Neighbour feeding magpies.

What a fool you are Minniemoo! You must stop feeding pigeons, squirrels, foxes,magpies etc.

My neighbour feeds the baby foxes! The baby foxes then eat our goldfish ( having torn through the net over pond) & poo all over our patio & garden.
I KNOW they are sweet but they need to learn to hunt & feed themselves if they are going to survive the winter. They belong in the woods opposite not our garden.
We have parakeets & magpies too plus a heron & sometimes a sparrowhawk. It's like a massacre out there some evenings!!
My 4 cats catch the odd mouse to be fair.

Do tell her. I’m sure, as many other people have stated, that she doesn’t realise. I was very startled to see two magpies squabbling over a live blackbird fledgling a few years ago. I had no idea until then how voracious they are!

Nature is cruel. Do we have a right to interfere with wild creatures? If magpies are created to do what magpies do then who are we to say this is wrong?

We used to feed the birds but they made such a mess around the feeders that it attracted mice. Neighbour built a garden shed against my fence and mice nested beneath, they were getting fat in my garden as it was like a restaurant for them.
I hate pigeons, they monopolise the bird bath and then poo in it so the little birds can't drink there.
Magpies are a nuisance, they make a lot of noise outside the bedroom window, I thought they were clog dancers but I think they are raking in the gutters.

crystaltipps thanks for that. I don't believe in the killing of anything other than for the food that we eat.

I won't ever stop feeding any creature that comes into my garden - I get hedgehogs, squirrels and birds, as well as bats.

Those who are interested in wildlife and don’t believe in culling, killing animals for sport, or exploitation might be interested in Chris Packham’s new organisation Wild Justice. - wildjustice.org.uk/about/

I'm glad someone has raised this subject. It's something I'm very aware of. I have noticed the increase in magpies and the decrease in smaller birds. People tend to blame cats for the decrease, and they do take some responsibility, but I know the magpies kill a lot of the baby birds. The question is..what should we do about it?

There are laws about wildlife, so I presume destroying their nests would be regarded as a crime? Perhaps this is something the government needs to be made aware of. There are culls of other species which are regarded as a nuisance, perhaps magpies should be added to the list.

We have loads of ring necked parakeets which squawk really loudly and do get their heads in the small bird feeders. They strip any fruit trees they can get near. We have a lot of pigeons, crows, and magpies too, and lots of small birds. I’m hoping they balance each other out.

My dear Opthalmologist is called Dr Squirrel.

He's been trying to save my sight now for 10 years, so we're on first name terms and no, it's not Nutkin but David.

We are currently nurturing a blackbird family . They have 2 nests (which I find a bit odd) one is deep in our bay tree and one is in a huge clematis 3 doors down . They are going too and fro between each and I am providing a bird table full of food for them (as per RSPB guidelines) the trouble is I can’t seem to keep it stocked as obviously there are other bird taking full advantage including wood pigeons and the dreaded magpies.

Magpies do whats natural to them ,just as cats catch mice or birds and foxes eat smaller animals ..its NATURE .I putfood out for birds and a fox who has cubs ,if the magpies get to it first then thats their good luck.I wont be shooting them any day soon

I like the name quirrels. Do quirrels quarrel? One sits on my garage roof and swears at me if I open the back door unexpectedly, I think he would be a quarrelsome quirrel.

Squirrels

Elegranthanks. I like to feed the quirrels too . I think they all need to be fed. We get mainly wood pigeons, and the greedy sods eat most of the food. We don't get many magpies at all, but next-door's cat chases them. (My gentle old cat doesn't bother them)

What is the Local Council stance on magpies, in view of their increase and destructive habits?

Maybe they have a programme of shooting them if they are regarded as pests.

My cats scare the magpies off when they land on the lawn-----probably because my 3 cats are the same colour, black and white and there's a bit of jealous rivalry going on, hahaha. They never catch them though.
If a seagull happens to land, the cats hide behind the patio curtains, so brave !

The crows and their noise are a nuisance here at times you can't hear yourself speak..

I like to think that if the magpie comes for some of the food I put out in the garden it isn’t eating another bird’s babies. I agree that there are far too many of them these days but according to the RSPB “ research indicates that magpies do not pose a conservation problem to garden birds” Mmmmm.........

I feed the birds. And foxes. And hedgehogs. We get the odd magpie. I feed them all the usual stuff but mealworms are definitely a favourite with birds both big and small. I suppose we either feed the birds or we don't. And I like to feed them so if the odd magpie muscles in I'll try to shoo away but I'd not stop feeding the birds.

SalsaQueen It is possible to get squirrel-proof feeders, which are also more difficult for large birds like magpies and pigons to get their heads and shoulders into, while the smaller ones can slip completely through the bars. These mean that the smaller birds can feed reasonably safely. The bigger ones won't starve - they will get plenty from what is spilt on the ground.

Yes I'm a keen bird feeder.But I have actual feeders and for the ground feeders I sprinkle a mix around the edge of the hedge and wherever possible give them a little often.Of course all birds can get it,but this neighbour is actively encouraging the magpies in with mealworms etc at a regular time, and as very smart birds of course they come.Lots of them.

Across the back of my house..the opposite neighbour has a security light.
The little house martins build there nests just above the light.

Once the babies hatch the magpies just sit on the security light and take there pick. It not pleasant. But the house martins still nest there every year.

I might be missing something here, but if the neighbour feeds the birds, (as so I), the food is for ANY bird that goes into the garden - so should she (all of us who feed the birds) not leave any food out at all?

We have a lot of pigeons too.But Wood pigeons and I can forgive them pooping on my patio for the gentle coo coo sound ,and the fact they don't attack the other birds.I don't specifically feed them but they hoover up the bits below the feeders.Indeed there have been several pigeon massacres by the amount of feathers we find.Again the magpies I fear.

Our neighbour used to feed the pigeons. Someone complained to the council as it was attracting rats, as she was leaving bread out at all hours. She was told to stop.