Eumundi Rehabilitation Center News
Australian Magpies are one of most loved birds. Many people love to feed them and are happy for families to live on their properties whilst others seem to go out of their way to upset them. SOME magpies become very aggressive at nesting time. This is usually a response to being harassed by people at some stage. Magpies are very territorial at nesting time and don’t like anything or anyone to come close to their nesting tree. They are always on guard for trespassers.
Many magpies are brought to the Wildlife Centre having been injured either by animals including people, also cars and even having ingested food such as worms and grubs that have been sprayed with chemicals. Then there is the young magpie issue. Today I visited Gill and already she has 4 young magpies at the Centre (image below). This is the first of many that will trickle in over the next few months. The vast majority of magpies are very diligent parents. Occasionally, things can go wrong. Nestlings can fall out of the nest during windy weather and storms. Babies can be abandoned when a large brood has been hatched and there is insufficient food for all the young, and usually the smallest will be left to starve. It’s a really sad thing to witness.
Gill asks that people don’t rush to assume that babies have been abandoned. Please observe the young for several hours to see if they appear to be being fed. When you are satisfied that a youngster is in trouble, please bring to the Centre in a suitable box or container. School holidays can also become perilous for magpies when young bored teenagers turn their attentions to helpless birds.
*Getting back to the attacking magpie problem. Wearing a hat or carrying an umbrella is usually sufficient. Cyclists should be wearing a helmet in any case. Click on the above image of a cyclist being swooped for info on avoiding swooping magpies.
The Eumundi Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre is open 24/7.
Helen Hepburn
