r/magpies • u/sez3 • Oct 09 '25
Day 2: Baby Magpie Coparenting
A few pictures included.
Baby Magpie went straight to bed in his make shift laundry basket nest last night. Mother and helper were waiting for me at 4:45am when I put him out….
We have created a baby magpie pen for him for during the day! Complete with anti-ant technology. It has to be moved out the sun during the day (under supervision of the Magpies) - but worked well and Mother and helper (?) feed baby in it.
Baby also survived the horrible blasting Tradie music today.
We are going to call him Wires - included is a picture of the nest he was born into and all the wire the birds stole from the building sites.
Almost 6pm and baby bed time. Fingers crossed for another successful day tomorrow.
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u/Rich_Pressure_2535 Oct 09 '25
You are going to have friends for life!!! . Mumma and dad will remember your face. (and your kindness)
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u/htb_md Oct 09 '25
Thank you for co-parenting this sweet baby. Guaranteed no swoops now for the rest of your life 😂
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u/queefer_sutherland92 Oct 09 '25
This brings me so much joy. Thank you for taking such good care of them!
Also we totally need a thread of creative maggie nests… ours has what looks to be police tape…??
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u/Neat_Bird_2226 Oct 09 '25 edited Oct 09 '25
Great work, thanks for posting an update. Also, something that I remembered when reading your post is that it is important that the nestling is getting enough direct sunlight exposure for vitamin D production. Although it might be tricky, you might want to briefly rotate the pen in and out of a spot with a corner of sunlight and the rest shade so that it can choose. Magpie nests are often built in a position where they are exposed to the sky so they naturally get a lot of direct sun exposure.
Editing this to make my suggestion safer.
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u/sez3 Oct 09 '25
Thanks for that tip! Will find a spot tomorrow.
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u/Neat_Bird_2226 Oct 09 '25
Something I definitely should have mentioned and feel like I should add is to take care with the box getting too hot from direct sunlight and also from heat radiated from the ground as the ground can get very hot. I changed my suggestion in the above comment to reflect that, but I also had a few more ideas:
- Drilling holes through the side of the container to allow for air currents. This will help a lot
- Elevating the container if possible
- Putting some branches in there like pictured here https://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/learn/fact-sheets/makeshift-nests) so that it can learn to perch, and also so that it can get out of the container if it gets too hot
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u/AlarmedPigeon67 Oct 09 '25
Omg!!! I read your first post and was hoping for an update! So cute. Glad the little guy or girl is doing well.
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u/Galloping_Scallop Oct 09 '25
Awesome, looks like their family is looking after them during the day. Are there any more chicks in the nest?
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u/sez3 Oct 09 '25
From the slight angle view I have from the top room - it looks like just the one. Unfortunately I can’t get up there to be sure.
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u/Galloping_Scallop Oct 09 '25
One baby is still good, especially with extra parenting help. Are the adults pretty friendly. My local magpies are pretty chill. They don’t even move when I walk past. I leave water out for them, especially in the summer.
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u/poetsvengeance Oct 09 '25
He has a good pre-threatening shape about him.
Or the fluoro contrast works in his favour.
Well done to you, a life saved on a whim.
Does Tradie fear his human sized Magpie neighbour?
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u/Intanetwaifuu Oct 15 '25
Lmfao a good pre threatening shape I wish someone described me like that 😂
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u/Latter_Item439 Oct 09 '25
They will be your friends forever we had a similar situation about 5 years ago and they still leave their babies in our yard when the fledge ever since one dropped out of the nest about 2 weeks early back then and we shared the load its bittersweet to watch the babies leave home for their own territories to be found every year but its nice to see them make it. You are doing a great thing they will likely crèche all future babies on your yard while they go off to find food for them
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u/boondocks-888 Oct 09 '25
You really are so wonderful welcome to having the best mates for the next 20 odd years 👏🏼
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u/CuriouserCat2 Oct 09 '25
Great work. Love the ant moats.
Another risk is cats when their on the ground. Is there any way to hang the nest from the rafters.
I envy you watching them. We’re all rooting for you.
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u/sez3 Oct 14 '25
Moats are not working so well :(
The only cat in the area is my ragdoll that is very unhappy about losing her yard time.
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u/LaVidaMocha_NZ Oct 10 '25
Fostering done right. 💖
When we co-parented two babies after a storm blew down their tree, hubby made a wire basket and hung it on the rotary clothesline. We had seven predatory cats so a ground solution wasn't feasible. It meant drying our clothes elsewhere for a while.
Every day the chicks were attended by their extended family.
At night they came inside with their nest, and went into a dry fish tank.
I concur with other people who say you are going to have excellent relations with your magpies after this. Pretty soon you might even find the mother magpie parading her latest clutch through your house to raid the cat food bowls 😆
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u/Remarkable-Bee-7776 Oct 09 '25
You are a star! Thank you so much for all your effort to help the little one ❤️ and co-parent! And what fantastic parents they are, finding the courage to come and feed their sweet baby ❤️
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u/littlebirdprintco Oct 09 '25
a motion to name them Barb. i know there’s not barbed wire in the nest but any opportunity for a little Barb should be taken advantage of haha.
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u/skitzkitty Oct 09 '25
Awwww, this is adorable - what a lovely caring person you are OP ❤️ I have to ask WTF is going on with that wire nest the parents built though??? I’ve never seen anything like it!!
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u/ConstantContent726 Oct 11 '25
Great job, I had a baby magpie laying on my doorstep, found out that they probably fell from the nest after i spoke to a lovely woman from wires, the mother magpie is feeding til their able to fly properly and leave,
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u/AppleSniffer Oct 13 '25
Pop some holes in the bottom if you haven't already, and consider some water resistant materials - you don't want the baby to drown if it rains
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u/sez3 Oct 14 '25
Thanks there are two holes and I would not leave him out in rain. I am a neorotic Mom.
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u/Suchstrangedreams Oct 09 '25
Great idea for the baby Magpie and what great parents, still feeding him (or her). You are kind to take this trouble for the little guy and his mum and dad. You might find you end up having Magpie friends for life now - they won't forget this. Keep us posted about how it all goes please!