At 21.57 2000-10-25 +1000, you wrote:
>After the reports of a strange bird at a power station (Liddell power
station, >I believe it was) in the upper Hunter, Phil Hansboro and Dion
Hobcroft went >there to look for it. The bird was not found, but they were
shown photographs >of a definite European Magpie taken at a bird feeder at
the power station. The >bird was reported to have been there since about
the beginning of this year, >but it had disappeared from a week or two
before their visit. This coincided >with the gentleman who maintained the
food supply in the feeder going on leave. > He's since back, and putting out
birdseed, but the European Magpie has not >come back to the feeder.
Just a few comments on the European Magpie feeding habits. The gentleman
feeding the bird must have put out something more than just birdseed.
Magpies must be VERY desperate to eat seeds(sunflower, hemp, oats, barley
and wheat), in fact I don´t think I have ever seen that happen. Occationaly
they discover the odd peanut that is blended into our commercial birdseed
mixtures and show some interest. Usually they go for insects, food scraps,
dog food or anything that is edible(including road killed magpies!). Don´t
think the poor bird starved to death.
Katarina Stenman
Umeå, North Sweden
523x in Oz
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