Magpies attack young blackbird

I was sitting waiting for my tea to arrive (not my turn this evening), when there was a furore out the back. Two adult magpies were ferociously pecking a young blackbird on the lawn.

I was able to drive the magpies away, and the blackbird sat there, somewhat dazed. Eventually, it hopped and flew off.

I'm shocked at this seemingly unprovoked attack. Is this normal? Two big bullies against a smaller, younger bird.

 

Magpies often raid nests, I know the blackbirds around here get edgy when magpies are around.
I saw a dove trying to fight off a magpie the other day, the dove had nested in the top of my biggest trachy and the magpie easily spotted the nest.
The dove eventually just sat on a pole some distance away watching.

 

Magpies are evil.

At a previous house we had wrens nesting in our outhouse. There was shared access between us and the neighbour so he had easy access to our garden. That meant that between him and us we were able to maintain a vigil between us for most of the time. Most of, not all of. And magpies are actually quite intelligent. At first they would try to raid the wren's nest at any time, but they soon learned that if we spotted them we'd come out and chase them. Between us and the neighbour we managed to protect the nest for a couple of weeks or more. It was on the neighbour's watch when they got through. He told us he spotted the magpies stealthily taking a different approach. He bolted for his back door to come out and chase them but in the time it took him to get from kitchen window to door they magpies were already in, and had ransacked the wren's nest, killing the baby birds in it.

 

It’s a bit strong to call them evil, they are simply sourcing food for themselves and possibly their own chicks. All part of nature.

 

Well, after killing the chicks, they left their dead bodies on the floor.

 

The magpies have been raiding the nest of the wood pigeons this evening. I hope the robins are safe!!

 

Jays and woodpeckers do the same.... But by far grey squirrels are the worst!

 

I often think think how we look at things with double standards, lots of people dont like magpies or crows, but marvel at a bird of prey ripping some tiny animal apart.

Its all about survival and nature is not often kind.

 

I'm rather fond of all the corvids, last year a young crow broke it's neck flying into a window and before it had stopped twitching two seagulls were pecking at it.

 

A couple of magpies have been visiting our garden regularly since we put a fat ball feeder up last year.
I also put a nesting box on the fence last autumn and blue tits have nested in it.The eggs hatched yesterday and today I spotted one of the magpies hop down off the fence onto the roof of the box so they know the chick's are there already.
I chased it off but I think it will be back although he probably won't be able to get at the chics.
What I find depressing is that in a few weeks time when the chics fledge the magpies are probably going to pick them off one by one.

I know this is the way of things and you can't blame the magpies but at the same time I've already altered the natural way of things by encouraging the magpies into my garden and then settling up the blue tits.

So I feel I have a responsibility to try and help the blue tits.

 

Sounds cruel, but predators (or opportunists like magpies) rarely eat their prey instantly, if they only hunted when they were hungry, they'd soon starve.

 

All you can do @Dropmore is feed them and enjoy watching then do so. I have robins, blue tits and great tits feeding chicks. Not seen any evidence other than the fact they are coming back and forwards frantically to get multiple mealworms and seem to care little about their safety. Perhaps the latter is also their downfall as I can see exactly where they fly back to, so I'm sure the Jays and Magpies we also have can see them too....

 

I guess all birds kill something or other to feed their chicks, but we don't mind so much if it's greenfly or caterpillars... admittedly, I dislike seeing magpies picking off goldfinches from the seed feeder, but since I eat meat, I don't think I have a right to complain. (It's almost always goldfinches. I think they're either particularly tasty, or else particularly dim and slow...)

 

I know Diggers I absolutely love watching the birds in the garden just think I've set the tits up for failure so if the magpies pick the lot off I think I'll take the box down this autumn.

 

In German, if a woman has a tendency to steal other people's belongings in particular gold shiny objects, she is called "thieving magpie" (diebische Elster).
What the birds concern, I think everyone has its place in nature otherwise they wouldn't survive.