Nature Notes

by Brin Best

Wharfedale Naturalists' Society

wharfedale-nats-.org.uk

THIS week, for the first time in my life, I felt some sympathy for a magpie. I know that many readers will find this hard to believe, as this pied member of the crow family is often the villain of our gardens, but if you read on you too may see this much-maligned bird in a different light.

For the last few weeks I’ve been watching a pair of magpies slowly build their nest in the crown of large oak tree that is visible through our patio window. On my writing days sitting at the large table in our dining room - coincidentally also made of oak - I’ve often raised my binoculars to see one or other of the pair arrive at the nest with a large stick in its beak. The nest has grown large and eggs have been laid in the twiggy sculpture.

Then, all of a sudden on Sunday, there was a huge commotion in the tree, with the magpies repeatedly mobbing an unwelcome carrion crow. It had an egg shell in its beak and had clearly raided the magpies’ nest for a nutritious snack, or most likely, a series of snacks.

It’s easy to appreciate the beauty of the natural world, but words such as ‘raw’, ‘cruel’ and ‘unfair’ are at times equally applicable.

It is the eggs or young of our ‘favourite’ garden birds - such as blackbirds, robins and blue tits - that are frequently taken by marauding magpies, and this is one of the reasons that many people despise them.

Yet the circle of life is not as selective in its appreciation of one species over another, or indeed who is on the receiving end of acts we see as cruel or unwanted.

The carrion crow that raided the magpies’ nest on Sunday has its own young to feed, and these nestlings are in turn at risk from squirrels, buzzards and other larger predators. These larger predators must, of course, also be wary of creatures higher up the food chain.

Ecosystems can only function with these sorts of links in place, however unpalatable they may be to us, especially when they affect the smaller, prettier birds we love so much.

Nature is indeed cruel, and the magpies will have to start again with a new set of eggs. Is it wrong that I’m hoping to see at least one fledgling magpie in our garden this year?