Hi, a few relative strangers in Canberra have been supporting a magpie in the wild, for several years, as he suffered a leg injury that didnt properly heal. More recently, the other leg has deteriorated. The magpie can still fly and perch and is otherwise in good conditon (probably due to us supplementing its diet) but when being fed it is in a crouching position. It is thus vulnerable to attack by dogs, cats, foxes and other birds. A wildlife group advised that the bird probably has arthritis. Any ideas on how to help this bird to live as long as possible in the wild in its natural environment with its family. I'm trying to ensure it eats some insectivore. What else can we do?
Let nature take its course. Short of what your already doing, there would be little else. If it were captured and taken to a vet it will likely be euthanised, in order to prevent further suffering.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
I tend to agree with Dale.
On a broader scale why not protect & restore the Magpie's natural habitat so that it gives all Magpies & a host of other bird species a better chance of survival?
Yes, I'm inclined to agree with all the above. We will keep on trying to make its last months, weeks, days as enjoyable as possible as Magpies and other birds bring us all so much joy, even friendship.
Why do Magpies like foods like cheese so much if there is plentiful natural food around (which there may not always be due to drought and/or competition of course) if it is bad for them? If one was to care for an adult Magpie whilst rehabilitating it, what (including how much) would the optimal diet consist of?
Energy conservation is a principle of ecological systems so one reason might be that if cheese is readily available on a plate Magpies need expend a minimal amount of energy to get it. It beats stalking & listening for the movement of bugs in an open, grassy area then poking a hole in the ground to get the bug.
If you were to care for an ailing Magpie then you could do worse than try to replicate the Magpies behaviour in the open, grassy area to acquire bugs for the patient.
However, I would question why you would expend energy doing this when you could be using that energy to restore habitat for a variety of creatures, including Magpies?
However, I would question why you would expend energy doing this when you could be using that energy to restore habitat for a variety of creatures, including Magpies?
Answer: The magpie in question is NIMBY but lives on a reserve. I cant even legitimately feed it unless it comes outside the reserve, which it does when it sees me and/or my car. There is a group of volunteers who are regenerating the area as you suggest, but that is not going to be of help to this bird. Since I have been aware of his plight (4 and a half years) it has been unable to look after himself adequately, as due to his original injured leg that has never properly healed, he is unable to catch things such as mice, that would form part of his natural diet. However, by supplementing his diet he was able to help care for the chick he and his partner had in the nest and they all have survived our harsh winters/summers including two summers of drought.
Anyway, the bird is less and less able to hunt for its food, even insects now that its other leg has arthritis (which apparently happens sooner rather than later if a bird has to use one leg more than the other). This means that it is quite hungry and will eat the grubs and worms that I previously offered but which he wasnt interested in, until now. So, today it ate a bit of insectivore, 3 scarab grubs and three worms and NO CHEESE.
Local wildlife groups only take on wild animals that can be successfully rehabilitated. They have to be removed from their natural habitat whilst this is occurring. By looking after this bird in its natural habitat even though rehabilitation hasnt been achievable, the benefit to the bird's family has been of significant value, in my view. Thus I think that the key could be educating people to properly look after wild birds in their natural environment instead of a blanket approach of letting nature take its course. Half, if not most of the time birds and other animals are injured as a result of cars and other man made machinery etc, so we owe it to them to compensate for the damage we cause. What if, instead of Parks and Conservation saying -dont feed birds such as this one- they said this is how to do it, so that the bird survived as long as possible with as little suffering as possible and continued its role as provider to its chick as part of the bigger picture?
Specifically in relation to your query, there are others doing what you suggest, that is planting food sources for birds, including Magpies in the area. My concern and efforts are not solely for the injured bird but of his place in the ecosystem and the ongoing significance of his role as a provider/protector/supporter to the chick (now a young adult) and the bird's mate.
What a great response & what a great series of issues you've raised, whitewingedchough.
The debate about whether or not to artificially feed or supplement a bird's diet with natural food is now, depending on the species, tipping towards supplement feeding, I believe, for the precise reason you've described. The fact is that we humans have made an awful mess of natural habitats & if we're to preserve our native birds & other creatures we'll need to intervene (whether it's in the form of habitat restoration or supplementing their natural diet) to provide them with sufficient resources until, hopefully, habitats are restored to the point where we can withdraw our intervention.
It's rather ironic that in SA, at least, where enormous damage has been done to the natural environment, we seem to be intent on artificially compensating for the loss of wildlife by, for example
putting up coin-operated bird effigies in the Adelaide parklands to give people bird sound recordings
putting tin bird cutouts into a reservoir's surrounds for people to appreciate wildlife while they use the playground & barbecue areas which now occupy space which was once natural habitat
Sadly, this is the track we're heading down rather than doing what you're suggesting as compensation for birds injured by cars & other machinery. Your emphasis on preserving the role of artificially injured native birds is well grounded, I believe, & needs to be given careful consideration by conservation authorities.
Here's to a cheeseless future for our birds.