The Pied Predator (1 Viewer)

[WelshWarbler]

When I was a kid (many moons ago!) Magpies were mainly seen in the woods and fields near where I lived in South Wales. Nowadays they seem to be everywhere. You see their unmistakeable dome-shaped nests in parks, gardens and roadside hedgerows. They are also frequent visitors to garden feeding stations.

They are undoubtedly striking birds with their glossy plumage and noisy calls. However they are also determined predators and this is one of the reasons I dislike them. I know it's nature's way and all that but it is very distressing when you see a pair of Magpies harrassing nesting garden birds (blackbirds seem to suffer frequent Magpie attacks) and stealing their eggs and youngsters. I also remember seeing one Magpie chasing down a Sparrow and killing it.

Is the abundance of food in gardens (songbirds and feeding stations) the reason they've become so common?

 

[Jane Turner]

Oh dear.... to prevent this one taking off again I'll post a link to one of the previous debates on the subject.

 

[Jane Turner]

Here.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=26754&highlight=magpie

But yes the rise in Magpie population is likely be influence by the ameoloration of a factor that was restricting their population, and an increase in availalbe food is the most likley candidate.

 

[ikw101]

Here.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=26754&highlight=magpie

But yes the rise in Magpie population is likely be influence by the ameoloration of a factor that was restricting their population, and an increase in availalbe food is the most likley candidate.

I'm gobsmacked - 257 previous posts on 1 thread debating .........................Magpies!

 

[Jane Turner]

its not the only thread either!

 

[Pete Mella]

I was going to post something here, but the thread Jane links to makes all possible points (and a few impossible ones too!) so there's really no point!

 

[Collster]

When I was a kid (many moons ago!) Magpies were mainly seen in the woods and fields near where I lived in South Wales. Nowadays they seem to be everywhere. You see their unmistakeable dome-shaped nests in parks, gardens and roadside hedgerows. They are also frequent visitors to garden feeding stations.

They are undoubtedly striking birds with their glossy plumage and noisy calls. However they are also determined predators and this is one of the reasons I dislike them. I know it's nature's way and all that but it is very distressing when you see a pair of Magpies harrassing nesting garden birds (blackbirds seem to suffer frequent Magpie attacks) and stealing their eggs and youngsters. I also remember seeing one Magpie chasing down a Sparrow and killing it.

Is the abundance of food in gardens (songbirds and feeding stations) the reason they've become so common?

Perhaps they are not more common, maybe they have vacated the forests they used to inhabit. The glossy plumage and habits make them an easy meal for the Goshawk which certainly are more numerous around these parts than they were years ago, perhaps they feel more secure nesting closer to humans and thats why you are seeing more of them.

 

[Xenospiza]

Perhaps they are not more common, maybe they have vacated the forests they used to inhabit. The glossy plumage and habits make them an easy meal for the Goshawk which certainly are more numerous around these parts than they were years ago, perhaps they feel more secure nesting closer to humans and thats why you are seeing more of them.

Same in the Netherlands – it's hard to find magpies in forests nowadays, and in agricultural land numbers have fallen to some 10% of the levels 25 years ago. Carrion Crows (destroying their nests) and Goshawks (eating them) are their arch enemies.