Urgent warning to anyone with magpies in their garden in February
Urgent warning to anyone with magpies in their garden in February
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Known for their tricky intelligence, thieving, and their devouring of the eggs and young of innocent garden birds, magpies have earned themselves a chilling reputation across the UK. In more nightmarish scenarios, they are even known to swoop down on unsuspecting humans when threatened and peck their necks.
This has unsurprisingly led to many viewing them as invasive pests, and many lay out traps and even poison in the hopes of culling their numbers. But is their wicked reputation wholly deserved? Experts warn that, as we come into February, homeowners should hold back on purging magpies from their gardens. This is because their more aggressive behaviour also makes them incredible pest-killers.
With their sharp claws and lightning-fast dive bombing technique, they are adept at scouring disease-ridden rodents like rats and mice – which can otherwise cost upwards of £200 to exterminate. Particularly as we move into February and the temperature gradually becomes warmer, these dangerous pests breed with increased frequency. Bird food supplier GardenBird says: “As an omnivorous, voracious scavenger, the Magpie is firmly within the curious realm of what one could call the canon of contentious garden birds; a marmite, if you like, of love and hate, similar to the Jay, and anything but, for example, the gentle, loveable Long-tailed tit.
