Magpies and predation

[chris pp]

Magpies and predation in reply to Alcazar on Eagle Owls thread.

I understand that many people have an emotional difficulty with certain species in the natural world - it just doesn't happen to be my approach. I used Sparrow hawks as an easy example, but the worlds generally made that way and it would be fair to say that the blackbird population doesn't seemed to have suffered. Everything needs to eat and the way that some species go about it may not appeal to our sensitivities, but the morality, if that is what it is, of the creation doesn't seem to be mine to judge.

The largest problems by far for most species are caused by Human activities in their many shapes and forms. How many blackbirds are killed by vehicles? How many blackbirds loose a mate from the same cause during nesting?  Somehow I think we (humans) have got in a bit of a muddle with our understanding of the natural world and apply to many of our human attributes to that which is not human.

 

You are of course entitled to shoot or trap magpies either in the UK or in France as both countries have chosen to derogate from the EU birds directive.

 

I am sorry that Alcazar feels the way they do and I apologise in advance for this diatribe but I thought a reply was in order.

 

 

Best wishes, Chris

[Alcazar]

I can't really argue with your post, as you are talking sense.

Unfortunately, especially when the nest is in my garden, and I've watched it being built and the resultant egg-laying, egg-sitting, feeding etc, my heart rules my head when I see a Magpie attack.

And another thing..........WHY do they always make that rattly loud cry at 6am when I'm camping in the summer ?

Alcazar

[chris pp]

Alcazar - Thanks for that, believe me I understand how you feel.  All I can say is that nature and the natural world is about the most important thing in my life, it's what I spend most of spare time with. In the course of my activities I am constantly confronted with "the pain & the suffering" as species do what they have to do to maintain themselves and I observe with compassion. All I know is that behind all this there is a beautiful numbers game whereby life is maintained and hopefully it will remain that way for my grandchildren and generations to follow.

"And another thing..........WHY do they always make that rattly loud cry at 6am when I'm camping in the summer ?"       

Perhaps they think you would appreciate a nice early start to the day?   Well, maybe that's stretching it a bit!

Best, Chris.

[Alcazar]

Chris: there's early starts.......and there's lie-ins after a bottle of red. Unfortunately, magpies don't seem to realise this important distinction

BTW: is that some sort of snake, (grass snake?), on your avatar?

Snakes: the only creatures on God's earth of which I am truly afraid......(as against respecting, keeping clear of etc etc )

Alcazar

[Dick Smith]

At school we have (lots of) starlings, magpies, crows and when weather is bad, seagulls. On playground duty it is fascinating to watch the pecking order - the magpies chase away the starlings, but are then displaced by the rooks who are then seen off by the seagulls. All for a crisp. Last week I watched a crow with a crisp in its beak harassed by two seagulls until it (just) escaped, but they were quite prepared to dive bomb it into the ground.

And the kids are completely oblivious...

[Miki]

[quote]At school we have (lots of) starlings, magpies, crows and when weather is bad, seagulls. On playground duty it is fascinating to watch the pecking order - the magpies chase away the starlings, but are...[/quote]

Well the kids have got bags full of 'em Dick, so no point in them diving down from a great height for just one crisp

[chris pp]

MY PICCI. The snake is a Montpellier Snake, not venomous, found in the south of France - in its mouth is a Lézard Ocellé which can grow to 60cm, a truly beautiful lizard - stunning colours and a lizard that can give a painful bite when handled, but not dangerous to humans. Fear of snakes seems to be very common, largely I think it's because relatively few people have sufficient knowledge or contact with them - or is it something deeper in our collective psyche?

Dick - I suspect that your "kids" are not the only ones that fail to register the pecking order between different birds, although I should think that many have observed it on their bird table. On Monday at a friends house ( fortnightly Brits bird club ) a Hawfinch stood in the middle of the bird table feeding, every other bird kept away, including the hoards of Tits, until it departed. Funny thing about pecking order for food is that creatures rarely damage each other - not like when sex is involved - that's another matter altogether.

Fact sheets on all the snakes of France can be found on our web site.

Best, Chris

 

[Alcazar]

Chris: some years ago now, I was paddling in the Tarn upstream of Millau, with my youngest son, then around 6 years old. He asked permission to climb the bank, and I waded to the side with him, but as he was about to put his hand on the bank to climb up, I noticed a largish snake lying there. It was around 1.2 metres long, and quite thick, with black, yellow and red alternating bands. I pulled my son back and lobbed a stone, not at it, but to startle it, and it raised it's head, looked at us, then departed swiftly. Phew!

HOWEVER: the campsite owner reacted with disbelief when questioned as to whether said serpent could have been venomous, and even questioned whether or not I saw a serpent or a length of "tuyau"

About 4 days later I came across 3 French boys around 14, trying in vain to catch a smaller version of the snake actually swimming in the Tarn. I asked them what it was, but their only answer was "la rouge".

Any comments or ideas?

Alcazar

[chris pp]

I would guess it was a Couleuvre vipérine, a snake which has an incredible variation in colours according to the habitat / region that it occupies. The size that you quoted is the only thing I would question as 1 metre is about the maximum ( size can often be deceptive, snakes for some reason often appear longer than they are ). It is fairly prolific in the Tarn and other than swimming and eating it likes to spend its time by the riverside. It is not venomous but gets its name from its similarity in looks and behaviour to the Asp Viper. I can't really see that it could be anything else.

Next time take your camera!

Hope this helps, Chris