http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-31/make-friends-with-magpies-to-avoid-swooping-expert-says/8856438
Magpies swooping? You should try making friends with them, expert says

Forget fake eyes and spiky helmets — if you want to avoid being attacked by magpies, just make an effort to be friends with them.

Swooping magpies are common in Australia at this time of year, as male birds attempt to protect eggs and chicks in their nests from predators.

Official government websites give tips to avoid being swooped and a crowdsourced online map tracks reports of swooping magpies nationwide.

Some people go to great lengths to deter magpies from swooping, wearing fake eyes on the back of their head to fool the birds into thinking they are being watched.

But a magpie “will only swoop when he doesn’t know somebody”, said Gisela Kaplan, emeritus professor in animal behaviour at the University of New England and author of Bird Minds.

“We know that magpies remember and recognise human faces and they will remember them for years,” Dr Kaplan told ABC Radio Melbourne’s Sami Shah and Jacinta Parsons.

—-

Seems impractical

dv said:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-31/make-friends-with-magpies-to-avoid-swooping-expert-says/8856438
Magpies swooping? You should try making friends with them, expert says

Forget fake eyes and spiky helmets — if you want to avoid being attacked by magpies, just make an effort to be friends with them.

Swooping magpies are common in Australia at this time of year, as male birds attempt to protect eggs and chicks in their nests from predators.

Official government websites give tips to avoid being swooped and a crowdsourced online map tracks reports of swooping magpies nationwide.

Some people go to great lengths to deter magpies from swooping, wearing fake eyes on the back of their head to fool the birds into thinking they are being watched.

But a magpie “will only swoop when he doesn’t know somebody”, said Gisela Kaplan, emeritus professor in animal behaviour at the University of New England and author of Bird Minds.

“We know that magpies remember and recognise human faces and they will remember them for years,” Dr Kaplan told ABC Radio Melbourne’s Sami Shah and Jacinta Parsons.

—-

Seems impractical

you can create familiarity by giving them food and wearing the same clothing

I think that works

never tried it

How do you befriend a magpie? or a lapwing plover for that matter.

Peak Warming Man said:

How do you befriend a magpie? or a lapwing plover for that matter.

by not scaring them.

Peak Warming Man said:

How do you befriend a magpie? or a lapwing plover for that matter.

feed it
talk to it nicely

Peak Warming Man said:

How do you befriend a magpie? or a lapwing plover for that matter.

Throw them your sandwich ends at lunch time.

Peak Warming Man said:

How do you befriend a magpie? or a lapwing plover for that matter.

I have magpie pair here, they see me all the time.

They have bought up a young one.

They could stop shitting on my car, that would be good.

I mean typical situation is magpies set up in a park that maybe a hundred school kids use, and will dive them seemingly randomly. It’s all very well to say to befriend them but usually one places one’s child’s ocular safety over interspecies relations.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Peak Warming Man said:

How do you befriend a magpie? or a lapwing plover for that matter.

I have magpie pair here, they see me all the time.

They have bought up a young one.

They could stop shitting on my car, that would be good.

A cockatoo pair were doing it a few months ago at five thirty in the morning, made a real racket they did for about twenty minutes.

dv said:

I mean typical situation is magpies set up in a park that maybe a hundred school kids use, and will dive them seemingly randomly. It’s all very well to say to befriend them but usually one places one’s child’s ocular safety over interspecies relations.

They say that magpies can recognise individuals.

party_pants said:

dv said:

I mean typical situation is magpies set up in a park that maybe a hundred school kids use, and will dive them seemingly randomly. It’s all very well to say to befriend them but usually one places one’s child’s ocular safety over interspecies relations.

They say that magpies can recognise individuals.

Yeah I know but can they remember 100 school kids all in the same uniform? Do they all need to give snacks and massages to the magpies? Do each of the magpies need this treatment? If new magpies move in will the info be passed on somehow?

dv said:

party_pants said:

dv said:

I mean typical situation is magpies set up in a park that maybe a hundred school kids use, and will dive them seemingly randomly. It’s all very well to say to befriend them but usually one places one’s child’s ocular safety over interspecies relations.

They say that magpies can recognise individuals.

… If new magpies move in will the info be passed on somehow?

a family will usually keep the same territory. new additions get taught the ropes.

Peak Warming Man said:

How do you befriend a magpie? or a lapwing plover for that matter.

Feed them minced meat. Walk slowly around their environment, whistling. Talk to them. Leave food scraps on the ground. Get a bird bath and replace the water daily.

