Magpies

It's heartbreaking to see nests being attacked by magpies - like you, I've seen it many times - and they must be the most universally disliked of birds (except by the RSPB, who are deaf to calls for a cull on their ever increasing numbers). I don't think you can do anything to deter them even at ground level. Nature, red in tooth and claw, I'm afraid.

The other day I was sitting at the computer when I heard a 'thud'.

To my surprise is was a Magpie which was chasing a sparrow and it had overshot and hit the window promptly landing on it's feet.
The sparrow was looking at the Magpie and there were four other bloody Magpies in attendance. I think they were hunting the poor thing.

I ran out clapping my hands, and they took off clacking and shouting as they do and I noticed other sparrows around.

Magpies are horrible carnivorous birds. I always scoot them out of my garden, and am on 'red alert' in May and September when the baby blackbirds hatch. They eat baby song birds and eggs too, but round here they seem to eat anything that moves. I've seen them bullying wood pigeons too but they seem to avoid crows. maybe they have met their match there as they are equally as aggressive.

I have a pair of black caps which use my feeder. They are the only birds that stay put when the magpies descend. They are brave little things! I wonder why we hate magpies but love cuckoos, which are just as cruel in their own way?

I hate them too, and they can even steal chicken eggs from our nesting boxes.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeEzObuYVx8
Our neighbour shoots them .

Calls to cull Magpies? Dear god why must we want to control nature, hunt the fox, cull the badger, cull magpies , no way

Sometimes I think it is wrong to have a bird feeder in your garden. Birds like a sparrow hawk must think it is a take-away!

We don't get magpies here in north Scotland but plenty of birds of prey.

I would never shoot them, or harm them in any way. They are still beautiful to look at but so viscious. Will just have to stay vigilant and keep shooing them off. It's just nature I suppose.

We must have brave sparrows in our area. Quiet often there's a magpie hoping round the lawn and sparrows and starlings on the bird table. The smaller birds seem obviously.

I`ve never had any problems with magpies, we don`t see them very often, but when we do get any, I love to look at them, they`re a beautiful bird. I don`t believe in culling anything.....unless it`s wasps, that I`d welcome with open arms!

The are quite magnificent creatures, when they strut across the lawn, but equally horrible creatures when they attack the small birds and their nests. It is all nature at it's worst and best.

We can get 4/5 day after day in our garden but have had a real battle trying to keep them away from a blackbird nest in a densely covered trellis 3 feet away from our kitchen door.
We are alerted when the blackbirds start getting agitated and flying frenziedly. The nest is now empty and we hope against hope that they have flown. It had been a joy to watch the parents and hear the fledglings but we know nature is cruel.

Yes, they are stressing me out too. I have robins, blue tits, great tits, gold crest and other birds nesting in my garden. Last week I saw two magpies in my back garden and when I rushed out to shoo them away there were two small blue eggs with their contents drained on my lawn.

Worse still yesterday morning I saw one on my roof with a stolen chick in its beak.

But yesterday afternoon as I pulled into my drive I watched in amazement as two wood pigeons chased a magpie off and then a blackbird joined in the pursuit. I have three nests in one conifer at the front - wood pigeon, blackbird and the gold crest, so it's good to know that two of these are at least up for an attack on the magpies

When I was working, we had a perfect view of pigeons nesting high in a tree opposite our upstairs office window. We were all quite fascinated with their comings and goings as the eggs hatched and the parents fed the chicks. I put a pair of binoculars on the window sill so that staff could watch them. Then one morning, along came a magpie and took one of the chicks, then another. Before long the nest was empty. I know that this is natural behaviour and one shouldn't be sentimental about it, but it strikes me that the numbers are seriously out of balance now with the rest of the bird population, and maybe it is time for controls (I used the word cull upthread which seems to have raised at least one person's hackles) of some kind - between 1970 and 1990 their numbers in urban and suburban areas tripled (in rural areas they were said to have remained the same). They are now said to have stabilised but frankly I don't believe it. Even the RSPB control corvid numbers on their reserves where they have birds nesting whose populations are under threat, but suggest controls to help the wider bird population and they throw up their hands in horror. They can't have their cake and eat it. I don't really want to get into a debate about this; I'm just putting in my four penn'orth. Other, contrary, views are available.

So will you post the percentages Grayduster ?

Yesterday I watched as two magpies tried to protect their nest, high up in an ash tree at the bottom of our garden, from a marauding,very large crow.
After 10 minutes, they were successful.

The biter bit, then joanna ?

We get a few magpies, rooks, and also jackdaws in the garden, but I only feed small birds in Winter, so the nests we have are safe so far.

Funny how we seem to be soppy about Nature, especially cuteness (finger down throat emoji) until we see Nature just getting on with being Nature. Magpies are part of
nature and they are only doing what magpies do. There are plenty of other birds of prey. Do you all hate them as well? If not, why not? There's no essential difference.

And you should hate lions and tigers too, and wolves and jackals and alligators and, and, and...

Robins eat smaller animals. So do song thrushes. And dunnocks. And wrens. And bluetits.....

Magpies and other corvids are not the only carnivores. Get real, folks.

I've gone off the RSPB (long story) but I'm glad to hear they just shrug about magpie complaints.

I don't hate them bags it just stresses me out watching the slaughter. I wish they'd all settle foe a cheese sandwich instead

I remember some years ago, walking along beside a moorland river, when all of a sudden there was an almighty commotion and a wood pigeon shot out of the trees with a magpie firmly clamped to its belly. The wood pigeon was not giving up without a fight - the magpie had clearly picked on the wrong bird. As the wood pigeon flew over the river, the magpie lost its hold on the wood pigeon and fell into the river. It was pitiful to see it trying to take flight from the water, but not being a seabird, it obviously couldn't manage it, and I assume it drowned. That's nature for you. It upset me, but then I thought of the poor wood pigeon...

You put a cheese sandwich out, anya and they'll have that as well. They aren't fussy.

Good thinking, greyduster. If you only put out seedy sort of food for small birds magpies will eat the small birds. If you supply the magpies with sandwiches, or pasta, or chopped up liver, they'll eat that instead.

Check out Sophie the Magpie on Twitter. She's a character @breesophiebree

Thanks for all your comments and opinions folks I seem to have opened a can of worms here (pardon the pun!), and No Thatbags, I don't HATE magpies or any other creatures either! But the numbers are definitely on the increase. Well since the kerfuffle in the tree the other day where I assume the blackbirds have their nest, the magpies have been pretty lowkey and the pair of blackbirds are still around so if the magpies have had the eggs/chicks they will probably just start all over! Am now experimenting putting less food out and at different times as the magpies seem to be about early in the morning.