Corvids, love 'em or hate 'em...

[fucthest8]

...post here about them, because they deserve their own thread

Got two magpies nesting in next door's tree. On the one hand, they've stopped the seagulls from nesting on my roof, because they killed last year's chick. So that's nice.

On the other hand, they are fuckers are will predate all the chicks, so I'm worried for the wood pigeons nesting in my other neighbours bush (ooh, er)

Mr and Mrs Blackbird, however, are being very robust in keeping them away, with one of them chasing the magpies off when the other is returning with food.

Here they are making very loud alarm noises, because one of my cats



So, love 'em or hate 'em?

E2A also, look at my massive rose. Smells amazing as well, two more on the way already.

 

[Pickman's model]

L

 

[cupid_stunt]

If they kill seagull chicks & prevent seagulls nesting, I fucking love them.

 

[JuanTwoThree]

They did quite well on this thread

https://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/which-is-your-favourite-british-bird.351014/

even though robins, cheerful little fuckers, did the best.

#10 #12 and #15 on that thread made me snort my tea .


As I said at the time:

Ravens and jackdaws. Smart and raucous. They look at you as if they are trying to figure you out. In Celtic mythology they often spoke. They look as if they might again.

 

[marty21]

Noticed a lot of Jackdaws in Yorkshire last week , but no magpies. Hardly ever see Jackdaws in London , loads of magpies though .

Favourite corvid is the Raven , followed by the Jay , rarely see Ravens though , and don't see Jays very often either .

 

[JuanTwoThree]

Do you salute magpies?

I always say 'Good morning/afternoon, your worship(s)'

I was told this is because they look like a judge who is about to give a death sentence with the black hood on

But some people ask after a single magpie's family because they mate for life (One for sorrow, two for joy etc)

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Just this week we’ve had our first ever Jackdaws on the bird feeder. And just this week the fat ball holder has been knocked off twice and all the balls eaten; coincidence?

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Do you salute magpies?

I always say 'Good morning/afternoon, your worship(s)'

I was told this is because they look like a judge who is about to give a death sentence with the black hood on

But some people ask after a single magpie's family because they mate for life (One for sorrow, two for joy etc)

Good morning Mr Magpie is my greeting, any time of day, regardless of the magpie’s gender.

 

[fucthest8]

"Good morning Mr Magpie, how's the wife and kids?" is what I was taught

 

[fucthest8]

Noticed a lot of Jackdaws in Yorkshire last week , but no magpies. Hardly ever see Jackdaws in London , loads of magpies though .

Favourite corvid is the Raven , followed by the Jay , rarely see Ravens though , and don't see Jays very often either .

I saw a positive flock of Jays last year near Golden Cap. Must have been a dozen, just beautiful (and noisy).

 

[fucthest8]

Just this week we’ve had our first ever Jackdaws on the bird feeder. And just this week the fat ball holder has been knocked off twice and all the balls eaten; coincidence?

I love Jackdaws, the comedic siting of their beak is brilliant.

 

[MrCurry]

I love the corvids. They have a habit of clattering on our aluminium windowsills as they hide food down the gaps at the edges then come back and retrieve it later. Gives them a helluva fright when I turn the Venetian blinds and suddenly appear inches away from them (but they keep coming back, so I’m confident they do in fact enjoy our little game...)

In our garden it’s not the magpies which the smaller birds’ chicks need to worry about, but the great spotted woodpecker, who has for the second year in a row pecked a huge hole in the front of our nest box and taken the Marsh tits’ chicks. I need to sort some metal plating on that box for next year.

 

[Poi E]

Wonderful. Give the islands so much character.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

They're brilliant birds.

If they kill seagull chicks & prevent seagulls nesting, I fucking love them.

 

[krtek a houby]

Incredibly intelligent creatures. But I wish they'd leave off the vegetable patch.

Here's a chatty magpie

 

[JimW]

Hundreds of magpies round the village and we also get a species of blue magpie never seen in Europe.

