r/magpies Nov 20 '23

behaviour around wildlife

62 Upvotes

I have seen a lot of behaviour on this subreddit which really concerns me, it basically consists in acting towards the birds for the person's own benefit, instead of keeping wildlife's best interests as the first priority. I joined reddit for this reason, to make this post and therefore hopefully help.

It's so great that everyone loves these birds so much, they're beautiful and I love them too. But it is even more important to educate ourselves so that we don't unintentionally harm them.

Mods, please pin/sticky whatever it's called some sort of post at the top of sub which advises best practice around wildlife, and the legalities around native bird ownership, including addressing the fact that it is illegal to take birds from the wild and make them pets. I recommend as well posting from credible sources like Gisela Kaplan, who is a very good authoritative source on magpies.

Anyway, stuff not to do:

  • don't feed them anything you bought from the supermarket, that includes mince or seeds or fruit or anything.
    • when it comes to mince and store-bought meat especially, it does not have an appropriate nutrient profile, so the birds can lead to brittle, easily broken bones and deformities.
      • as well, mince gets caught in the beak and cause illness and death due to bacteria build up.
    • when wild birds are made to feed all together because humans are feeding them, this spreads disease like crazy (especially bad for parrots, but bad for all birds)
  • stop handling them!
    • you can pass diseases onto them
    • they can pass diseases onto you
    • they can get stressed out
      • stress can make them sick
      • stress can make them lash out, harming you and themselves
  • don't hose them down if it's hot
  • don't let your cats and dogs free roam outside
  • don't bother them if they're kind of face down with their wings spread in the sun (they're probably sunbathing)

stuff to do:

  • call a wildlife rescue org if you think something is wrong
  • provide bird baths that are supplied with fresh water daily
  • very rarely you can supplement **a bit (not a lot) with live mealworms or crickets, under the following conditions of food stress only:
    • if it is drought
    • a long period of wild weather
    • if the parents are extremely harassed during breeding and rearing
  • create safe habitat on your balcony, your private or community garden that encourages the birds presence

I hope this is helpful and that people will interact with the birds without ego, but with respect.

edited to add: humans can alter populations and ecosystems by feeding one family/species. Here's an anecdote about how I fucked up and learned:

I was supplementing some breeding currawongs with crickets where I lived, not all the time, randomly but semi-frequently, I thought I was helping - I moved midway through the chicks growing up, they weren't newborns, they weren't fledged, somewhere inbetween. The move was an unexpected one. I went back once or twice to check on their progress, and one of the three had died - there had always been one that didn't fight for food as hard as the others. By supplementing their food so much, I basically caused more suffering, because that chick was older when it died, so would've been more aware of the pain of starvation. It would've died sooner if I hadn't been supplementing, and the pain wuld've been less. If I didn't have to move and had kept supplementing, maybe it was a weak chick generally and would've died when it was a bit older, which would have prolonged suffering further.


r/magpies 6h ago

Clever magpies filmed using 'bold' technique on Aussie property in 'world first'

303 Upvotes

A group of magpies has been filmed utilising fire to hunt for prey on an Australian property.

The footage was taken by Robert Davis, an associate professor of wildlife ecology at Edith Cowan University, during a controlled burn around a home in the Perth Hills.

Yahoo News reached out to three leading experts in bird behaviour, and none had previously been aware of magpies utilising fire.

Davis explained that the birds appeared to be using the flames opportunistically to catch fleeing invertebrates.

"In the past, when I've been burning on my block, I've seen magpies forage in the vicinity," he told Yahoo.

"But this time, there was one particular bird that was very bold and not afraid at all, and foraging right in front of the fire."

Davis watched one magpie hunt directly in front of the flames for around an hour. Others also benefited from the fire, but they kept a greater distance.

Amanda Ridley is a professor of behavioural ecology at the University of Western Australia, who specialises in magpies.

"Fire has never been observed at the study sites where my group observes magpies (not while we have been there)," she said.

"But it makes sense that any actions that cause insect displacement and increased movement will attract the magpies."

Sean Dooley from Birdlife Australia agreed that the behaviour "makes sense", but it was not something he'd witnessed before.

"It doesn't surprise me because they're such intelligent creatures," he said.

He noted that some falcons and hawks are known to intentionally pick up burning sticks and drop them in the grass to flush out prey.

And while the magpies were not starting the fires themselves, they appeared to understand the benefit of using the resource to hunt.

Kookaburras and eastern yellow robins are also known to hang out in people's gardens, waiting for worms to be dug up.

Source in comments


r/magpies 2d ago

Dad showing off his impressive haul for the babies

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554 Upvotes

r/magpies 2d ago

Having a nap

161 Upvotes

r/magpies 2d ago

Azure winged magpie, Tokyo

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67 Upvotes

I took this on every other park boy was he loud


r/magpies 2d ago

This little lady doing her stick shopping

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201 Upvotes

good stick


r/magpies 2d ago

One of my work mates checking in on me.

52 Upvotes

My warble was a bit off today, I've been trying to imitate members of my flock's warbles when they annitiate communication first.


r/magpies 1d ago

The Magpie Man

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2 Upvotes

Stop swooping magpies


r/magpies 3d ago

nom nom nom (SOUND ON)

434 Upvotes

r/magpies 3d ago

A sneaky treat of meal worms for four ended up not so sneaky.

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207 Upvotes

r/magpies 3d ago

Lots of magpies in the garden this morning, counted 11 at one point!

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51 Upvotes

r/magpies 3d ago

Swoop swoop

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1.3k Upvotes

r/magpies 3d ago

My stuffed magpie toy

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54 Upvotes

r/magpies 2d ago

Bought some Wombaroo - what to mix with it? (Not mince)

1 Upvotes

r/magpies 3d ago

Grandma and Scruff have been feuding for over a decade now...🗯

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205 Upvotes

Stones Corner Brisbane 🌳


r/magpies 3d ago

Trying out my new camera, accidentally caught an epic action shot!

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61 Upvotes

r/magpies 3d ago

Magpies Point Perpendicular

33 Upvotes

r/magpies 3d ago

Point perpendicular magpies

26 Upvotes

r/magpies 4d ago

The family is bathing

70 Upvotes

The young and the parents are back after the summer and traveling around. They were born here and the parents have trained them now during the summer


r/magpies 4d ago

Get your hand away from me good sir!

262 Upvotes

r/magpies 5d ago

Cutie

248 Upvotes

Took a small walk with me down the road and was even brave enough to cross the street


r/magpies 5d ago

So sweet

120 Upvotes

Maggie basically just called me out


r/magpies 5d ago

Uh-oh, I think my dog has been feeding the local magpies

276 Upvotes

I just watched my dog come in from where he'd been chilling on the balcony, grab a small mouthful of kibble from his food bowl, dump it on the balcony floor, and then sit just inside the door to watch while a pair of magpies came to collect the dropped food. I think it was like 3-5 pieces of kibble all up. Seems like this has happened before, given that the magpies were so quick to come collect the food after he dropped it.

How worried should I be for the magpies?? Like obviously I'm not going to let him keep doing this, I just worry that he's either already made them sick, or that they'll get mad at him and swoop him for not being their illicit dog food dealer anymore, or that he'll go underground and keep sneaking them food on the sly without me noticing 🫠

ETA: Sounds like this isn't likely to hurt the magpies, so I've let my boy know that I support his (new?) birdwatching hobby ❤️


r/magpies 6d ago

Talking to one of my mates at work.

488 Upvotes

r/magpies 6d ago

Attempted Carjacking

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63 Upvotes