Natural predators of magpies include various species of monitor lizard and the barking owl. Birds are often killed on roads or electrocuted by powerlines, or poisoned after killing and eating house sparrows or mice, rats or rabbits targeted with baiting. The Australian raven may take nestlings left unattended.
Deterrents for magpies
Half-full plastic bottles or CDs hung up in trees to scare the predators away. Magpies don't like the way light reflects from the surface. GuardnEyes scarecrow balloon, available from Dazer UK. It may be possible to deter them by playing a tape of a crow or rook distress call.
For a few weeks each year during breeding season, nesting Magpies defend their territory to protect their young. They beat their wings, clack their beaks, swoop upon perceived intruders and occasionally peck or scratch with their claws.
Second-generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs) are poisoning and even killing native wildlife like owls, eagles, magpies, and quolls.
If there is a swooping magpie in your neighbourhood, take these simple measures to protect yourself and others: • walk through the magpie's territory quickly - don't run; • take a different route next time; • protect your head with an umbrella, hat or helmet; • wear glasses to protect your eyes; • watch the magpies ...
If a magpie tries to swoop you, bend your elbow and bring your forearm close to your head to protect your face. Once your eyes are covered, look down and walk away calmly. Cyclists should also dismount their bikes and proceed on foot through a magpie's attack zone.
Some believe flashing lights scare them off, while others swear a zany wig, sticking eyes to the back of your head or opening an umbrella is the way to go. You could even attach a flag to your bike that is higher than your head.
There's one thing magpies are really scared of – flashing lights. You can keep magpies at bay by placing any reflective object in your yard.
Chemicals to always avoid include Brodifacoum, Bromadialone and Difenacoum. Brands include Talon, Fast Action RatSak, Mortein and The Big Cheese Fast Action baits. These poisons kill after just one feed, so generally, anything labelled as 'fast action' will contain these bird-killing poisons.
Although extremely rare, deaths linked to magpie attacks do happen.
Magpies love:
Big, old trees which give them somewhere safe to build their nests and sleep at night. Hunting and eating insects.
The months following fledging are a dangerous time for young magpies, with a high percentage failing to make it through the first year. If the young birds survive to breed, their average life expectancy is around three years. Some live much longer than this, with the oldest recorded being more than 21 years old.
Magpies have few natural predators in the wild. They are too large to be an easy target for birds of prey, and too clever to generally be caught by cats or other hunting mammals. As such, a magpie population can grow consistently year-on-year until it becomes a significant issue.
However, as the well-known rhyme shows, it is generally only seeing a lone magpie that is supposed to bring bad luck. We're not entirely sure why this is but we do know that magpies often mate for life so seeing a single magpie may mean it has lost its mate and therefore the chance of it bringing bad luck is higher.
None of the research about magpies to date has found that magpies target specific colours, such as orange, yellow or purple. Instead, it is widely believed that they swoop purely to protect their young. Although they may not be enraged by certain colours, magpies that swoop tend to target specific types of people.
I think magpies and other members of the corvid family are clever opportunists and will seek out live prey especially if they look vulnerable; I have seen a magpie attack a rat which looked ill, also saw one take an adult Great Tit when it stunned itself after hitting a window and seen Magpies attack their own species ...
Our wildlife has a higher capacity to cope with first generation rodenticides so we recommend use of Racumin or Ratsak Double Strength (but take care not to confuse it with other Ratsak products) – if and when all other means of rat and mice control have been exhausted.
Avitrol is used as a chemical frightening agent to remove pest birds from a given location. Avitrol as applied is a chemically treated grain bait. The active ingredient in Avitrol baits, 4-aminopyridine, is an acute oral toxicant which acts on the central nervous system and the motor nervous system.
Whether its over territory or a food source or nesting material you can be sure that during the nesting season, these species are not very tolerant of each other at all. It may be that the crows are nesting nearby and are trying to prevent the magpies from establishing a nest close to their territory.
You may trim out the trees until the cover they provide is too thin for the crow or magpie to roost in comfortably. Frightening devices, such as scarecrows, eye-balloons and hawk kites, can be effective for a short time. To make them more effective, they will need to be moved frequently.
Don't fight back if a magpie swoops. Throwing sticks and stones or yelling at a magpie are likely to make it more aggressive next time anyone enters the defence zone around their nest.
Australian Magpies are strongly territorial and defend their territories both from other magpies as well as potential predators. Unfortunately, some individual magpies perceive humans as a potential threat and accordingly, swoop down with a fast warning flight, occasionally making contact.
As mentioned, magpie swooping season occurs during a magpie's mating period, which tends to fall between August and October each year. While it can seem like it drags on forever when you're dreading your commute and trying your best to avoid feathered projectiles, a magpie will usually only swoop for around six weeks.