Magpies nest between August to December as a rule but may start or finish earlier or later depening on weather patterns.

Nests are made up of whatever they can find, sticks, ropes, wood. I have even seen a wire coat hanger used.

Females lay from 3 to 5 eggs. It takes about 20 days for eggs to hatch and they spend approximately 4 weeks in the nest.

The babies cannot fly at this stage. Parents take their young down to the ground and this is when they learn how to fly. This process usually takes about a week and baby magpies rely on the parent birds for protection and food.

If you need to rescue a magpie remember to put your safety first. Magpies do have sharp beaks and feet. To rescue a magpie place a towel over the bird and gently scoop it up and place it in a cardboard box in and keep it warm. Baby magpies especially need warmth. Then contact a wildlife carer for help.

As mentioned above if you see a baby magpie on the ground it may just be learning how to fly. If the parent birds are there and attending to it then leave it be to learn to fly. A baby magpie needs to be rescued if:
It is injured, droopy wing, broken leg, bleeding or should be flying but isn't.
If the magpie only has very short tail feathers then it may have been blown out of the nest. Once again if the parent birds are still there and feeding it you can place the baby back in the nest. If the nest is too high, damaged or you can't find it, try placing the baby magpie in a hanging basket lined with coconut fibre and placing back up in the nearest tree as high as you can get it up. You can also use a plastic container. Line it with some type of bedding. Ensure to pierce drainage holes in the bottom to ensure water drainage in case of rain. Place in a sheltered part of the tree. Keep watch for a while to ensure the parents are still tending to the baby once up in the tree.

The old wives tale that once a human has handled a baby bird the parents will reject it IS NOT TRUE. We have found that reuniting parent and baby birds is very succesful.

Spring and summer means Swooping Magpies!!!! This is a real problem but can be handled. Try to remember that the parents are only swooping you to protect their babies. You can train the magpies to learn that you are their friend and not going to harm their babies.

Try carrying an umbrella with you to ward them off. Wear a wide brimmed hat & sunglasses to protect your head & eyes from attack. These are cheap items to purchase in order to give yourself some protection.

Better still try to befriend the birds by feeding them occasionally. Please don't feed them all the time as they will become dependant on you. We see many problems caused by people feeding the wrong things to magpies and other species of wildlife.

Feeding magpies does not necessarily stop the birds from attacking, so take care at all times. There is some evidence to say that it does help but is not a sure thing to completely solve the problem of swooping/attacking magpies.

Offer a small amount of food only once or twice a day. Leave them hungry enough to still forage for their own food.

Foods that can be offered are Soaked Pedigree Puppy Biscuits. These are rice based but do contain vitamins and minerals.   Lean mince meat which is preservative free lacks calcium but is OK if given in small quantaties..  Small amounts of  scrambled egg, grated cheese (for calcium) along with minced chicken frames is also acceptable.

Any magpie in permanent care needs a more detailed diet refer to our magpie diet for long term care.

Never feed a baby bird milk or bread. No native animal/bird should ever be given cows milk.

When magpies are swooping in a public place maybe a request to  your local council asking them to rope off that area for a few weeks is possible. We get many calls from people wanting the birds taken away. This is impossible, as we cannot catch the adults that can fly,  it is also illegal to remove a healthy native animal from its area without a permit from National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Shooting magpies is a very cruel option. If the adult magpies are shot, the babies are then left to starve to death in the nest. This is a very cruel alternative. The only reason a magpie should be shot by the police is if it is a rogue magpie that attacks constantly for no reason. Try to remember that it is only a few weeks of inconvenience for you. Once the babies can fly the magpies will move off and stop swooping.

 Teach the magpies you are their friend not their enemy!!!

Magpies & other birds flying into windows is a common problem. This is because they can see their reflection in the window and think it is another bird.

 I have the perfect solution which works 100% for me. NEVER wash your windows!!!!! If they are dirty and have no shine the magpie will not see it's reflection.  I am happy for any excuse not to clean windows!!!

If you like clean windows and have a bird problem, try these ideas;