I thought the following would show up on birding-aus but, as I haven't
seen it on this forum, I thought others might be interested.
----- Forwarded by David Geering/WESTERN/NPWS on 06/02/2002 08:02 -----
05/02/2002 07:50
To: @ INTERNET
cc:
Subject: request for magpie info
Are magpies getting a bad wrap?
Magpies are believed to have seriously negative impacts on other birds as
they have been observed harassing, killing, and even eating other bird
species. Much of this incriminating evidence, however, is anecdotal and
it
is uncertain if magpies are directly responsible for changes in the
abundance or distribution of other bird species- in New Zealand anyway.
Conservation groups in New Zealand, such as Forest and Bird, have called
for
the magpie to be classed as a pest species by the Department of
Conservation
so that a management strategy can be established. Perhaps because of the
lack of strong scientific evidence implicating the magpie as a threat to
other birds, the Department of Conservation has been reluctant to do this.
Five Regional Councils in NZ are controlling magpie numbers in blocks of
land and measuring the response of other birds to this treatment. Although
still in the early stages of the trial, the results look promising and
increases in native species, such as keruru, and introduced species like
thrushes, blackbirds and skylarks have been reported. At the University
of
Waikato we are conducting research to establish how and why magpies
interact
with other birds, to provide possible explanations for what is being
observed from the Regional Council magpie control trial.
As a prelude to the research that will be done at the University, we are
hoping to tap into the huge amount of information from the public by
collating any observations of magpies attacking other birds throughout
Australia and New Zealand. If you have seen a magpie interacting with
other
birds (or know others who have), even if it happened years ago, then we
would be most grateful if you could let us know about it. Please include
as
much information as possible, such as, where and when it occurred (year,
month or season, time of day), which species were involved, and what
happened (e.g., chasing, driving away, killing, eating chicks or eggs,
stealing eggs). All accounts will be entered into a database that will
eventually will us to determine if certain types of birds are targeted by
magpies and when most interactions occur. Please send information to: Dai
Morgan, C/- Department of Biological
Sciences, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton. Or phone
(07)
8562 889 extn 8123, fax (07) 8384 324, email Many
Thanks,
Dai Morgan
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