ETA: Looked it up and apparently it's called the Azure-winged Magpie: Azure-winged Magpie in Beijing, China – Bird Ecology Study Group

 

[newbie]

We had a fantastic fight a couple of years ago when a pair of magpies raided the jays nest in the tree outside. A lot of the initial action took place inside the tree, so was hidden by leaves, which occasionally erupted, and the noise was extraordinary. Then it spread outside, with one magpie luring the jays while the other tried sneak attacks. Then a random crow joined in, and everyone took umbrage and chased it away. They carried on, in and out of the tree, on the roofs and in the air for well over an hour. Fantastic.

I think the jays won, btw, but wasn't certain.

 

[Idaho]

I love corvids, and love magpies. I think they are beautiful birds. I love the way they fly and land.

 

[fucthest8]

I love the corvids. They have a habit of clattering on our aluminium windowsills as they hide food down the gaps at the edges then come back and retrieve it later. Gives them a helluva fright when I turn the Venetian blinds and suddenly appear inches away from them (but they keep coming back, so I’m confident they do in fact enjoy our little game...)

In our garden it’s not the magpies which the smaller birds’ chicks need to worry about, but the great spotted woodpecker, who has for the second year in a row pecked a huge hole in the front of our nest box and taken the Marsh tits’ chicks. I need to sort some metal plating on that box for next year.

Didn't know woodpeckers would do that. Shame for the marsh tits

 

[Orang Utan]

Love em

 

[petee]

Incredibly intelligent creatures. But I wish they'd leave off the vegetable patch.

Here's a chatty magpie

i didn't know they talked!

 

[StoneRoad]

I love the intelligence of the corvids, their problem solving ability is significant.

I just wish that they were less effective at predating on chicks and stuck to the carrion removal service.

There are some jackdaws in Whitehaven that are remarkably tolerant of humans and dogs (If I ignore you, you can ignore me)

 

[AnnaKarpik]

We had a pair of magpies near the house every year when we lived up country. They stole the entire fat ball every time we hung one up but the worst was thieving the hen's eggs; I swear one of them was watching when I wandered around the garden looking for eggs laid away because if I found a place a hen had made a nest you can bet there were never eggs in it the second time I looked. At one point they would go into the hen house to take them but I nearly managed to catch one once and they gave that up.

I admire all corvids but jackdaws are my favourite, I would like to make friends with one.

 

[Orang Utan]

If you're nice to them they might bring you gifts:
The girl who gets gifts from birds

 

[JuanTwoThree]

If you're nice to them they might bring you gifts:
The girl who gets gifts from birds

I like them even more

 

[Orang Utan]

They might even make you art:
Seattle Man Has Been Feeding A Crow Family For Years, Has His “Mind Blown” After They Bring Him Presents

 

[Artaxerxes]

Noticed a lot of Jackdaws in Yorkshire last week , but no magpies. Hardly ever see Jackdaws in London , loads of magpies though .

Favourite corvid is the Raven , followed by the Jay , rarely see Ravens though , and don't see Jays very often either .

Thousands of Jackdaws around Epping way. Sound like a crowd of dog toys flying overhead.

Few crows and ravens around, plenty of magpies (think these are my favourite). Jay's are still fairly rare but you hear them in forest a bit, probably just insanely shy.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I used to feed the crows in the park - usually dried mealworms. They got used to me pretty quickly and gradually got comfortable getting closer to me. Beautiful birds.

 

[chemn]

Shout out the corvids!

I love jays and magpies. I some times like to ask people "do you know what the jay says?"

"AAAH!!"

 

[Jeff Robinson]

Love! I see lots of crows and magpies on my walk to work and love studying their behaviour. They move with such care and purpose and yet are also curious.

I have been recently reading the cognitive ethology literature on them and in terms of their problem-solving abilities, self-awareness, sophisticated communication, complex kinship relations etc. they rival the nonhuman great apes. If somebody calls me a bird brain now I’m going to take it as a compliment!