All hope gone!!! Magpies win!!!

Waxing_Gibbous (Peter) · #1 07-03-2010, 02:34 AM

Not the footy team, the bird.
I have been seduced by these birds and others like them.
Any ideas I've entertained of becoming a normal, well-adjusted, fully-funcioning, rational member of society have now vanished.
I have become,for all intents and purposes, and to my shame, a 'Bird Watcher' :O

It started last year when a bloke from Monash Uni posted an ad in the local rag wanting people to keep an eye on the behaviour of Magpies over the next 24 months. He had a very-well prepared checklist of stufff Magpies do and all we had to do was note the month, time of day, weather conditions and periodicity of different behaviours.
If possible could we plase record their songs while doing so?

Being out-and-about a lot, this was pretty simple and I eventually became engrossed.
Did you know that Magpies don't "Swoop" in rural areas?
I didn't either.
That the aforementioned 'swooping' is actually part of urban Maggies mating ritual rather than a defensive posture?
News to me.
Were you aware that Maggies are supposedly, of all Australian birds, infantalised for ther longest period?
Their parents will go on feeding them well into their 2nd or 3rd year if another 'litter' isn't produced.
Fascinating! Really!

This low-grade voyeurism eventually began to extend to other species
and I now know what a Splendid Fairy Wren is thinking even before he
does. I can tell the difference between a Gang-Gang and a Gallah, and can spot a male from a female Wedge-Tail at 50 metres. Frightening.

I have come to appreciate bird's plumage(s), their different songs, their behaviour (identifying birds by behaviour is apparently called 'Jizz' or 'Jizzing' which is quite "yeuuccch" really but is an excellent Scrabble word), but most of all I just enjoy watching them do "secret bird business".
All carefully recorded and annotated to be sure.

Has anyone else fallen victim to this gentle madness? It seems like another slippery slope to bankruptcy as an decent birding scope costs north of $1000!. But I'm up for it.
Interested to hear from long-time/new birders about their experiences.
PJH

Octane (Humayun) · #2 07-03-2010, 02:39 AM

lol.

Magpies, as much as I hate them when they swoop, are really interesting creatures.

My understanding is that once the parents have had enough of their young, they sort of start hassling them to move out and move on.

When I was younger, I loved birds. Kept aquarels, budgies, zebra finches, silvereye, and quails. Had to release them all after I got asthma.

H

Waxing_Gibbous (Peter) · #3 07-03-2010, 03:37 AM

Haitch,
We've seen very different adult/juvenile interaction amoung different sets. E.G. One parent will raise its offspring to a certain level then turf it out. Another will go on feeding the juvey for a much longer period. Yet another has given its kid the boot, then 'taken it back'.
No ryhme or reason.
I'm the opposite to you. I've never been a bird fan really. Unless marinated with Lemon & Garlic.
However they do exhibit an enormous range of fascinating behaviour that I assumed would be, if not 'beyond' them, at least, 'extraneous' to requirements.
God help me, its really setting-in!

Baddad (Marty) · #4 07-03-2010, 11:33 AM

Hi Peter,

We are on acreage 35klms N of Brisbane. When I feed the dogs each evening the magpies, Kookaburras and Grey Back Butcher Birds all join in.

The pecking order is complex. A Kooka is above a Maggie. Two Maggies top a Kooka. There are squabbles every feed time. The Butcher birds are small and agile. Fly in very quickly and make a quick getaway with the prize.

I started feeding the Maggies initially to stop F-one-eleven (F111) from swooping me. It worked. Each spring the Magpies have new offspring. They join in for 9-10 months and are kicked out. Allowing room for the next ones.

Some have learnt that taking food from my hand is an effective method to avoid confrontation with the other birds.

Under the trees I place seeds. That attracts many different parrot varieties, including Cockatoos.

