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What's the deal with Magpies?
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2026 9:49 pm
by ZRX61
Just had an email from my mum in which she told me her neighbor had just shot two magpies off her roof.
I don't recall shooting them when I lived in the UK (magpies that is, not neighbors)
oh wait, I did accidentally shoot one of my neighbors when I lived in Brixton (air pistol)
Re: What's the deal with Magpies?
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2026 10:06 pm
by Ian
Dunno, my boss used to shoot them. Reckoned they ate other birds chicks but squirrels are far worse for that.
I have a pair who frequent my garden, I feed them and they leave gifts by the back door.
Apparently they're one of the most intelligent birds.
Re: What's the deal with Magpies?
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2026 10:11 pm
by Taipan
When I was a kid my Dad took me shooting on the farms (crop protection). The farmer used to pay me 10p, or something like that, for any magpie i could get. They were classified as vermin back then. By way of contrast, I feed them now.
Re: What's the deal with Magpies?
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2026 11:57 pm
by ZRX61
Ian wrote: Thu Jul 16, 2026 10:06 pm
Dunno, my boss used to shoot them. Reckoned they ate other birds chicks but squirrels are far worse for that.
I have a pair who frequent my garden, I feed them and they leave gifts by the back door.
Apparently they're one of the most intelligent birds.
You can train them to talk... or at least mimic speech, (or dogs barking etm). You can't actually have a conversation with them about the weather etm.
Re: What's the deal with Magpies?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2026 6:47 am
by gremlin
They were better than Blue Peter back in the 70s.
Re: What's the deal with Magpies?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2026 7:05 am
by Count Steer
My neighbour at our previous house used to shoot them (in his own garden). If I found he'd been shooting at anything in my garden he'd have been in a world of trouble. (Used to use sprinklers at night on his lawn when there was a hose-pipe ban on too).
Magpies are often regarded as a pest because they take eggs and nestling of songbirds. Farmers kill 'em because of the myth that they kill lambs - but mainly because some farmers have always thought farming is mainly about killing stuff. Birds, foxes, badgers, eagles etc etc. Shoot managers kill everything apart from the non-native birds people pay to shoot.
However,
'Because of their (birds generally) protected status in many regions, killing magpies is often illegal without strict licenses and oversight. For example, in the UK, killing or trapping wild birds is a criminal offense unless you are acting under a specific General Licence issued by government bodies like Defra.'
Shooting into other people's gardens (or at thing on their house roof) is an absolute no-no!
Re: What's the deal with Magpies?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2026 3:21 pm
by Saga Lout
ZRX61 wrote: Thu Jul 16, 2026 9:49 pm
Just had an email from my mum in which she told me her neighbour had just shot two magpies off her roof.
...
gremlin wrote: Fri Jul 17, 2026 6:47 am
They were better than Blue Peter back in the 70s.
"One for sorrow, two for joy..."
Does that mean Mrs ZRX61 Senior is in for some good luck?
Re: What's the deal with Magpies?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2026 3:45 pm
by Cousin Jack
Count Steer wrote: Fri Jul 17, 2026 7:05 am
My neighbour at our previous house used to shoot them (in his own garden). If I found he'd been shooting at
anything in my garden he'd have been in a world of trouble. (Used to use sprinklers at night on his lawn when there was a hose-pipe ban on too).
Magpies are often regarded as a pest because they take eggs and nestling of songbirds. Farmers kill 'em because of the myth that they kill lambs - but mainly because some farmers have always thought farming is mainly about killing stuff. Birds, foxes, badgers, eagles etc etc. Shoot managers kill everything apart from the non-native birds people pay to shoot.
However,
'Because of their (birds generally) protected status in many regions, killing magpies is often illegal without strict licenses and oversight. For example, in the UK, killing or trapping wild birds is a criminal offense unless you are acting under a specific General Licence issued by government bodies like Defra.'
Shooting into other people's gardens (or at thing on their house roof) is an absolute no-no!
IIRC Corvids generally were not protected in my youth. It is possible that some may have expired near me at about the same time a loud bang occurred.
They have been protected for some years now, and I have noticed a massive increase in magpies, and a more or less coincident decrease in song birds. Cause and effect ? In the old house we had a nestbox very popular with blue tits, and unfortunately every single fledgeling was picked off by the magpies as they emerged for a first flight. Year after year, we eventually moved the box but the blue tits didn't like it in it's new location
Re: What's the deal with Magpies?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2026 4:11 pm
by Count Steer
Cousin Jack wrote: Fri Jul 17, 2026 3:45 pm
Count Steer wrote: Fri Jul 17, 2026 7:05 am
My neighbour at our previous house used to shoot them (in his own garden). If I found he'd been shooting at
anything in my garden he'd have been in a world of trouble. (Used to use sprinklers at night on his lawn when there was a hose-pipe ban on too).
Magpies are often regarded as a pest because they take eggs and nestling of songbirds. Farmers kill 'em because of the myth that they kill lambs - but mainly because some farmers have always thought farming is mainly about killing stuff. Birds, foxes, badgers, eagles etc etc. Shoot managers kill everything apart from the non-native birds people pay to shoot.
However,
'Because of their (birds generally) protected status in many regions, killing magpies is often illegal without strict licenses and oversight. For example, in the UK, killing or trapping wild birds is a criminal offense unless you are acting under a specific General Licence issued by government bodies like Defra.'
Shooting into other people's gardens (or at thing on their house roof) is an absolute no-no!
IIRC Corvids generally were not protected in my youth. It is possible that some may have expired near me at about the same time a loud bang occurred.
They have been protected for some years now, and I have noticed a massive increase in magpies,
and a more or less coincident decrease in song birds. Cause and effect ? In the old house we had a nestbox very popular with blue tits, and unfortunately every single fledgeling was picked off by the magpies as they emerged for a first flight. Year after year, we eventually moved the box but the blue tits didn't like it in it's new location
'Despite these reasons, conservation groups like the RSPB often point out that magpie predation is a natural part of the ecosystem. Studies have shown that overall songbird populations generally remain stable regardless of magpie numbers.'
Other coincidences? Bird numbers decline as pesticides kill more insects and non-profit crops like wild-flowers. Shoot farmers?
I'm no fan of magpies but it's not my place to play god with a gun.
Re: What's the deal with Magpies?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2026 4:20 pm
by ZRX61
Count Steer wrote: Fri Jul 17, 2026 7:05 am
Shooting into other people's gardens (or at thing on their house roof) is an absolute no-no!
The neighbor was given the gun after my step dad died.. so technically... (yes, it's a stretch..)
No idea if this was the BSA he modified with valve springs from diesel engine that would put a hole through a beer bottle at damn near 200 yards.
Re: What's the deal with Magpies?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2026 4:22 pm
by Taipan
gremlin wrote: Fri Jul 17, 2026 6:47 am
They were better than Blue Peter back in the 70s.
Jenny Hanley was a lot better than Valerie Singleton!
Re: What's the deal with Magpies?
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2026 4:51 pm
by ZRX61
Many years ago step dad shot a pigeon early one morning trying to build a nest on the vent for the bathroom on the top floor. It was mortally wounded but managed to fly off, only to die in flight about 150ft away.
At this point a neighbor came out of his house in his jammies & dressing gown to pick up his newspaper or something from the doorstep, only to have the now dead pigeon land right in front of him.
For months after the guy would pause after opening his front door & scan the skies for falling pigeons before stepping outside.
