might become a little overgrown and playing with pebbles could smoothe them down a bit. That's just a thought. Birds picking up shiny or colourful things isn't a myth.

After my childhood dog died, I kinda only 'befriend' animals.
I always let my dog roam freely.
So too, do I let animals come and go freely.
I never 'own' them.

So it was with a couple of Magpies who I would put out some nibbles for. They would confidently come into my house, up to my fridge and 'Chortal' for me both as a Request and after as a Thankyou.
They were of course, feeding their chicks as well.
Which, later in the year - they would bring down from the Big Tree to introduce to me. The chicks were obviously a bit wary or shy for quite awhile, until their parents convincing eventually pushed them to accept nibbles from me.
I would often 'hand feed' them and the only hassle they ever provided me was the odd 'poop' on my floor.

The Miner's would try to exploit the situation. But I had small rubber hard balls that I kept aside for their intrusions and the Magpies never fluttered a wing in panic as a ball would fly past them at a Miner (managed to knock x5). The Miner's soon learnt to stay well away.
The Cockatoos tried to cash in too. But the idea of them in numbers gnawing at my accommodation and stuffing the TV reception again ...also brought out the rubber balls.

It paid off though.
For Magpies can recognise and remember a person for many years.
I often walked along that pathway without need for sunglasses on the back of my head, a helmet with weird things poking off it, or having to duck.
As the Postie once said to me as the Magpies hammered at him as he impatiently waited for me to take my mail by hand.
"They seem to like you!?" as I stood there unworried by a peck.
"If someone took your food producing Environment away from you - wouldn't you be pissed!?"

Hi Mantra (its been a few years  )
No. My dog was a cross dingo/G-shepard/Labrador
During the 70's there were many dogs roaming the streets of Mt Druitt.
You can still see that in the backwaters of Griffith.

My dog died from dehydration. Chain caught around post and unable to get to water bowl. I had to chain him, because in another area we lived, not many dogs roamed so many complaints about him doing so.

Where I lived back in Sydney, the Cockatoo flock was around the 800 in number for that part of town. So it wasn't wise to attract them to your house, so to speak.

I currently look after 3 dogs, while my mate is overseas for a year.

I had to (go to school).
As a kid, my dog would jump the fence anyway, turn up to school, be a novelty for other kids. He was free as!
But in the other area - as a teenager, he had to be kept 'in backyard' and my school was no longer a walk down the street but a bus trip 3 suburbs away.
Poor fellow, had a lousy 2nd half.

I've never had a 'pet' since and I only care for my mates dogs. Love them heaps, but I don't 'own' them.

Animals should never be owned.
They should have the 'choice' and be respected for it.
They can make it, if given the chance.
Just like a dangerous one can make the choice wether to kill you or I or not.

if you allow your animals to roam   then expect the worst..they can and will end up in the pound and be executed because of a wayward owner.....that doesnt sound a bit fair to me...

Hopefully the problem will be sorted soon- be patient and you will be rewarded mantra- - so many neglected dogs around here ( and cats)- I found one one day that was wandering and starving and her skin was in the most neglected state I had ever seen- I took her to the vet and was told she ( we called her Angel) was so malnourished that her teeth were like milk teeth and that she was actually a full grown dog- she looked like a youngish puppy given her size- most likely just so starving from birth - most likely kept on a chain-he also said that her internal organs were also not functioning properly and her prognosis was very poor- she had to be put to sleep- the story of one neglected dog I found wandering-

well done Jasin... well done    you dont just leave an animal to tenants you just dont do that..

cods wrote on Jun 30^th, 2017 at 8:03am:


I had to laugh at your post Cods. It's not coming back for food, but stones. You'll probably have to buy another bag eventually.

cods wrote on Jul 1^st, 2017 at 9:08am:


He's probably sharing them with his relatives Cods. Still the pebbles would work out cheaper than fresh meat. Next year you'll probably have 2 or 3 big black visitors pinching the pebbles.

I had a lovely sight in my garden this morning. The native minors were going beserk the way they do when a cat dares walk into their territory. They were all perched on a huge old palm tree screeching crazily. There are wisteria vines wrapped all the way up the tree and around all the falling fronds and husks so a dozen or more nests have formed which some of the smaller native birds use. These nests are secure and well protected.

About a third of the way up the tree - I saw the sweetest little ringtail possum's face peaking out from a nest. It had a good look around then turned back inside, curled up and went to sleep.

The birds stopped screeching and went about their business. I think they wanted me to know I had another intruder in the garden. Just a guess of course.

Birds by nature are attracted to all kinds of peculiar bits and peices- hair feather anything shiny etc- they use these bits and peices to build a nest/s - I think lyre birds build nests in the long grass and so they might be attracted to stones etc- there are a few birds that build on the ground in grass etc-

Last winter when SA was inundated with fierce windstorms a family of crows were nesting in my big gum tree out front and had baby birds had just hatched - they were twittering each morning and I used to watch the parents take turns in feeding these ravenous babies-

One afternoon a huge windstorm hit that town and the tree full force and I worried about the babies in the storm wondering if they would be blown down and so be at the mercy of cats etc- the next day and the day after no signs of life and I as resigned to thinking the worst had happened- then on the morning of the third day I hear the faint twittering of baby crows again- and from that day it was business as usual-
Birds are amazing creatures  but they didnt come back this year - not to my tree anyway

The screeching of white cockatoos has to be the most godawful sound in the world! If I walk my dog along Sturt Creek near dusk there is a huge flock of the damn things screeching away, ugh!

Agnes wrote on Jul 2^nd, 2017 at 10:44pm:



I dont think we have ground nesting birds in Canberra agnes...this is for sure a blackbird  black all over with a white iris  .. he wont have a bar of shiny stones 

even if this was a ground nest he was building by now it would have to be 3 feet tall...lolol a condominium maybe