Rule 303 said:

Peak Warming Man said:

How do you befriend a magpie? or a lapwing plover for that matter.

Feed them minced meat. Walk slowly around their environment, whistling. Talk to them. Leave food scraps on the ground. Get a bird bath and replace the water daily.

no mince meat unless you add a calcium supplement with it i believe. the young get soft beaks if they eat too much.

dv said:

party_pants said:

dv said:

I mean typical situation is magpies set up in a park that maybe a hundred school kids use, and will dive them seemingly randomly. It’s all very well to say to befriend them but usually one places one’s child’s ocular safety over interspecies relations.

They say that magpies can recognise individuals.

Yeah I know but can they remember 100 school kids all in the same uniform? Do they all need to give snacks and massages to the magpies? Do each of the magpies need this treatment? If new magpies move in will the info be passed on somehow?

Sadly yes. All children must be issued a ration of beef jerky (or similar approved) just in case.

party_pants said:

dv said:

I mean typical situation is magpies set up in a park that maybe a hundred school kids use, and will dive them seemingly randomly. It’s all very well to say to befriend them but usually one places one’s child’s ocular safety over interspecies relations.

They say that magpies can recognise individuals.

Hell yeah! Big time. They’re great at recognising people, and their memories are long.

I whistle to the ones that are outside when I leave work, all three wait on the fence for me to finish and start whistling now before I do.

Bogsnorkler said:

Rule 303 said:

Peak Warming Man said:

How do you befriend a magpie? or a lapwing plover for that matter.

Feed them minced meat. Walk slowly around their environment, whistling. Talk to them. Leave food scraps on the ground. Get a bird bath and replace the water daily.

no mince meat unless you add a calcium supplement with it i believe. the young get soft beaks if they eat too much.

Yup, the adults take the meat or meat scraps which is usually lean and feed them to the chicks which get Ricketts, breeding season a cheap and easy thing to do is feed them tinned dog food.

dv said:

Yeah I know but can they remember 100 school kids all in the same uniform? Do they all need to give snacks and massages to the magpies? Do each of the magpies need this treatment? If new magpies move in will the info be passed on somehow?

Only the Dad will swoop, and yes, you need to understand that his view is from above, so a whole bunch of people wearing the same hat will throw him. Still, strategies like leaving food, providing bathing water, and staying away from his tree will work.

Bogsnorkler said:

dv said:

party_pants said:

They say that magpies can recognise individuals.

… If new magpies move in will the info be passed on somehow?

a family will usually keep the same territory. new additions get taught the ropes.

sure do, I watched it happen year after year in my old place…. the old ones teaching the new ones how to collect dog hair from the lawn before the dog ran out to them…

also, magpies swooping is a learned experience… so sure, being nice to them will probably alleviate that

Bogsnorkler said:

Rule 303 said:

Peak Warming Man said:

How do you befriend a magpie? or a lapwing plover for that matter.

Feed them minced meat. Walk slowly around their environment, whistling. Talk to them. Leave food scraps on the ground. Get a bird bath and replace the water daily.

no mince meat unless you add a calcium supplement with it i believe. the young get soft beaks if they eat too much.

I will be happy to defer to Spocky on this question, but I have not heard of meat causing this problem, only bread.

To rephrase, not to feed, but if you like to give them some snacks, in breeding season throw out some dog food instead, it’s better for the chicks.

Rule 303 said:

Bogsnorkler said:

Rule 303 said:

Feed them minced meat. Walk slowly around their environment, whistling. Talk to them. Leave food scraps on the ground. Get a bird bath and replace the water daily.

no mince meat unless you add a calcium supplement with it i believe. the young get soft beaks if they eat too much.

I will be happy to defer to Spocky on this question, but I have not heard of meat causing this problem, only bread.

Spocky told me not to feed them mince years ago…

or just encourage lawn beetle.

:-)

AwesomeO said:

To rephrase, not to feed, but if you like to give them some snacks, in breeding season throw out some dog food instead, it’s better for the chicks.

Yeah, I only give them anything during the breeding season, when they can be under food stress and really lose condition. I am philosophically opposed to domesticating them, which hand-feeding year-round will do.

Arts said:

Rule 303 said:

Bogsnorkler said:

no mince meat unless you add a calcium supplement with it i believe. the young get soft beaks if they eat too much.

I will be happy to defer to Spocky on this question, but I have not heard of meat causing this problem, only bread.

Spocky told me not to feed them mince years ago…

Don’t feed them mince. I’ll tell you again.

