Neighbour feeding magpies.

I have a lovely photograph of a squirrel sitting inside a squirrel proof bird feeder contentedly eating the nuts... trouble was he couldn’t get out again and started to panic when he saw me
I ruined the bird feeder cutting him out with wire cutters to free him

Shropshirelass, an elderly neighbour said that she feeds the fox cubs jam sandwiches! I just said it was a bad idea to make them tame and unafraid of humans as so many people hate them - they won't be safe. (She'll probably just carry on regardless.)

We can't blame magpies for the decline in songbirds. It would be convenient - but there's no evidence. It's us of course!

www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/how-you-can-help-birds/where-have-all-the-birds-gone/is-the-number-of-birds-in-decline/

I have feeders and yes, we get some magpies coming from time to time but overall the various tits, starlings, the odd squirrel, robin, blackbirds and thrushes and occasional parakeet are the main ones - and the wood pigeons of course which waddle around at the bottom to catch the left overs. This morning I opened the bedroom curtains to find an adult pigeon feeding a youngster on either side. I was mesmerised. It was incredibly windy and the branch was waving around like mad but they all clung on. Eventually the parent went to another branch but was obviously overseeing the youngsters who were trying to keep their balance. It was wonderful.

I would explain how vile magpies are, I know that they are part of nature but there is a balance that is offset by human intervention, i.e. feeding and encouraging them. Same as feeding gulls! We have an issue with a lady down our lane who is feeding the foxes! We have an explosion of badgers and foxes!

I see only magpies and pigeons on a piece of spare ‘grass’ ( scrub) near me. The last thing I would do is feed them. Would feed garden birds if I still had a garden and saw any.

I have wood pigeons waking me at 3/4am daily. They appear to have nested under my solar panels. They drive my family and I crazy each morning.

My 19 year old cat was mobbed by magpies after catching and killing one. He was hurt so badly he had many stitches all over him. A few weeks later he happened upon a seagull. This time he was taking no prisoners. He caught it, it was fairly amusing watching him try to drag it home. He was such a gentle loving cat with people.

I am not sure about feeding birds for this reason, even though we are now much more rural. How do you encourage song birds without feeding some of the more abundant larger breeds?

Only a week ago two magpies was pecking a third really badly there were feather's flying everywhere and it was only young I went out there and gave them what for the young one was able to get away. Days later I would like to think it was him a magpie perched on the fence
with a big piece of wood in his mouth and left it on the post I would like to think for me as a gift, silly I know

Indeed.I don't want to harm them,them not encourage such a large number of this year's juveniles to stay in a group -squabbling and marauding around as DH and I have just seen 8 off then in our lawn a few feet away as we are having lunch.Without extra encouragement they hopefully will disperse and find their own patch to have their own young.As for not hunting near the nest-these are all young thugs from obviously this year's breeding season.And I have witnessed them hunting very close to where they congregate in the nearby trees.Anyway next time I see her I will diplomatically say so something.Even if she ignores it.
I've just asked a friend who runs a local naturalist society. His opinion.Don't harm but don't actively encourage and feed either.Then numbers sort themselves.Re songbirds feeding them is different.They are losing hedges and habitat and numbers need extra support.Interestingly he also doesn't agree with feeding urban foxes.Too many in one area leads to fighting over territories and some really nasty injuries.And numbers are increasing.Hedgehogs again a different story as numbers in such steep decline with traffic kill and habitat loss. So we are responsible for destroying habitats for some species and they can do with a little extra help.Whereas a magpie doesn't have to go far to find a squashed squirrel or a flattened hedgehog for lunch.His words !

Magpies don't feed from the feeders I provide for small birds, but if I hang up some fat balls, both magpies and jackdaws monopolise them and the songbirds don't get a look in, though the pigeons might have a go. Size matters!

Re some of the comments above, generally magpies will not feed from bird feeders put out for smaller birds and if there is already dialogue YES talk to the nieghbour. Never underestimate people's ignorance when it comes to even garden wildlife. Near where I live folk constantly let their dogs off the leash on part of the river which has the bank exposed because of ill-thought out work on flood defenses. Then the owners stand their enjoying what a marvelous time the dogs are having while the nesting birds are driven away.
Tell your neighour what the magpies do. No one is suggesting harming them but no need to encourage them.

Perhaps when the human race has destroyed itself by overpopulation, pollution and war, it will be the magpies or seagulls who dominate the world. I don't suppose they will make any worse a job of being 'top dogs' for a while than we have.