Cheers Marty

Paddy de Klerk · #5 07-03-2010, 01:16 PM

Cant quite recall when they caught my attention.Seem to have been aware of them forever.Waxing lyrical....thrilling to spot a chough ,magic to glimpse brilliant flash of colour of a bee eater.Pelicans on a thermal ar`nt too bad either

Waxing_Gibbous (Peter) · #6 07-03-2010, 01:30 PM

Marty,
Pecking orders are truly mysterious. We only feed a little except in winter, as we want them to eat cock-chafers, slugs, earwigs etc.
Just enough to lure them in!

The real interest around the house is the almost daily battle between the Gang-Gang Cockatoos and the Gallahs for a Banksia Tree (I think).
The cacaphony is absurd. Each breed takes up positions and squawks at the top of its lungs for about an hour. That day's 'right to graze' seeems to be decided by how many mates each side can muster and how much flapping they can do. Its about 60/40 to the Gallahs at the moment.

Paddy,
I do like Pelicans!
I guess they're pretty familiar to anyone growing up here, but I get a charge out of them.

that_guy (Tony) · #7 07-03-2010, 02:02 PM

my budgie died today...

Waxing_Gibbous (Peter) · #8 07-03-2010, 02:18 PM

Tony,
Oh. I'm sorry.
The death of a feather-friend is every bit as devastating as that of any other pet.
My condolences. RIP little buddy.

that_guy (Tony) · #9 07-03-2010, 05:15 PM

It was the last of the original crew... the other one got mauled by our dog...
we still have polly the apparently very chappy and happy fellow. hedoesn't know whats going on...

Jen · #10 07-03-2010, 10:05 PM

My dad has a very friendly crow which he has named Russell that has been hanging around up with dad and the boys in the shed watching the footy with them for the last couple of years now he comes right up to the table and has a sausage and we can hand feed him a few BBQ shapes he loves them Well now he (Russell) has brought his whole family to stay in the big tree in dads back yard two baby crows and the mother. Its very cute to watch, now Russel comes to the table and we give him the BBQ shapes and he dosnt eat them no more he takes them up to his children awwww... But one day he must have been very hungry and took off with the whole box of BBQ shapes

Waxing_Gibbous (Peter) · #11 08-03-2010, 01:08 AM

Jen,
Hmmmmmnnn,
Ambivelent about Crows.
You should see what they do to new-born lambs!

Jen · #12 08-03-2010, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waxing_Gibbous

Jen,
Hmmmmmnnn,
Ambivelent about Crows.
You should see what they do to new-born lambs!

yeah i could imagine, they torment my cat all the time

Not Russell and the family though

DiamondDust (Ingrid) · #13 08-03-2010, 12:15 PM

Have you ever watched sibling butcher birds play fight and other stuff? They throw themselves on their backs and submit to pecks, feather pulling and being pinned down! It's hilarious

. Magpies do it too but not as often. The funniest bird to watch is the "dominant" rainbow lorikeet. He (or she, never been able to tell male from female, anyone know the difference?) literally throws his weight around - when he waddles from side to side, much like John Wayne did in his gun toting days! Their squabbles are very funny, especially when hanging upside on the bird feeder 'cos there's not enough room on top!

Mmm, I think pelicans are the most graceful flyers.

Sorry about your budgie.

Baddad (Marty) · #14 08-03-2010, 02:57 PM

Hi Peter, Hi All,

My friend Colin, also feeds Magpies and Butcher Birds. Some months ago the hen bird, Maggie was carrying a bad foot. Swollen badly at the join of the long toes. Skitz, the male bird and Maggie would feed together but Maggie needed preferential treatment.

One day it happened. I was there to witness it. Skitz had caught a huge moth. Killed it and offered it to his mate Maggie. She devoured it as she was not so capable to catch live food. Often when the Butcher Birds were overwhelming, Skitz would also give Maggie his aquired food bits.

Maggie still favours that leg but its not as bad as it used to be.

I saw a documentary once where they mentioned only man showed compassion. Now here's an example of a Magpie doing it.

Cheers Marty

Nesti (Mark) · #15 10-03-2010, 12:45 PM

During the swooping season, I get done all the time. They fly across 200m of open oval just to have a go at me walking the dog...not because I pose a threat; they do it because they recognise me as the human which brings gliders to the oval...yes, they recognise ME! During the swooping season, they regularly perform their "mating ritual" on my gliders with their beaks and claws. Leaving the dog at home and changing clothes does nothing.