My magpies are simply happy to share the yard with me. Yes they do crack my walnuts and gobble some of my insects. They know that I made it better for them, that allows them to treat me as part of the furniture.

Rule 303 said:

Bogsnorkler said:

Rule 303 said:

Feed them minced meat. Walk slowly around their environment, whistling. Talk to them. Leave food scraps on the ground. Get a bird bath and replace the water daily.

no mince meat unless you add a calcium supplement with it i believe. the young get soft beaks if they eat too much.

I will be happy to defer to Spocky on this question, but I have not heard of meat causing this problem, only bread.

Don’t feed them bread either.

Arts said:

Rule 303 said:

Bogsnorkler said:

no mince meat unless you add a calcium supplement with it i believe. the young get soft beaks if they eat too much.

I will be happy to defer to Spocky on this question, but I have not heard of meat causing this problem, only bread.

Spocky told me not to feed them mince years ago…

just protein without calcium causes bone problems

It is exceedingly rare for a magpie to actually hit and hurt people. In most instances ignoring them is very effective.

Arts said:

Bogsnorkler said:

dv said:

… If new magpies move in will the info be passed on somehow?

a family will usually keep the same territory. new additions get taught the ropes.

sure do, I watched it happen year after year in my old place…. the old ones teaching the new ones how to collect dog hair from the lawn before the dog ran out to them…

also, magpies swooping is a learned experience… so sure, being nice to them will probably alleviate that

There are always people who are threats to magpies. Sadly this causes problems for other people. Yes. Talking or singing whistling, even simply looking and taking time to make a relationship is all a good start.

monkey skipper said:

Arts said:

Rule 303 said:

I will be happy to defer to Spocky on this question, but I have not heard of meat causing this problem, only bread.

Spocky told me not to feed them mince years ago…

just protein without calcium causes bone problems

for the chicks as well. feeding birds can increase wild populations unsustainably. plus..introduce disease

supplementing is different during natural disaster events … for example floods and bushfires…

the magies here are doing their evening yodelling.

roughbarked said:

It is exceedingly rare for a magpie to actually hit and hurt people. In most instances ignoring them is very effective.

carrying a portable umbrella and putting up the umbrella shields the pedestrian and tends to act as a deterrent shield as well

monkey skipper said:

monkey skipper said:

Arts said:

Spocky told me not to feed them mince years ago…

just protein without calcium causes bone problems

for the chicks as well. feeding birds can increase wild populations unsustainably. plus..introduce disease

supplementing is different during natural disaster events … for example floods and bushfires…

DON’T feed them. Plant food plants, make good healthy soils.

Bogsnorkler said:

the magies here are doing their evening yodelling.

It is something they are famous for but it is caroling, I believe.

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

monkey skipper said:

just protein without calcium causes bone problems

for the chicks as well. feeding birds can increase wild populations unsustainably. plus..introduce disease

supplementing is different during natural disaster events … for example floods and bushfires…

DON’T feed them. Plant food plants, make good healthy soils.

if there is no food around after a bushfire supplementing is okay

they warble and mimic with amazing abilities

roughbarked said:

It is exceedingly rare for a magpie to actually hit and hurt people. In most instances ignoring them is very effective.

It’s not exceedingly rare.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/magpie-terror-as-four-children-baby-viciously-attacked-at-east-gosford-playground/news-story/048b93d1ad180662e72395b1ecd5211e
https://www.magpiealert.com/MagpieAttackInjuries.php

• carrying a portable umbrella

A portable umbrella you say? Tell me more about this device…

monkey skipper said:

Arts said:

Rule 303 said:

I will be happy to defer to Spocky on this question, but I have not heard of meat causing this problem, only bread.

Spocky told me not to feed them mince years ago…

just protein without calcium causes bone problems

Thinking about it more carefully, I think I have fed them very little mince, but lots of fat and skin (off-cuts), left-overs from our meals, and occasionally they have been able to pinch dried cat food. I’ve been feeding during breeding season for about ten years, sustaining a couple of families, but now I’m concerned about the Calcium thing.

How do they get Calcium in the wild?

furious said:

• carrying a portable umbrella

A portable umbrella you say? Tell me more about this device…

Gone are the days of waiting at home under the umbrella installation when it rains

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

for the chicks as well. feeding birds can increase wild populations unsustainably. plus..introduce disease

supplementing is different during natural disaster events … for example floods and bushfires…

DON’T feed them. Plant food plants, make good healthy soils.

if there is no food around after a bushfire supplementing is okay

As I have pointed out, nuts are far better than mince and meats.

