Leave the baby magpies alone

astrojax – where in sydney was that? i live in sydney (admittedly near the CBD and your example may have been in the suburbs) and there are very few magpies anywhere (and the ones that are around, aren’t at all aggressive)

(i’ll know to avoid whatever area it was!)

Tooks said :

…I wasn’t talking so much about people with bird phobias, but the ones who carry on like they’re getting attacked by giant vampire bats when they’re getting swooped…

You win my mid-90s walk down memory lane prize for the day!

Tooks said :

Fair points. I’m not afraid of snakes, but some spiders do bug me (terrible pun intended). I wasn’t talking so much about people with bird phobias, but the ones who carry on like they’re getting attacked by giant vampire bats when they’re getting swooped. Most magpies will just squawk and flap around near your head and very few will make contact. Not worth getting worked up about.

It’s insects for me, especially roaches/beetles. I don’t like spiders much either but they’re still nowhere near as repulsive to me as a cockroach, even though spiders have the potential to cause actual harm.

Watson said :

Robertson said :

Feed them.
They are very sociable once they learn to trust you. When I water the garden, I have a couple of magpies that walk around alongside me, gargling at me. If I leave the kitchen door open, they come inside and scout around the kitchen floor for crumbs and scraps. Lovely birds, magpies.

I love magpies, but I can’t stand animals begging for food. And I don’t like any wildlife getting too close to me. They’re wild, they’re unpredictable, there needs to be a buffer zone.

Never have chips near seagulls! Lovely when you look at one on its own, but hideous in flocks. Mind you, I get the same feeling near food-courts.

zorro29 said :

Tooks said :

zorro29 said :

leave /them/ alone??? tell them to leave /us/ alone! the magpie swoopings (and constant anxiety during spring months) is definitely the one thing i don’t miss about canberra

I don’t understand why adults are afraid of birds. Bizarre.

i am more afraid of them now than i ever was as a kid….bird phobia is actually very common (one of the top phobias for adults). for me it’s the flapping wings…i have a fear of them flying at me (particularly near my face).

so penguins are all good with me 🙂

but i’m sure you’re afraid of stuff that other people find bizarre as well – like a lot of people are afraid of snakes, but i love them. phobias aren’t based on logic or rational thought.

i won’t ever be sold on magpies. while you can make friends with local ones, it doesn’t stop the random ones from attacking. can’t stand them…and canberra has /way/ too many of them (which probably explains their unusually aggressive behaviour)

Fair points. I’m not afraid of snakes, but some spiders do bug me (terrible pun intended). I wasn’t talking so much about people with bird phobias, but the ones who carry on like they’re getting attacked by giant vampire bats when they’re getting swooped. Most magpies will just squawk and flap around near your head and very few will make contact. Not worth getting worked up about.

zorro29 said :

Tooks said :

zorro29 said :

(which probably explains their unusually aggressive behaviour)

unusually? i remember being coralled on my school’s fenced double basketball/tennis courts, cowering by the brick wall in its middle as a couple of nesting magpies glowered at me. i was maybe eleven, and wasn’t brave enough to venture away until another couple of kids rode up on their bikes and i hightailed it home. this was sydney. i don’t think the nation’s capital has the maggie aggression to itself…

i am always nice to maggies now – always say hello. and i am entirely enamoured of their song; one of nature’s most beautiful things.

Watson said :

Robertson said :

Feed them.
They are very sociable once they learn to trust you. When I water the garden, I have a couple of magpies that walk around alongside me, gargling at me. If I leave the kitchen door open, they come inside and scout around the kitchen floor for crumbs and scraps. Lovely birds, magpies.

I love magpies, but I can’t stand animals begging for food. And I don’t like any wildlife getting too close to me. They’re wild, they’re unpredictable, there needs to be a buffer zone.

you live in their wild.

No, baby magpies on the ground are going to be irresistible.

Judging by the number of babies in our neighbourhood, the very large number of cats (six in our small cul-de-sac alone) seem to be resisting rather well. Our cat, for example, merely sulks while the baby magpies helps themselves to the cat food about six inches from his head. They even have conversations.

Tooks said :

zorro29 said :

leave /them/ alone??? tell them to leave /us/ alone! the magpie swoopings (and constant anxiety during spring months) is definitely the one thing i don’t miss about canberra

I don’t understand why adults are afraid of birds. Bizarre.

i am more afraid of them now than i ever was as a kid….bird phobia is actually very common (one of the top phobias for adults). for me it’s the flapping wings…i have a fear of them flying at me (particularly near my face).

so penguins are all good with me 🙂

but i’m sure you’re afraid of stuff that other people find bizarre as well – like a lot of people are afraid of snakes, but i love them. phobias aren’t based on logic or rational thought.

i won’t ever be sold on magpies. while you can make friends with local ones, it doesn’t stop the random ones from attacking. can’t stand them…and canberra has /way/ too many of them (which probably explains their unusually aggressive behaviour)

Plenty around here and Currawongs but notice how Magpies get pretty friendly and will basically walk up to you take food out your hand without much effort. But Currawongs are the opposite they seem way more wary then Magpies. Just something I was observing the other day while having a beer on my front porch!

Robertson said :

Feed them.
They are very sociable once they learn to trust you. When I water the garden, I have a couple of magpies that walk around alongside me, gargling at me. If I leave the kitchen door open, they come inside and scout around the kitchen floor for crumbs and scraps. Lovely birds, magpies.

I love magpies, but I can’t stand animals begging for food. And I don’t like any wildlife getting too close to me. They’re wild, they’re unpredictable, there needs to be a buffer zone.

Feed them.
They are very sociable once they learn to trust you. When I water the garden, I have a couple of magpies that walk around alongside me, gargling at me. If I leave the kitchen door open, they come inside and scout around the kitchen floor for crumbs and scraps. Lovely birds, magpies.

zorro29 said :

leave /them/ alone??? tell them to leave /us/ alone! the magpie swoopings (and constant anxiety during spring months) is definitely the one thing i don’t miss about canberra

I don’t understand why adults are afraid of birds. Bizarre.

I agree with the general sentiment but am confused. Do they want us to leave them alone or put them back in the nest? And have you seen how high most of those magpie nests are? You need a cherry picker to reach them…

I once put a cardboard box with a hole cut out over a magpie to protect him from dogs and cats. He didn’t particularly like it, but I thought it was worth a try.

I used to be one of those bleeding hearts wanting to rush every baby magpie on the ground to the rangers when I was a fresh migrant. Now I just leave them, even if I think there’s a chance they won’t survive. It’s up to nature. It’s not as if they’re endangered.

leave /them/ alone??? tell them to leave /us/ alone! the magpie swoopings (and constant anxiety during spring months) is definitely the one thing i don’t miss about canberra

Leave the baby magpies alone and keep your cat inside. That’s what the headline should read.

I know people argue that cats need to be kept in around sunset, night time and sunrise because that’s when they do their killing. No, baby magpies on the ground are going to be irresistible. Keep your cat inside.