Mighty magpie duets
By Darrell Dawson, visionary founder, EcoNetwork Port Stephens
Being “off with the birds” can be a dining experience including a sign-a-long at an “avian opera duet” with the mighty magpies. I dedicate this piece in honour of the Raymond Terrace NRL magpies.
Living in the countryside for my first 15 years, I was bound to develop an attraction to our amazing Australian bird life which is second in the world only to the bird life of South America in terms of varieties and numbers.
After voluntary activity for much of my life, I observed that animal and avian rights had to have a legitimate place in environmental considerations.
Later in life I lived at Nelson Bay, where surrounded by trees and lawns, a group of suburban magpies occupied the area.
At Shoal Bay, I had similar experiences with willy wagtails when provision of a bird bath led to communication by repeating their calls.
Much the same occurred with juvenile seagulls as I was relaxing at a nearby beach. I used a mild whistling call which they (perhaps 15 of them) may have regarded as a distress call. Who knows? This call may have been inaudible to humans against the usual background noise and questioning glares of other beach goers.
My experiences with two magpies turned out to be exceptional after the appearance at my door of a male and female, covered in dirt and obviously distressed. Had they had an encounter with the much larger channel-billed cuckoo which migrates from New Guinea and Indonesia between August and October annually? They return north between February and March after raiding the nests of our magpies, currawongs and crows and leaving their own eggs for the local birds to hatch and chicks to raise.
I hadn’t sighted these two magpies previously. Their pleading eyes indicated they were hungry, and I promptly supplied them with food.
The following events I experienced with these two birds are hereby recorded for public interest and a record of human- to-magpie communication, which was simply to follow their calls and warbling as best I could. It produced I believe, some remarkable outcomes.
When I first tested my communication skills, I was in the midst of a group of juveniles who responded by collecting around my feet, looking up at me and searching for the source. The parent birds kept their distance whenever I was involved with their young.
On one significant occasion I had set up a feeding table for the adult birds at which they enthusiastically participated. The female had beaten her partner to a morsel, to which he responded by pecking at her beak. The surprised female immediately ceased feeding, drew herself up to her full height and began to tell him what seemed to me to be the groups ‘Code of Conduct’ relating to male to female behaviour, to which he seemed somewhat disinterested. But at least he ceased eating.
As in other species, males feign disinterest while being disciplined. However, this indicated to me that following another feeding event, the female, some inches from my feet, pulled herself to full height, began warbling and was immediately joined in warbling by her partner while with their heads erect, were staring up at me. I interpreted that to be a song of gratitude. What else might it have been?
These being impromptu performances, I regret I was neglectful for not having my camera available.
Wherever magpies gather the female can be seen, somewhat obscured in a nearby leafy tree or bush, performing (for her own delight?) a muffled warbling experience in solitude, some distance from the group, but certainly of some significance to her.
Of what significance it was, we can only wonder. Such is the appeal of this majestic species of bird life.
Read more about Darrell Dawson
- Read about Darrell Dawson’s early life and why he founded EcoNetwork Port Stephens – January 2023 edition of EcoUpdate
- Celebrating 30 years of advocacy, action and education thanks to Darrell Dawson
Useful Links
- Read more about magpies in Close encounters of the bird kind – Magpie alert