Rule 303 said:

monkey skipper said:

Arts said:

Spocky told me not to feed them mince years ago…

just protein without calcium causes bone problems

Thinking about it more carefully, I think I have fed them very little mince, but lots of fat and skin (off-cuts), left-overs from our meals, and occasionally they have been able to pinch dried cat food. I’ve been feeding during breeding season for about ten years, sustaining a couple of families, but now I’m concerned about the Calcium thing.

How do they get Calcium in the wild?

Presumably from insect/snail shells?

Rule 303 said:

monkey skipper said:

Arts said:

Spocky told me not to feed them mince years ago…

just protein without calcium causes bone problems

Thinking about it more carefully, I think I have fed them very little mince, but lots of fat and skin (off-cuts), left-overs from our meals, and occasionally they have been able to pinch dried cat food. I’ve been feeding during breeding season for about ten years, sustaining a couple of families, but now I’m concerned about the Calcium thing.

How do they get Calcium in the wild?

dv said:

roughbarked said:

It is exceedingly rare for a magpie to actually hit and hurt people. In most instances ignoring them is very effective.

It’s not exceedingly rare.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/magpie-terror-as-four-children-baby-viciously-attacked-at-east-gosford-playground/news-story/048b93d1ad180662e72395b1ecd5211e
https://www.magpiealert.com/MagpieAttackInjuries.php

If you can show me the records of swoopings that had no contact, then you wouldn’t need to bother with the injuries.

Rule 303 said:

monkey skipper said:

Arts said:

Spocky told me not to feed them mince years ago…

just protein without calcium causes bone problems

Thinking about it more carefully, I think I have fed them very little mince, but lots of fat and skin (off-cuts), left-overs from our meals, and occasionally they have been able to pinch dried cat food. I’ve been feeding during breeding season for about ten years, sustaining a couple of families, but now I’m concerned about the Calcium thing.

How do they get Calcium in the wild?

by eating the entire animal bones , meat and cartilage … there is a lot of nutrition in entrails like the liver for a common example.

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

DON’T feed them. Plant food plants, make good healthy soils.

if there is no food around after a bushfire supplementing is okay

As I have pointed out, nuts are far better than mince and meats.

i didn’t say feed them mince.

roughbarked said:

dv said:

roughbarked said:

It is exceedingly rare for a magpie to actually hit and hurt people. In most instances ignoring them is very effective.

It’s not exceedingly rare.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/magpie-terror-as-four-children-baby-viciously-attacked-at-east-gosford-playground/news-story/048b93d1ad180662e72395b1ecd5211e
https://www.magpiealert.com/MagpieAttackInjuries.php

If you can show me the records of swoopings that had no contact, then you wouldn’t need to bother with the injuries.

the risk is real and a risk needing risk management strategies especially around school yards

monkey skipper said:

Rule 303 said:

monkey skipper said:

just protein without calcium causes bone problems

Thinking about it more carefully, I think I have fed them very little mince, but lots of fat and skin (off-cuts), left-overs from our meals, and occasionally they have been able to pinch dried cat food. I’ve been feeding during breeding season for about ten years, sustaining a couple of families, but now I’m concerned about the Calcium thing.

How do they get Calcium in the wild?

by eating the entire animal bones , meat and cartilage … there is a lot of nutrition in entrails like the liver for a common example.

Excellent. Never occurred to me that they might get stuck into the bones. Thank you.

The eyes don’t work

roughbarked said:

If you can show me the records of swoopings that had no contact, then you wouldn’t need to bother with the injuries.

What?

You said that injuries from magpies are “exceedingly rare”.

I showed you this year’s stats on injuries from magpies.

what about mealworms, can I feed them mealworms?

I used to keep a container in the fridge as bait at my old place. I used to chuck a couple out on the bird-feeder once a day.

I also noticed the resident magpies would follow me as I mowed the lawn, picking out what insects and spiders I disturbed with the mower.

wookiemeister said:

The eyes don’t work

They just make you worse.

Rule 303 said:

monkey skipper said:

Rule 303 said:

Thinking about it more carefully, I think I have fed them very little mince, but lots of fat and skin (off-cuts), left-overs from our meals, and occasionally they have been able to pinch dried cat food. I’ve been feeding during breeding season for about ten years, sustaining a couple of families, but now I’m concerned about the Calcium thing.

How do they get Calcium in the wild?

by eating the entire animal bones , meat and cartilage … there is a lot of nutrition in entrails like the liver for a common example.

