I once saw a two pronged attack by a pair of magpies. A cat was on the fence. One landed either side of it and they advanced towards it. I'd never seen a flying cat before either!
I PUT A SMALL MIRROR IN MY GARDEN SOME 3 MONTHS AGO AND TODAY I HAD 2 MAGPIES IN THE GARDEN THAT SAW THE MIRROR AND ALL DAY THEY HAVE BEEN JUMPING UP THE MIRROR AS THOUGH THEY ARE TRYING TO GET INTO THE MAGIC KINGDOM.
I PUT OUT SOME CRISPS FOR THEM AND TONITE I WAS SUPRISED TO SEE THEM PICKING UP THE CRISPS AND BURYING THEM IN MY FLOWER TUBS. ER INDOORS ISNT HAPPY BUT IT WAS GOOD TO WATCH AND I DID PLACE A TABLET/VIDEO DOWN BY THE MIRROR AND GOT SOME REALLY GOOD FOOTAGE WHICH I PUT ON YOUTUBE ( SUPERMUSTANG1964 }.
Much to my surprise I have just observed a magpie caching food five times within ten minutes. Basically, I have been feeling sorry for a young magpie that looks like it has probably fledged this year and is struggling to compete with the other newly fledged magpie that appear bigger and stronger. I have therefore started throwing it scraps of food and as a result created a rod for my own back and possibly a rod for the magpie too.
Anyway, I threw away half of an ham sandwich and after it filled it's boots it proceeded to then divide it up and hide it in several spots under pieces of dry grass that had been left as a result of the green areas outside my flat being grasses over.
I still find it amazing that nature can still surprise, astonish and leave me full of wonder despite being in my mid fifties.
I have been watching our leucistic magpie and her mate caching popcorn in our lawn this morning. She ate a piece or two, then picked up two or three pieces, before pushing each piece separately into the lawn and covering it with grass. She did this three times before eating another piece and leaving. I had read that they did this, but had only ever watched squirrels caching food before. Fascinating!
Aussie magpies do it often...especially when they've had enough to eat & have excess to store I saw 2 young ones do it 10 mins ago - in different spots. The base of a tree or pole is favoured, with a little grass over the top - as mentioned. I also saw a young one using a small piece of bark to scrape out the fork of a tree, looking for insects. I hadn't been aware that they used 'tools' too. They love their toys - dried lumps of lawn clippings, a frond from an elkhorn fern or dried up banksia flower & often chase each other for their treasures. Magpies can be clowns, rolling around together like puppies or hanging upside down from clothes on the line when playing.
I put some bread out this morning and as I was making a coffee just watched out if the window... we'e a family of magpies that come every day for food as well as massive seagull... for the first time I seen one of the magpies pick up some bread and hide it in one of our bushes...think it was the other magpie who hid two pieces of bread with blades of grass... funny to watch and shows their intelligence off too
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I once saw a two pronged attack by a pair of magpies. A cat was on the fence. One landed either side of it and they advanced towards it. I'd never seen a flying cat before either!
I PUT A SMALL MIRROR IN MY GARDEN SOME 3 MONTHS AGO AND TODAY I HAD 2 MAGPIES IN THE GARDEN THAT SAW THE MIRROR AND ALL DAY THEY HAVE BEEN JUMPING UP THE MIRROR AS THOUGH THEY ARE TRYING TO GET INTO THE MAGIC KINGDOM.
I PUT OUT SOME CRISPS FOR THEM AND TONITE I WAS SUPRISED TO SEE THEM PICKING UP THE CRISPS AND BURYING THEM IN MY FLOWER TUBS. ER INDOORS ISNT HAPPY BUT IT WAS GOOD TO WATCH AND I DID PLACE A TABLET/VIDEO DOWN BY THE MIRROR AND GOT SOME REALLY GOOD FOOTAGE WHICH I PUT ON YOUTUBE ( SUPERMUSTANG1964 }.
Much to my surprise I have just observed a magpie caching food five times within ten minutes. Basically, I have been feeling sorry for a young magpie that looks like it has probably fledged this year and is struggling to compete with the other newly fledged magpie that appear bigger and stronger. I have therefore started throwing it scraps of food and as a result created a rod for my own back and possibly a rod for the magpie too.
Anyway, I threw away half of an ham sandwich and after it filled it's boots it proceeded to then divide it up and hide it in several spots under pieces of dry grass that had been left as a result of the green areas outside my flat being grasses over.
I still find it amazing that nature can still surprise, astonish and leave me full of wonder despite being in my mid fifties.
I have been watching our leucistic magpie and her mate caching popcorn in our lawn this morning. She ate a piece or two, then picked up two or three pieces, before pushing each piece separately into the lawn and covering it with grass. She did this three times before eating another piece and leaving. I had read that they did this, but had only ever watched squirrels caching food before. Fascinating!
Aussie magpies do it often...especially when they've had enough to eat & have excess to store I saw 2 young ones do it 10 mins ago - in different spots. The base of a tree or pole is favoured, with a little grass over the top - as mentioned. I also saw a young one using a small piece of bark to scrape out the fork of a tree, looking for insects. I hadn't been aware that they used 'tools' too. They love their toys - dried lumps of lawn clippings, a frond from an elkhorn fern or dried up banksia flower & often chase each other for their treasures. Magpies can be clowns, rolling around together like puppies or hanging upside down from clothes on the line when playing.
I put some bread out this morning and as I was making a coffee just watched out if the window... we'e a family of magpies that come every day for food as well as massive seagull... for the first time I seen one of the magpies pick up some bread and hide it in one of our bushes...think it was the other magpie who hid two pieces of bread with blades of grass... funny to watch and shows their intelligence off too
This is the caching leucistic magpie!