A friend's upstairs neighbour feeds the pigeons, who leave their droppings all over her patio. She has to scrub the slabs every morning before her small grandchildren go out there.
Environmental Health were interested.

We only have red squirrels here in the NE of Scotland and I welcome the odd one who comes in from the woods behind us. We feed the birds all year and have a nesting box, unused so far this year. We have no magpies at all but some areas in our town are plagued by gulls - herring gulls I think. They are so aggressive and apparently fearless.

How I wish I could lend you my cat! He kills magpies if they try to invade our garden and leaves the song birds alone.

Mention to your neighbour that the magpies are killing the song birds in your garden and attacking your cat, so you feel they are getting too bold.

People seem to know so little about wild life these days that she probably just thinks they are lovely looking birds, which they are, and doesn't realise that they are birds of prey.

Washerwoman, I think you may have jumped to some wrong conclusions regarding the magpies. I don't like them either but you can't really tell your neighbour not to feed them.

When magpies are nesting they don't hunt anywhere near their nest. They 'switch off' their hunting instinct in the area to protect their own chicks. They ferociously guard and protect the nest, though, intolerant of other birds that come too close (perhaps the blackbird did).

Cats, crows, foxes, squirrels and weasels all raid nests and are more likely suspects. When magpies nest nearby, the songbirds should have a better chance of success than usual in raising fledglings.

We get lots of wild birds here and magpies can be a pain and do kill songbirds. But then again I saw a woodpecker bash the skull of a goldfinch and kill it. Nature is red of tooth and claw.
Grey squirrels are a pest and cause a lot of damage. They steal eggs and destroy the hazelnut crops. They have been known to steal eggs from my chickens too. I see one, I shoot it. I would welcome the native red squirrel but there is slim chance of seeing them whilst the greys are thriving.
Grey squirrels getting to used to humans causes problems too. If they get in your house they can cause a great deal of damage and have even caused house fires by chewing electric cables.

Shelagh6 What a very unplesent comment to make totally uncalled for .

Living rural with visits from the coastal birdlife I observe birds of all kind. Our magpies however are becoming less, possibly driven from the area by the gulls, and not unduly concerned from my experience of being shown by a 'local' ornithologist a 'magiepie larder'.
Very upsetting to observe how they attack other nests to feed their own fledglings.

In my garden, the collared doves see off any magpies that try muscling in on their food---they are quite aggressive towards them.

I suppose only you will know by the way you get along if she will listen or not. You can’t legally be stopped but why anyone would encourage them if you have a lot of birds nesting is beyond me or maybe she just isn’t clued up on the behaviour of birds. It’s sad to see a blackbird make their nest and do all that feeding of their young for crows or magpies to predate them. I hate seeing it there is nothing the blackies can do either, but your neighbour can help by ceasing her behaviour.

Environmental health stopped our neighbour feeding massive handfuls of seed to the pigeons, 52 we had waiting for her to feed them one day, the mess was horrendous and the rats she caused and in your roof as well, she wouldn’t listen and got threatened with an order if she didn’t stop. Glad to say it worked. Thing is a sparrow hawk came so much and took so many blackies, I used to run out many time scaring them in the end I don’t think she knew what or why she was doing it it just became a habit three times a day. She wouldn’t listen to us it took the Council to do their job and to be fair they were brill.

We only seem to get magpies here. One flew into my kitchen last week. Luckily it had a bit of a tussle with the curtain and went straight out again. They are often at the top of the drain pipes.
We get a few people that throw piles of bread out of their windows for the birds but I have only seen foxes and worse eating it. It is really annoying when people feed birds in an irresponsible way and they never will be told. It seems to be much less than it was a year or two ago so fingers crossed it won't start again.
I would try talking to her but don't be too optimistic.

Live and let live, I say. If you feed birds, you probably unwittingly feed rats too. Does this mean you should stop feeding all birds?

We have noticed the explosion in magpie numbers and have now taken down our bird feeder pole and put little feeders in tight corners in our garden that little birds can access fairly safely.
They have also been attacking a friends pet pigs and leaving open sores on the poor animals backs , they aren’t pleasant birds to have around .

Thanks humptydumpty! And I have yet to feed a squirrel. Well not in my garden anyway. And yes, I have always fed birds etc and shall continue to do so, despite what some fools might say ;-)

What an unpleasant thing to say Shelagh6 and who are you to tell other people how to live their lives?