Excellent. Never occurred to me that they might get stuck into the bones. Thank you.

same with puppies too in that just mince alone can lead to calcium defficiencies but then again….. when you think further about this a wolf in the wild eats the entire critter not just the meat in that example as well.

party_pants said:

what about mealworms, can I feed them mealworms?

I used to keep a container in the fridge as bait at my old place. I used to chuck a couple out on the bird-feeder once a day.

I also noticed the resident magpies would follow me as I mowed the lawn, picking out what insects and spiders I disturbed with the mower.

I would think that would be a good choice. i do not know for certain though.

monkey skipper said:

Rule 303 said:

Excellent. Never occurred to me that they might get stuck into the bones. Thank you.

same with puppies too in that just mince alone can lead to calcium defficiencies but then again….. when you think further about this a wolf in the wild eats the entire critter not just the meat in that example as well.

Yeah, I guess I just never expected birds to deal with bones very well. They seem to just strip the soft tissue and leave the skeleton, IME.

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

dv said:

It’s not exceedingly rare.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/magpie-terror-as-four-children-baby-viciously-attacked-at-east-gosford-playground/news-story/048b93d1ad180662e72395b1ecd5211e
https://www.magpiealert.com/MagpieAttackInjuries.php

If you can show me the records of swoopings that had no contact, then you wouldn’t need to bother with the injuries.

the risk is real and a risk needing risk management strategies especially around school yards

It really isn’t.

Rule 303 said:

monkey skipper said:

Rule 303 said:

Excellent. Never occurred to me that they might get stuck into the bones. Thank you.

same with puppies too in that just mince alone can lead to calcium defficiencies but then again….. when you think further about this a wolf in the wild eats the entire critter not just the meat in that example as well.

Yeah, I guess I just never expected birds to deal with bones very well. They seem to just strip the soft tissue and leave the skeleton, IME.

if you really need to get rid of bones then you need pigs. gotta remove the teeth from the carcass first though…

Rule 303 said:

monkey skipper said:

Rule 303 said:

Excellent. Never occurred to me that they might get stuck into the bones. Thank you.

same with puppies too in that just mince alone can lead to calcium defficiencies but then again….. when you think further about this a wolf in the wild eats the entire critter not just the meat in that example as well.

Yeah, I guess I just never expected birds to deal with bones very well. They seem to just strip the soft tissue and leave the skeleton, IME.

birds eat eggs and egg shells . even chooks will do this if you let them

monkey skipper said:

Rule 303 said:

monkey skipper said:

just protein without calcium causes bone problems

Thinking about it more carefully, I think I have fed them very little mince, but lots of fat and skin (off-cuts), left-overs from our meals, and occasionally they have been able to pinch dried cat food. I’ve been feeding during breeding season for about ten years, sustaining a couple of families, but now I’m concerned about the Calcium thing.

How do they get Calcium in the wild?

Seeds and insects

• if you really need to get rid of bones then you need pigs. gotta remove the teeth from the carcass first though…

Yes, brick top…

monkey skipper said:

Rule 303 said:

monkey skipper said:

just protein without calcium causes bone problems

Thinking about it more carefully, I think I have fed them very little mince, but lots of fat and skin (off-cuts), left-overs from our meals, and occasionally they have been able to pinch dried cat food. I’ve been feeding during breeding season for about ten years, sustaining a couple of families, but now I’m concerned about the Calcium thing.

How do they get Calcium in the wild?

by eating the entire animal bones , meat and cartilage … there is a lot of nutrition in entrails like the liver for a common example.

Maggots.

monkey skipper said:

Rule 303 said:

monkey skipper said:

same with puppies too in that just mince alone can lead to calcium defficiencies but then again….. when you think further about this a wolf in the wild eats the entire critter not just the meat in that example as well.

Yeah, I guess I just never expected birds to deal with bones very well. They seem to just strip the soft tissue and leave the skeleton, IME.

birds eat eggs and egg shells . even chooks will do this if you let them

infact my Step MIL used to step on dropped eggs to crush them into an unrecognisable mess in her chook yard so the chooks wouldn’t identify eggs with food as they can develop the habit of eating their eggs if they eat them just once as a whole but partiallyy damaged egg

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

if there is no food around after a bushfire supplementing is okay

As I have pointed out, nuts are far better than mince and meats.

i didn’t say feed them mince.

I know. I’m trying to make sure others comprehend supplements.

Magpie Skyburial

Yarra Council Chambers

10am Saturday

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

As I have pointed out, nuts are far better than mince and meats.

i didn’t say feed them mince.

I know. I’m trying to make sure others comprehend supplements.

they’re not daft!

