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Original poster

Vicious magpies

38 replies

Guerlainista · 22/05/2019 20:44

Posting for traffic!

We’ve lived in a suburban london street for 15 years. Odd magpie about no issues. Over the last week we suddenly seem to have multiple (6+) in our front garden and they are attacking local cats (pecked one really badly) and are now permanently squawking day & night outside.

Why?
What’s happened? What can I do?

Nothing against magpies (always doff my cap to them 😆)
...but this is a bit extreme

OP posts:
crazyasafox · 22/05/2019 20:46

I think they are scaring the cats off to stop them attacking/killing birds.

Cats do have form for this!

Sorry your cats have been hurt though. Sad

UnicornBrexit · 22/05/2019 20:47

They are nesting and fighting off intruders

BloodyDisgrace · 22/05/2019 20:49

Catapult?
My neighbour's cat used to camp at my place and use the garden below. The black birds were giving the puss hard time (no pecking mind, just these irritating noises), they flew from other gardens to annoy the cat who'd run indoors scared. I used water pistol against the birds and they soon stopped.

Baloonphobia · 22/05/2019 20:49

Protecting nests from the cats. It'll die down once the chicks have fledged.

Baloonphobia · 22/05/2019 20:50

If they're not your cats I'd be more inclined to hunt the cats from the garden.

Ronsters · 22/05/2019 21:00

They can "gang up" on perceived enemies. I had a pair nesting in some trees in my garden last year, my cat took a big interest and they absolutely hated it and made a real racket. He couldn't get to their chick (which they successfully raised and took great care of), but they still "scold" him if they are in the garden when he is (cat is nonplussed).

They also have a go at a crow that comes in and seem to gang up, the crow saw them off though. All mouth and no trousers, my magpies.

Calltheguards · 22/05/2019 21:01

At last the cats aren't getting it from the rooks.

FadedRed · 22/05/2019 21:15

Oh I dislike magpies intensely. They had the chicks from a blackbirds best in my hedge last year, it was heartbreaking to hear the blackbirds trying to stop them. This thread has reminded me to buy a super-soaker type of water pistol asap.
And don’t tell me they don’t deserve my wrath, there’s loads of them around here. Nasty, squeaky feckers.

AndSheWas85 · 22/05/2019 21:28

Yeah, there are vile pests. Magpies in particular They basically attack other smaller birds nests murder the chicks and set up their own nest there.

My friend had a cat that was hit by a car and dragged it's broken to his front garden, within seconds (the time it took my friend to get downstairs after hearing the bang) there were a gaggle of magpies pecking at the poor puss trying to pick over it's dying body.

AndSheWas85 · 22/05/2019 21:30

*broken body

Ronsters · 22/05/2019 21:46

They are what they are. I don't like the fledgling killing, but I also get a sparrowhawk which takes songbirds and wood pigeons. A heron comes in from the nearby canal and raids crow nests for the young chicks, an easy meal. Many birds predate other birds, magpies seem to get a bad press but they are not alone in this behaviour.

Brahumbug · 23/05/2019 04:49

It is just the breeding strategy of wild animals, you can't attach human emotions or motivations to their behaviour. The magpies in our rear garden are giving the Grey squirrels a hard time, but greys do raid bird's nests.

ReganSomerset · 23/05/2019 05:34

One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret never to be told

Sounds like you're in luck, OP! I just get followed by a single doom-forecasting one.

Snakelight · 23/05/2019 05:44

Yeah, there are vile pests. Magpies in particular They basically attack other smaller birds nests murder the chicks and set up their own nest there.

My friend had a cat that was hit by a car and dragged it's broken to his front garden, within seconds (the time it took my friend to get downstairs after hearing the bang) there were a gaggle of magpies pecking at the poor puss trying to pick over it's dying body.
I'm pretty sure puss would have happily killed a nest full of small birds too.

ReganSomerset · 23/05/2019 05:53

@Snakelight

NACALT. Granted, both of mine were/are..

KC225 · 23/05/2019 07:02

I once saw two magpies mug a squirrel for half a slice of bread. He tried to hold onto to it but dropped it and ran off when one of the magpies trid to tried to peck from the side.

Ounce · 23/05/2019 07:08

Don't forget all those poor innocent songbird chicks will be fed on the twitching corpses of murdered caterpillars.

Bloody townies really get my goat.

longwayoff · 23/05/2019 07:46

It's spring. Will be over by July.

IntoValhalla · 23/05/2019 07:53

KC225 howling at the poor squirrel getting mugged Grin
We’ve got a very well-meaning, but maybe a bit misguided elderly lady down the road who feeds all the local wildlife. That’s all well and good for most of the year, but come nesting season for the birds, and her front lawn resembles an ancient Roman gladiator arena Confused The magpies and the sparrow hawk come out on top, and there’s often an injured or dead thrush or similar small bird just flopped on the side of her lawn Confused
I’m not sure if she acts as funeral director as well as referee, or if she lets the local cats clean up the carnage Confused

LimeKiwi · 23/05/2019 08:52

I have a mental image from the title of OP lying on the floor after being mugged to it a'la Father Jack style.
"Feckin' birds"
Sorry, as you were....

Original poster
Guerlainista · 23/05/2019 09:44

Woke up this morning to a dead magpie lying in the street outside my house. No visible damage, looks like it just dropped dead! All very odd...

OP posts:
DGRossetti · 23/05/2019 09:47

Magpies are fascinating ... like all corvids very intelligent.

I got chatting about them on another forum, and quite a few people mentioned "magpie courts" where a circle of magpies surround a lone one as if "judging" it.

They cleared our lawn of leatherjackets Smile

BloodyDisgrace · 23/05/2019 10:19

Guerlainista - a cat killed it with a look ;)
No, seriously, the lack of sympathy towards the cats attacked by magpies is rather sad. I'd intervene definitely, chased them away. I would not want to kill anything myself, but I do see a point of someone with an air rifle in this case. That law about killing pest birds which was repelled recently seems to have had its merit.
A cat is a pet, i.e. a companion and a family member. We as humans have responsibility towards pets, to protect them. They are seen by law as property, so ok pecking a cat is damage to someone's property, fair dos if you kill a bird. And not all cats hunt birds, by the way.

MzHz · 23/05/2019 11:24

Our garden is like all out war atm!

Rooks and Magpies fledged this week and both tribes are making themselves heard

We have a pest proof feeder and even so they have worked out if you fly AT it, seed will fall and all the fledglings underneath can scrabble and squabble to get what drops...

Rooks attempting to hover like hummingbirds is fairly entertaining

Frouby · 23/05/2019 11:31

My cousin has had a duck nesting at the side of their front door for 3 weeks. Magpies had destroyed all but 2 of the eggs, mummy duck abandoned them. Cousin currently has 2 duck eggs in her office in an incubator.

I also saw some attack and kill a finch of some sort the other day.

They are the hyenas of the UK bird population.

We have a few fast food outlets across the way. They collect the discarded ketchup pots, come and sit on our shed roof and drop them into the decking, presumably to burst them open.