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Magpies in Dundee (1 Viewer)

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EdMacD

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Just recently we've had 2 Magpies visit the garden. They arrive early as we're awoken by their chatter, around 5am onwards. Strange sound they make. At first I thought is was a bird in distress. The Crow hasn't taken to them invading its territory though, keeps dive bombing them.

Anyway, never knew we got Magpies in Dundee.
 
Hi Ed and welcome to Birdforum.

From what I hear there's a lot of Magpies in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen with a few in Dundee. We get some very occasionally pass through the glens up here.

It'll be interesting to hear if they stay with you, or move on.
 
They first appeared last August, stayed a while then disappeared only to return over the past week or so.

We live just off the Dens Road area, also get squirrels and foxes, though we have to be up early to see the foxes. I'm told the foxes have a den on the slope of Dens Park. So they must wander down every so often.
 
EdMacD said:
They first appeared last August, stayed a while then disappeared only to return over the past week or so.

I'm told the foxes have a den on the slope of Dens Park. So they must wander down every so often.
Click to expand...

Finally.Something worth watching at Dens Park..! :-O
 
I seen a single magpie flying over dens road at dens last October, I see a pair occasionally between loons road and Byron street, these could be the same birds, other sightings were on the Kingsway east of pitkerro road/finlathen park/clepington road near the Forfar road,the boc yard in douglas ,and the riverside nature park,still a very scarce bird in dundee
 
The Magpies have only really started colonising Dundee in the past couple of years. I'm not too far from Dens Road and know of between two and four potential territories within around a half mile radius of home, with birds being seen semi-regularly in each of the areas.

1. Barnes Avenue area. - a work colleague had adults with 2 young in her garden last summer, and the adults are still around this Spring.
2. Mains Loan/Forfar Road area (this could conceivably be the same birds, though I'm not sure how far their territories extend in an urban setting) - I saw this pair collecting nesting material on Saturday and flying a short distance into conifers in a garden which might be the prospective nest site.
3. Just southeast of Swannie Ponds, near TA centre.
4. Lower Dens Road/Arthurstone Tce/Dundonald Street area.

I've seen them a couple of times at Riverside Nature Park, also had one on the weather-vane of the McManus Galleries, a pair chasing around the rooftops on Victoria Road (could be the Lower Dens Road birds again - or another pair) at different times since I saw my first (4) Dundee Magpies in Loons Road a couple of years ago. I know of a few more places where they have been seen, so they do now appear to be a part of the local avifauna and likely to continue to increase in number (as Jays have done in the parks).

A couple of photos of the pair collecting nesting material on my latest blog post - see below for link.
 
Since I never go a day without seeing magpies, I sometimes forget that they're not common everywhere! And like all crows, they're fascinating to watch. Cracking birds! :)
 
delia todd said:
Hi Ed and welcome to Birdforum.

From what I hear there's a lot of Magpies in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen with a few in Dundee. We get some very occasionally pass through the glens up here.

It'll be interesting to hear if they stay with you, or move on.
Click to expand...

I came across this comment while researching for a (non-birding) weekend visit to Edinburgh this last weekend. There were plenty of magpies in the gardens alongside Princes Street yesterday. We watched them from the comfort of the café at the National Gallery. Also discovered a taste for 12 yr old Highland Park, but that's another story ;)
 
Stonefaction said:
this could conceivably be the same birds, though I'm not sure how far their territories extend in an urban setting)
Click to expand...
We have lots of magpies and they seem to be rather densely clustered once there is suitable mozaic habitat (you go down the street and see 4-5 pairs in 20 minutes of walking). Today I saw several instances of magpies chasing each other (and some mid-air acrobatics of two birds close together; I am not sure if it was territorial dispute or some kind of "pair dancing" as in some kinds of hawks) and arguing with crows. Last year we had no magpie nests visible from my window as crows tried to breed and chased all magpies off. This year it seems crows chose the other side of building next to the mini rook colony, so magpies are left to determine their territories by themselves.
 
Back to Dundee again. Magpies have been seen on and off for the last two or three years in the area of Dundee University on the Perth Road. Never before that, by me anyway. Was told that although the wider Dundee area seems perfectly suitable, they just haven't moved in because they are a fairly sedentary species.
 
Interesting summary in the Bird Atlas 2007-11 (p. 478):

"In the areas of gain, reduced control by humans is probably the main driver of change and probably also explains the significant increase in nest survival and productivity. In some areas, increased availability of suitable nesting sites in conifer plantations may have aided colonisation. Magpies may be more difficult to detect at the edge of their range, and especially in areas where keepering may still persist, as they become unobtrusive."

This summary reflects well what it says in Birds of Scotland (p. 1341) about their distribution which extended right up to Sutherland until the 1880s, before they were subjected to widespread control, causing a retraction to the Central Lowlands by 1938.

It appears that after the Second World War their range and population started to expand, but only very slowly, with more marked increase into Dundee and Angus by the mid-1990s, and the latest Bird Atlas has identified continuing increase in this area.

Their sedentary nature is marked by a 1991 Birkhead study which showed that 21 out of 27 recoveries moved less than 9 km, five 10-99 km, and only one over 100 km. (Birds of Scotland, p. 1342).
 
1 magpie perched on the gate post of harris academy school; Lawton road Dundee at 5.00pm ,didn't seem to be bothered with all the traffic
 
1 magpie in the grounds of the travel lodge on Strathmore avenue also on the same day 1 grey squirrel crossing the flyover at mcalpine road at peak traffic time ,there were pedestrians crossing at the same time and the squirrel was all over the place
 
I live by Lawton Road and we have at least 4 Magpies round here. They only appeared fairly recently but I have seen them in the last two or three years. The first time I seen them they were on the trees behind the Travelodge, and I counted 13 of them! Having lived in Glasgow for a while where they are very common, I still have the habit of saying 'Hello Mr Magpie, how's your wife and kids today?' if I see one on it's own....apparently wards off bad luck, God only knows how bad life could have been if I didn't say this regularly back then!

Anyway, I am fond of these birds, they are a welcome sight amongst all the seagulls Harris Academy have attracted since moving in!
 
I just saw a single magpie out my back window - im between constitution road and the hilltown. Never seen one before and didn't know what it was - this thread has been interesting. Since people mention other wildlife, i've seen a rather scrawny lone fox a few times in the last year too.
 
Hi hacm and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators.

I've not seen any in the town here, but have once or twice in the hilly farmland areas. I've just come back from a trip to Norfolk and only saw two individual birds down there. Strange isn't it, when they're so common in some areas.

All things Scottish can be found here. Also, keep an eye on threads titled something like Scottish Bashes; we usually have one or two meets each year and they're all great fun. We had one recently and you can read all about it in this thread. You'd be most welcome to join us on another if you can manage.
 
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