Rule 303 said:

monkey skipper said:

Rule 303 said:

Excellent. Never occurred to me that they might get stuck into the bones. Thank you.

same with puppies too in that just mince alone can lead to calcium defficiencies but then again….. when you think further about this a wolf in the wild eats the entire critter not just the meat in that example as well.

Yeah, I guess I just never expected birds to deal with bones very well. They seem to just strip the soft tissue and leave the skeleton, IME.

Note that muscle and organs contain calcium: only a couple of parts per thousand but given the amount that magpies eat (ie as a ratio to their body weight each day) they shouldn’t have trouble keeping their calcium up.

monkey skipper said:

party_pants said:

what about mealworms, can I feed them mealworms?

I used to keep a container in the fridge as bait at my old place. I used to chuck a couple out on the bird-feeder once a day.

I also noticed the resident magpies would follow me as I mowed the lawn, picking out what insects and spiders I disturbed with the mower.

I would think that would be a good choice. i do not know for certain though.

Should be ok.

Bogsnorkler said:

Rule 303 said:

monkey skipper said:

same with puppies too in that just mince alone can lead to calcium defficiencies but then again….. when you think further about this a wolf in the wild eats the entire critter not just the meat in that example as well.

Yeah, I guess I just never expected birds to deal with bones very well. They seem to just strip the soft tissue and leave the skeleton, IME.

if you really need to get rid of bones then you need pigs. gotta remove the teeth from the carcass first though…

dv said:

roughbarked said:

If you can show me the records of swoopings that had no contact, then you wouldn’t need to bother with the injuries.

What?

You said that injuries from magpies are “exceedingly rare”.

I showed you this year’s stats on injuries from magpies.

bugger all compared to unreported swoopings.

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

i didn’t say feed them mince.

I know. I’m trying to make sure others comprehend supplements.

they’re not daft!

well…

You’ll need magpies for the jihad

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

As I have pointed out, nuts are far better than mince and meats.

i didn’t say feed them mince.

I know. I’m trying to make sure others comprehend supplements.

s’ok i already told people, they listen to me.

Bogsnorkler said:

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

i didn’t say feed them mince.

I know. I’m trying to make sure others comprehend supplements.

s’ok i already told people, they listen to me.

master.

Mind you, losing to Bangladesh doesn’t quite carry the stigma it once did. They’ve won tests against England and Sri Lanka in the last 12 months.

monkey skipper said:

roughbarked said:

monkey skipper said:

i didn’t say feed them mince.

I know. I’m trying to make sure others comprehend supplements.

they’re not daft!

Boris is, and you must always cater for the lowest common denominator.

When I did have a dog all those decades ago, I fed him bones and the magpies came and turned them over and picked the maggots off them.

dv said:

Mind you, losing to Bangladesh doesn’t quite carry the stigma it once did. They’ve won tests against England and Sri Lanka in the last 12 months.

Yes, they are improving, which is the aim behind admitting them to full test status in the first place.

Sri Lanka hardly won a test for something like the first 20 years after they were included.

Ah dear … Japan 1 Australia 0

It’s going to be hard as nails to qualify if they lose this one.

party_pants said:

dv said:

Mind you, losing to Bangladesh doesn’t quite carry the stigma it once did. They’ve won tests against England and Sri Lanka in the last 12 months.

Yes, they are improving, which is the aim behind admitting them to full test status in the first place.

Sri Lanka hardly won a test for something like the first 20 years after they were included.

New Zealand played test cricket for 32 years before they won a test match.

dv said:

party_pants said:

dv said:

Mind you, losing to Bangladesh doesn’t quite carry the stigma it once did. They’ve won tests against England and Sri Lanka in the last 12 months.

Yes, they are improving, which is the aim behind admitting them to full test status in the first place.

Sri Lanka hardly won a test for something like the first 20 years after they were included.

New Zealand played test cricket for 32 years before they won a test match.

and none of them have swooping magpies.

Quite a long time back we had a discussion about the sound used in Midsome Murders.. I’d said it sounded like a female blackbird warning call and I think buffy reckoned it was a vixen.. Well I now believe it was the bird the British call a magpie.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxtORth2BIY

buffy said:

Rule 303 said:

monkey skipper said:

just protein without calcium causes bone problems

Thinking about it more carefully, I think I have fed them very little mince, but lots of fat and skin (off-cuts), left-overs from our meals, and occasionally they have been able to pinch dried cat food. I’ve been feeding during breeding season for about ten years, sustaining a couple of families, but now I’m concerned about the Calcium thing.

