I am not sure if the Squirrels or Cats fear Magpies at all but obviously with such great numbers they would be teased severely.
I wonder what you would think of Great Black-Backed Gulls?
What about GBB's?
We know they are predatory and l have seen them 'in action' on The Farne Islands. Lots of creatures are, l'm not denying that.
The area where l live the cats and squirrels def' fear the Magpie's as they do gang up on them. You would have to see their behaviour to believe it. Whereas whilst at work,l watch them in the garden and they don't have the 'back up' and are just another garden bird.
-- Edited by Melanie Beckford on Friday 22nd of January 2010 08:20:58 PM
I sometimes pity the Magpie when it is out in a field feeding when a Carrion Crow or a few come hurtling towards it ready to cause it damage.
Magpies can be vicious and gang-up but then again they too get bullied by other birds. Sparrowhaws, Goshawks, Peregrines do predate Magpies and hopefully as their numbers grow we may see an eventual natural reduction in their numbers?
They are fascinating and strikingly beautiful birds and I have only ever seen them attack birds once and that too a fledgling Starling but I rescued it.
I am not sure if the Squirrels or Cats fear Magpies at all but obviously with such great numbers they would be teased severely.
I wonder what you would think of Great Black-Backed Gulls?
The peregrine actually kills it's prey extremely quickly in this clip. Initially the peregrine's simply holding the woodcock, though it tests the neck a couple of times with it's beak. Around the 50th second it dips it's head and severs the spinal chord using the tomial tooth on it's beak. Death is instant.
My heart lies with Raptors, ever since my mum (when l was a small girl) gave me a book and l opened the first page and there was an Osprey.....l was hooked. But it's a (usually) quick kill, with birds of prey.
-- Edited by Melanie Beckford on Tuesday 19th of January 2010 10:04:51 PM
BTW Melanie, I will certainly let you have your opinion just as long as you are willing to listen to somebody regarding the other side of the argument!
It's not as though you are going to start a group that wants them culling ... or are you!?!
Paul..it's obvious to me that we both see Magpie in vey different lights....mine is dark where they are concerned.
This thread is about Magpies,that's why no other species was mentioned
Magpie's ARE aggressive, l never compared them to any other birds, l realise that helps them survive...and other birds are too.
Gathering numbers for confidence ISN'T an amazing strategy...it's a fact... l watch it regularly from my window. l don't need to 'check out chimps etc'...this thread is about Magpies l don't doubt other animals have similar traits.
My neighbourhood Starlings ONLY have an awful time because of Magpies, the fledglings are routinely 'picked off' and harrassed all day from these birds. Although several Crows nest opposite my flat....l can honestly say,l've never seen them attack....
That's NOT to say they don't..... l know their diet, consists of young birds and eggs.
But the Magpie's numbers near my flat outweigh everthing else.
The fact that they are not scared of squirrels or cats and their numbers reach 40, was pure observation. They have no natural predators here that's why their numbers are so high.
l do agree they are opportunistic and intelligent...hence them skipping around anything new in their territory.
l can't say l hate them....l definetely dislike them.
My heart lies with Raptors, ever since my mum (when l was a small girl) gave me a book and l opened the first page and there was an Osprey.....l was hooked. But it's a (usually) quick kill, with birds of prey.
Magpies are relentless (you would say conscientious) in gaining their prey, if a young bird has taken cover, he will seek him out regardless. That's not to say he's not entitled to gain his dinner.
My observations are from my flat where l have lived for 29 years....we do see these birds very differently, l appreciate your views hope you allow me to have mine.
-- Edited by Melanie Beckford on Tuesday 19th of January 2010 10:04:51 PM
Re the human slant on magpies. Given the magpies were starving are we as humans any different? Witness the scenes today in Haiti re the killing of looters and rioting with people desperate for food. In the Second World War cannibalism was rumoured in Stalingrad. If we were to suffer an enormous catastrophe in the North West say nuclear war can we be sure things would be different. In the mammal animal kingdom killing own species is common as it is in birds and fish it is most definitely. Pike and Perch are veracious cannibals. So what the Magpies were doing was not unusual in the animal kingdom of which we are a part of.
check out chimp troops or hymenoptera for how effective this can be in offence or defence.
And for todays lesson in big words........."Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects"
Paul the behaviour that l often observe/d isn't ME putting a human slant on Magpies...it's their natural way of living...don't like them and find nothing redeeming about them, apart from the fact they are hugely succesful.
l haven't and couldn't instill my traits on this bird
l see the worst in them as that's ALL l see of them
l'm not 'destroying' them...merely commenting.
Thanks Riggers for the 'explanation'...
Melanie - your previous post contains a lot of words and imagery that evokes negative connotations and may be unfair. Why do they deserve all the stick when many species are similar?
"an incredibly aggressive bird" compared with? Gulls? Greenfinch? Robin? A awful lot of birds are aggresive, territorial, defensive - it mostly helps them be successful.
