Interesting Magpies at Lameroo
Male Black-backed Magpie at Lameroo, South Australia
Sydney Trip Report June 2011
The various races of Australian Magpies make a fascinating – albeit confusing – study. Here in Murray Bridge, South Australia, the magpies are almost all of the White-backed variety. The further one drives east, the Black-backed magpies become the dominant race until over in Victoria and into NSW they are all Black-backed Magpies. Travelling north into Queensland or south into Victoria and the races (and amounts of black v. white change). Travel to Western Australia and the races change again. It can be quite confusing , especially when the races interbreed. Layer upon this the colour variations of juveniles and you have a recipe for a headache trying to identify which race you are seeing.
On our trip to Sydney earlier this year we stopped for morning tea at Lameroo in eastern South Australia. In the picnic grounds of Lake Roberts I took the photos on this post of a nicely coloured male Black-backed Magpie (see above and below). Interestingly, it was accompanying a White-backed female (see photo below). They were feeding together. I wish I was visiting Lameroo in the coming weeks to see if these two individuals breed together, or are just being sociable (as magpies are known to do).
Special offer: A few months ago I reviewed a wonderful book about Australian Magpies called The fearsome flute players. You can read the review and order the book by clicking here. There is a special offer when you mention you heard about the book on Trevor’s Birding.
Male Black-backed Magpie (left) with female White-backed Magpie (right)
Male Black-backed Magpie at Lameroo, South Australia
Male Black-backed Magpie at Lameroo, South Australia
Some birds can be destructive
Female Australian Magpie gathering nesting material from a mat
From a human point of view, some birds are destructive. Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are well known for taking to woodwork around houses in some parts of Australia. Many species enjoy eating fruit in orchards (like the Mallee Ringnecks that eat our lovely pears – before they are ripe). Galahs, Cockatoos and Corellas can destroy an almond crop and Ravens and Crows steal eggs from chook yards. Honeyeaters, Silvereyes and Lorikeets enjoy grapes and the list can go on.
My recent experience is amusing rather than annoying. Little Ravens and Australian Magpies have been ‘borrowing’ fibres from a mat on our back veranda (see photo above). This mat is for wiping our boots as we come in from the garden. As you can see in the photo, the mat has definitely seen better days and is near the end of its useful life. It’s therefore good to see that it is being reused as nesting material. We’re really into recycling and reusing in a big way so obviously the magpies have been learning from us.
Good birding.
By the way: if you’d like to learn more about Australian Magpies, I can recommend an excellent book called The fearsome flute players. It is both informative and entertaining; you’ll laugh out loud at some of the antics these lovely birds can get up to and are recorded in this book. To order click here – and there is a special deal for readers of Trevor’s Birding.
Magpies like flowers
Australian Magpie on our back veranda
We always enjoy having a family of Australian Magpies in our garden. They are friendly and never swoop or attack us, even at the height of the breeding season. They strut around the garden as if they own it – which I guess is how they view it. This is their territory; we are the aliens. When we dig up the garden they are there immediately to catch any worms or beetles that are unearthed. When I mow the grass they follow the mower for insects like grasshoppers.
They are also very sociable and will join us for morning tea or lunch on the back veranda. They casually walk around our chairs less than a metre away, quite unafraid of our presence. We think that’s wonderful. They also leave evidence that they visit our chairs and table when we are not there. Several days ago I was passing the glass sliding door leading out to the veranda and saw this magpie perched on one of our chairs.
Was it admiring the flowers in the pot on the table?
Not sure. Perhaps it was watching to see if any insects were buzzing around. Whatever the reason it made a great photo.
If you want to learn more about Australian Magpies, I can recommend a great little book about them. The fearsome flute players (click here) is an excellent read, and there is a special offer if you mention you read about it here on Trevor’s Birding.
Australian Magpie on our back veranda
Opportunistic Magpies
Australian Magpie gathering wool for nesting material
It never ceases to amaze me when I consider how enterprising and opportunistic birds can be, especially when it comes to nesting time. It’s that time again and our resident Australian Magpies having been busy fighting to establish their territories. Our 5 acre block on the edge of town is the intersection of three territories, so at this time of the year there are many disputes over boundaries.
One pair dominates the area around our house and sheds and they are the birds that come most frequently to our bird baths and close to the house. They will often come right up to the front or back doors and allow us to get quite close. They are also quite happy to search for food only a metre or two from where we might be working or sitting in the garden. This includes our back veranda area where we often cook a BBQ and eat a meal.This is despite never having fed them in any way.
A few days ago my wife had a fleece of coloured wool out in the sunshine to dry. She was preparing it for spinning but our resident female magpie found it. Soon she was taking big chunks to the nest tree. Incensed at this free-loading, my wife brought the fleece onto the veranda and draped it over the clothes horse. Undeterred, the magpie enterprisingly found it and continued her nest lining activities. The photographic proof is shown on this post.
For those interested in learning more about magpies go to this article: The fearsome flute players. There is a special offer for readers of Trevor’s Birding.
Australian Magpie gathering wool for nesting material
Australian Magpie gathering wool for nesting material
Don’t mess with this currawong
No Comments »19th June, 2011; Category: Bird Behaviour, Garden birds, Magpies and Currawongs, Murray Bridge
Grey Currawong in our garden
Five years ago we would occasionally hear Grey Currawongs in the distance. They rarely ventured down the hill and into our garden. Over the intervening period, however, their visits to our garden and mallee scrub have become more and more frequent to the point where we both see and hear them almost daily.
Along with this change has come a growing boldness. On several occasions they have visited the bird bath and have visited our back veranda. The bird featured in today’s photo had been wandering around on the veranda and flew off to a nearby fence when I came out to take a photo.
When I downloaded the photo I suddenly became aware of the evil looking yellow eye. Is it sending a message: “Don’t mess with me!”