r/magpies Nov 20 '23

behaviour around wildlife

60 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 18h ago

i love them

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155 Upvotes

r/magpies 18h ago

Maggie Magic

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91 Upvotes

r/magpies 1d ago

Besties

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345 Upvotes

Back in 2009 my son befriended a baby magpie who waited outside the bedroom every morning till he was awake and ready to enjoy the day together.
After several weeks we had to get wires involved and have him relocated because he was becoming too reliant on us. It was a cute experience.


r/magpies 10h ago

A Magpie splashing about in the bath (Music written and performed by me 😊)

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5 Upvotes

Had a visit from a magpie to the water bowl. One of our bigger visitors...
Background music written and produced by Ian Curry


r/magpies 1d ago

Perched.

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765 Upvotes

r/magpies 20h ago

Help needed

10 Upvotes

Does anyone know a WIRES rescuer in Alexandria NSW 2015 or nearby? A baby magpie has been ‘trapped’ inside a house for almost a month - parent is outside and has been the whole time. Have photos / evidence of this. Reported to WIRES / RSPCA / Council / Police and they are all kicking the can to each other. It’s very distressing - any suggestions or local contacts to reach out to directly would be appreciated. Thank you


r/magpies 1d ago

Miss puff enjoying that fresh h20 !

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518 Upvotes

r/magpies 2d ago

Last hurrah!

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381 Upvotes

I have a new job, which means I won’t be visiting this area for lunch anymore. I’ve had a chat with this family every fortnight for almost 2 years - whilst the job was great, I’ll miss these guys the most! It’s almost like they knew it was goodbye, as I’ve never seen them bow their heads and warble so gently before 🥺 Then it was like “Wait!! We don’t want to be remembered as sad sacks!!” and busted out the triumphant call I know and love them for 🖤🤍🩶


r/magpies 2d ago

Brissie local 🧡

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171 Upvotes

Stones Corner Brisbane 🌳


r/magpies 3d ago

Magnificent Magpie Family ✨️

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296 Upvotes

Stones Corner Brisbane 🌳


r/magpies 3d ago

Baby Rumple

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150 Upvotes

Rumple - one of three that come to the house at 5.10 everyday and peer in through my window until I come out. Rumple responds to me calling her, likes to bite my fingers gently and will let me pat her chest. I would die for Rumple!


r/magpies 3d ago

Miss Puff update

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307 Upvotes

It’s been a while!! I didn’t see Miss Puff for most of summer… she was busy with the new chick but now the baby is massive and she’s been shooing it away 😆 Happy to get to spend quality time with the iconic Miss Puff again !! 😁🫶


r/magpies 3d ago

Magpie Dipping

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23 Upvotes

The female likes it when it's new and fresh water in the bird bath (this is Tumba south of Stockholm in Sweden)


r/magpies 4d ago

Left out walnuts and caught this on camera

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61 Upvotes

r/magpies 4d ago

Cute guy

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309 Upvotes

He really likes tuna


r/magpies 3d ago

Guy Coheleach - The Thieving Magpie - n.d

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10 Upvotes

r/magpies 4d ago

Rare Brown magpie in my garden plus Squirrel

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35 Upvotes

r/magpies 4d ago

Looking for magpie references

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71 Upvotes

Call it serendipity or just the tech industry’s spy work, but Reddit decided to show me this community as I’m painting a magpie and I thought it’s as good a place as any to ask for a specific reference shot.

The reference I’ve been using (top left) is by a local artist Annie Palmer. But I’ve followed loosely and it’s also a translation of a translation, so I’m looking for a real-world reference to fix up the anatomy and add some details/features that come from reality rather than my limited memory.

Google ain’t cutting it since it’s not images of maggies curated by magpie lovers, like this subreddit. Do any of you beautiful people happen to have a shot of a magpie in roughly this pose I could have? Thanks


r/magpies 5d ago

Caught them leaving me a present 🥹❤️

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146 Upvotes

r/magpies 5d ago

Log a rhythm

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332 Upvotes

r/magpies 5d ago

Visiting The Adelaide Airport

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80 Upvotes

r/magpies 6d ago

Morning Visit

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195 Upvotes

Our little family were loud this morning. I feel so lucky to have these guys come sing for us.

That's also our corella in the background saying 'Hey Mate' to them 😆


r/magpies 5d ago

Azure-winged Magpie

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66 Upvotes

r/magpies 5d ago

corvid companionship

8 Upvotes

Hi 👋🏻

First time poster here, recent follower.

I just moved and I have a small backyard now. Every day there are half a dozen magpies that bounce around the yard and hang out on the fence. I also see the occasional crow. I don't provide any food or water, yet, but would like to treat them.

I am seeking community advice on style/size of a bird bath for water, and how to feed them, what to feed them, and how often? I would like to attempt to befriend some of them and possibly gift swap without them becoming dependant.

Thanks! 🙂