How do they get Calcium in the wild?

Presumably from insect/snail shells?

this would be a big one…

Arts said:

buffy said:

Rule 303 said:

Thinking about it more carefully, I think I have fed them very little mince, but lots of fat and skin (off-cuts), left-overs from our meals, and occasionally they have been able to pinch dried cat food. I’ve been feeding during breeding season for about ten years, sustaining a couple of families, but now I’m concerned about the Calcium thing.

How do they get Calcium in the wild?

Presumably from insect/snail shells?

this would be a big one…

I’ve never seen a magpie eat a snail shell.

Magpies never swoop on me these days.

Just plovers, magpie larks, noisy miners, etc, etc.

In the olden days, I found that a squash racquet brandished appropriately would sufficiently discourage magpies.

mollwollfumble said:

Magpies never swoop on me these days.

Just plovers, magpie larks, noisy miners, etc, etc.

In the olden days, I found that a squash racquet brandished appropriately would sufficiently discourage magpies.

Yes any thing held up will balk most magpies. I was quite surprised to be attacked by a mudlark. That was a first in a lifetime. It was in a city park though. I’ve never been swooped on by plovers though I’ve often watched others suffer the fate. I’ve watched others being swooped by magpies only metres from me and was npot swooped on myself.

I posted photos here (or SSSF) a while ago of a magpie who had only a few feathers on her head. The advice I received was to feed her insectivore mix, which I found at a large pet shop. After a couple of months, she appeared to be recovering from whatever her problem was, but suddenly disappeared. Mr Speedy said he saw her approx. 500m away from here, dead :(

FWIW, last time we went camping we made lamb shanks in the camp oven and after dinner, threw the bones into the campfire. In the morning, there were ducks pecking at these powdery remains.

Speedy said:

I posted photos here (or SSSF) a while ago of a magpie who had only a few feathers on her head. The advice I received was to feed her insectivore mix, which I found at a large pet shop. After a couple of months, she appeared to be recovering from whatever her problem was, but suddenly disappeared. Mr Speedy said he saw her approx. 500m away from here, dead :(

FWIW, last time we went camping we made lamb shanks in the camp oven and after dinner, threw the bones into the campfire. In the morning, there were ducks pecking at these powdery remains.

ducks are omnivores really..

sarahs mum said:

Speedy said:

I posted photos here (or SSSF) a while ago of a magpie who had only a few feathers on her head. The advice I received was to feed her insectivore mix, which I found at a large pet shop. After a couple of months, she appeared to be recovering from whatever her problem was, but suddenly disappeared. Mr Speedy said he saw her approx. 500m away from here, dead :(

FWIW, last time we went camping we made lamb shanks in the camp oven and after dinner, threw the bones into the campfire. In the morning, there were ducks pecking at these powdery remains.

ducks are omnivores really..

probably more likely to eat snails than magpies.

Speedy said:

I posted photos here (or SSSF) a while ago of a magpie who had only a few feathers on her head. The advice I received was to feed her insectivore mix, which I found at a large pet shop. After a couple of months, she appeared to be recovering from whatever her problem was, but suddenly disappeared. Mr Speedy said he saw her approx. 500m away from here, dead :(

FWIW, last time we went camping we made lamb shanks in the camp oven and after dinner, threw the bones into the campfire. In the morning, there were ducks pecking at these powdery remains.

Yeah, they really lose condition fast when they’re under stress. You can usually see it in the male birds shortly after the chicks hatch. The head/neck is a common site for pecking when a bird is being bullied in flock animals, and they look similar, as do some mite infestations, but I think the Magpies who show that are struggling to feed chicks.

Ducks and magpies are both omnivores

Speedy said:

I posted photos here (or SSSF) a while ago of a magpie who had only a few feathers on her head. The advice I received was to feed her insectivore mix, which I found at a large pet shop. After a couple of months, she appeared to be recovering from whatever her problem was, but suddenly disappeared. Mr Speedy said he saw her approx. 500m away from here, dead :(

FWIW, last time we went camping we made lamb shanks in the camp oven and after dinner, threw the bones into the campfire. In the morning, there were ducks pecking at these powdery remains.

Magpies can be very cruel to each other. Feather removal, especially from the heads is usually by several juvenile magpies bashing up some individual, or a breeding adult who has warned the younger bird to find some other place to live. If it was found dead 500 metres away, it is possible that the adult that initially removed its feathers got it and killed it.