"skip and skirt around anything in their territory that they deem needs investigating" and ... ?
"Gathering numbers for confidence" if this is true then that is an amazing strategy - check out chimp troops or hymenoptera for how effective this can be in offence or defence.
"Our neighbourhood Starlings have an awful time in Springtime when their young fledge" why? Solely because of Magpies, surely not!
"Magpies are not frightened at all by cats,or squirrels " good these are both non-native species that cause significant amounts of damage to bird populations both locally and nationally
"the count can reach 40" surely a good sign that the park ahs enough food to support ample numbers of a bird at this trophic level? If not then the recent weather and lack of food will slowly weed out the weak and dying?
"the Magpies 'own' the area." II wonder if they got a good price
"The fact that one turned on it's own doesn't shock me at all" Me neither as alluded to earlier they are opportunistic and intelligent so no shock for me there - I just read your version as having slightly different connations than my meaning. Do I sense a hint of hatred in that statement? Would you feel different if you saw a buzzard, red kite or jay feeding on a corpse?
I am not meaning to personally single you out but I just think that they have a bad rep and are actually fascinating birds. The bad rep I believe is mainly because they do what other birds do but in a more obvious way!
Paul the behaviour that l often observe/d isn't ME putting a human slant on Magpies...it's their natural way of living...don't like them and find nothing redeeming about them, apart from the fact they are hugely succesful.
l haven't and couldn't instill my traits on this bird
l see the worst in them as that's ALL l see of them
l'm not surprised at the behaviour of those Magpies. l find them an incredibly aggressive bird (at the best of times)...they skip and skirt around anything in their territory that they deem needs investigating. Gathering numbers for confidence.
Our neighbourhood Starlings have an awful time in Springtime when their young fledge.The Magpies are not frightened at all by cats,or squirrels in fact the opposite seems true from what l've seen from my lounge window.
There are a 'gang' of Magpies that dominate the parkland outside my flat, the count can reach 40!! l watch them and their activites and although there are Crow's sharing the same habitat...the Magpies 'own' the area.
The fact that one turned on it's own doesn't shock me at all.
I don't know wheter the laugh or cry about the anthropomorphism in this quote! Or indeed whenever somebody has something bad to say about magpies.
Why do we instill our worst traits upon certain species, why do we see the worst in them, why do we love to hate? Why are we built to destroy!
"Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts"
So now you know!
I thought it was the name given to people who make small plastercine men
l'm not surprised at the behaviour of those Magpies. l find them an incredibly aggressive bird (at the best of times)...they skip and skirt around anything in their territory that they deem needs investigating. Gathering numbers for confidence.
Our neighbourhood Starlings have an awful time in Springtime when their young fledge.The Magpies are not frightened at all by cats,or squirrels in fact the opposite seems true from what l've seen from my lounge window.
There are a 'gang' of Magpies that dominate the parkland outside my flat, the count can reach 40!! l watch them and their activites and although there are Crow's sharing the same habitat...the Magpies 'own' the area.
The fact that one turned on it's own doesn't shock me at all.
I don't know wheter the laugh or cry about the anthropomorphism in this quote! Or indeed whenever somebody has something bad to say about magpies.
Why do we instill our worst traits upon certain species, why do we see the worst in them, why do we love to hate? Why are we built to destroy!
I had a group of 10 magpies hunting down 2 other magpies across our back gardens. They were relentless & the other two looked bedraggled and worn out. Never loved magpies after watching them attack baby birds & eating dog poo in the garden when I was a kid. Still find them fascinating though. Rae
l'm not surprised at the behaviour of those Magpies. l find them an incredibly aggressive bird (at the best of times)...they skip and skirt around anything in their territory that they deem needs investigating. Gathering numbers for confidence.
Our neighbourhood Starlings have an awful time in Springtime when their young fledge.The Magpies are not frightened at all by cats,or squirrels in fact the opposite seems true from what l've seen from my lounge window.
There are a 'gang' of Magpies that dominate the parkland outside my flat, the count can reach 40!! l watch them and their activites and although there are Crow's sharing the same habitat...the Magpies 'own' the area.
The fact that one turned on it's own doesn't shock me at all.
The bird that was killed was probably weak from the cold weather. Magpies will take other birds normally if they can get them - eg newly fledged chicks - and I suppose it was desperate too.
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Judith Smith
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Lightshaw hall Flash is sacrosanct - NO paths please!
while travelling to work to Bolton from Westhoughton down the main road at Hunger hill just before the Tavern there was a flock of about 8-10 Magpie's flitting in and out of gardens on both sides of the road one poor bird while flying out of the garden and flying across the road was hit by a van and flew to the pavement , as it landed immediately another Magpie landed on top of it and pecked the life of out within seconds, I was puzzled I thought Magpies were very sociable as there found in large flocks , is this normal? It was quite disturbing