Hawks and Kites are the best. Play it a little aloof and they'll come fly with you. Don't make any sudden moves while flying, and they will glide wing tip to wing tip for 5-10 min and will often play games. They have lots of personality.

Eagles always seem to be angry for some reason. They're like the pensioner police of the sky...but strong and violent.

The worst are Corellas...they're erratic, foolhardy idiots and vandals too. But fun to watch.

Wing-shape means everything. Use a straight leading edge from root to tip and you're prey. Conversely, use a gradual sweep from root to tip with a big swept-back tip, and you're a killer. Even hawks will stay well clear.

Eagles don't care about wing shape, and bigger glider just means more to eat. They can and will put their talons through two layers of Carbon/Kevlar [cloth] skin and tear anything they can get at.

Although birds live in a 3 dimensional world, I believe they think more 2 dimensionally when flying. If I'm being chased by a Maggie or worse, an Eagle, they won't give up. But if I dive and then loop, coming at them from behind, that's it. Even if I do a loop a hundred meters from them, they freak out. So the 3rd dimension (up and down) seem to be purely related to altitude for most birds, not so much orientation and aspect (with the exception of some hawks/falcons).

Outbackmanyep · #16 10-03-2010, 04:04 PM

I got my own back, i hit one while i was driving on the way to work this morning.......it flew away as my gf was following in her car and saw it fly away.......

Baddad (Marty) · #17 10-03-2010, 05:47 PM

Hi Mark,
That is interesting. Wing shape and flight patterns.

Birds do not have that "Bird Brain" They are very smart for their size.

Years ago I had a shooting contract in the Ansett maintenance hangar.
Each year there were hundreds of Starlings nesting in the insulation under the roof.
I used to shoot them as they presented a danger to the aircraft while being serviced. Feathers, droppings and bird mite contaminating exposed instruments.

After two or three visits, as soon as I entered the hangar, there was a mass exodus of Starlings out of the hangar. The Ansett personell wore white overalls. I donned white overalls. That lasted one visit.

Next a huge card board box. I had enough vision to sight them and even that failed after two visits.

The box was the best method. The workers left it in the hangar and even moved it around. The Starlings eventually moved out. They thought I was in the box or else it was a nasty thing.

Cheers Marty

Nesti (Mark) · #18 10-03-2010, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baddad

Hi Mark,
That is interesting. Wing shape and flight patterns.

Birds do not have that "Bird Brain" They are very smart for their size.

Years ago I had a shooting contract in the Ansett maintenance hangar.
Each year there were hundreds of Starlings nesting in the insulation under the roof.
I used to shoot them as they presented a danger to the aircraft while being serviced. Feathers, droppings and bird mite contaminating exposed instruments.

After two or three visits, as soon as I entered the hangar, there was a mass exodus of Starlings out of the hangar. The Ansett personell wore white overalls. I donned white overalls. That lasted one visit.

Next a huge card board box. I had enough vision to sight them and even that failed after two visits.

The box was the best method. The workers left it in the hangar and even moved it around. The Starlings eventually moved out. They thought I was in the box or else it was a nasty thing.

Cheers Marty

LOL, that's pretty smart!

We had problems with Miner Birds (name?) up in Townsville, crapping all over the aircraft. They were fed bait which made them hallucinate (I think) and they would fly away for a few weeks. Temporary fix.

Yes, they're smart is some areas, but dumb in others.

Waxing_Gibbous (Peter) · #19 10-03-2010, 11:34 PM

"Minah" according to Google or "Mina" (roll eyes&shrug). How many different spellings of this word are there!?

I find it confusing.

Baddad (Marty) · #20 11-03-2010, 09:27 AM

Hi Mark,

I think the species you refer to are Noisy Miners. The other species, Indian Mynah, is an introduced pest from Asia.

There are special conditions relating to aircraft safety. It allows the extermination of native species. Sad but at times necessary for human safety.

Cheers Marty