I have never had any problems from magpies, although I have been swooped by wattlebirds. They have very powerful beaks that on the wing, are driven into intruding birds head or neck, often with fatal results. After the fires here 2-3 years ago, many birds came from the burnt area to this place, which was virtually the only unburnt portion of bush for some distance. Many New Holland Honeyeaters came, of which some must have trespassed into resident Wattlebird territory as many were killed by them, and it continued until the bird populations reduced to sustainable levels.

Just the other day when in town, I came across a dead young Raven, which I strongly suspect was killed by wattlebirds, as they are beginning to breed here and there were several raucous pairs in trees surrounding the dead raven. So they are pretty deadly if you stray to close to their nests, particularly in an over crowded situation.

dv said:

Ducks and magpies are both omnivores

Yet I don’t see magpies eat snails and as for wild ducks, hmmm.

roughbarked said:

dv said:

Ducks and magpies are both omnivores

Yet I don’t see magpies eat snails and as for wild ducks, hmmm.

Kookaburras are the snail eating kings here.
They smash them open on big rocks. There are several of these rocks in the back yard, each one surrounded by snail shells.

Tamb said:

roughbarked said:

dv said:

Ducks and magpies are both omnivores

Yet I don’t see magpies eat snails and as for wild ducks, hmmm.

Kookaburras are the snail eating kings here.
They smash them open on big rocks. There are several of these rocks in the back yard, each one surrounded by snail shells.

No bird in my yard eats snails and I have kookaburras too.

roughbarked said:

Tamb said:

roughbarked said:

Yet I don’t see magpies eat snails and as for wild ducks, hmmm.

Kookaburras are the snail eating kings here.
They smash them open on big rocks. There are several of these rocks in the back yard, each one surrounded by snail shells.

No bird in my yard eats snails and I have kookaburras too.

Look around for a lot of broken snail shells.

Tamb said:

roughbarked said:

Tamb said:

Kookaburras are the snail eating kings here.
They smash them open on big rocks. There are several of these rocks in the back yard, each one surrounded by snail shells.

No bird in my yard eats snails and I have kookaburras too.

Look around for a lot of broken snail shells.

Why doesn’t anybody take my word?

The only broken snail shells in my yard are the ones I crush. I even have a healthy bluetongue population with no evidence of snail consumption.

>if you want to avoid being attacked by magpies, just make an effort to be friends with them.

Yeah, that works here at home.. throw them a bit of cat food left overs on an irregular basis and they’re fine.

>But a magpie “will only swoop when he doesn’t know somebody”, said Gisela Kaplan

Yes, this is impractical advice to people trying to navigate a lot of suburban areas at this time of year.

In fact, a bit old male with a bad attitude had a go at me in town today. I didn’t have my hat on and only had a mobile phone with which to fend off the bugger…

Magpies are ubiquitous in urban areas all over Australia, and have become accustomed to people. A small percentage of birds become highly aggressive during breeding season from late August to early October, and will swoop and sometimes attack passersby. The percentage has been difficult to estimate but is significantly less than 9%. Almost all attacking birds (around 99%) are male, and they are generally known to attack pedestrians at around 50 m (160 ft) from their nest, and cyclists at around 100 m (330 ft). There appears to be some specificity in choice of attack targets, with the majority of individuals specializing on either pedestrians or cyclists. Attacks begin as the eggs hatch, increase in frequency and severity as the chicks grow, and tail off as the chicks leave the nest.

These magpies may engage in an escalating series of behaviours to drive off intruders. Least threatening are alarm calls and distant swoops, where birds fly within several metres from behind and perch nearby. Next in intensity are close swoops, where a magpie will swoop in from behind or the side and audibly “snap” their beaks or even peck or bite at the face, neck, ears or eyes. More rarely, a bird may dive-bomb and strike the intruder’s (usually a cyclist’s) head with its chest. A magpie may rarely attack by landing on the ground in front of a person and lurching up and landing on the victim’s chest and pecking at the face and eyes.
Cyclist wearing a helmet with “spikes” to ward off diving magpies

Magpie attacks can cause injuries, typically wounds to the head, and being unexpectedly swooped while cycling can result in loss of control of the bicycle, which may cause injury.

Wikipedia

Ian said:

A small percentage of birds become highly aggressive ….. The percentage has been difficult to estimate but is significantly less than 9%.

so, in other words.. some magpies (like people) are just jerks…

We had swooping birds near us in Wentworth Falls. Along the only path up to the train station. I would wear a black beret with 2 shiny paua shell disks sewn on the back of it. They would swoop, see the mean old hat, then fly off. After a few times they just left me alone.

Excuse me – did you just assume they were magpies ?