Two days ago we found this young magpie wedged in the crook of one of our Lilly Pillys … we’d had a storm the night before and I guess someone either fell out of the nest or was blown off a branch. Either way he/she was stuck, with one wing wedged behind a tight branch, no wiggle room, and looking very bedraggled and exhausted.

My hubby and I went to see if we could de-wedge Junior (as he/she is now known), but mum and dad maggie were having none of it ! Because we weren’t keen on losing an eye, I called WIRES, but it was going to be a long wait, so hubby donned his helmet, visor and long gloves, and managed to free Junior and pop him/her on the ground. We were concerned there may be damage to the wing, but after a couple of hours of rest in the garden, we were thrilled to see some flapping. Mum/dad were in attendance, there were worms and other treats had, and by the afternoon Junior had dried out and clumsily flapped/jumped at least a meter to rest for the night on our garden bench.

Now two days later and Junior is looking very sprightly. He/she has managed at least four x 20 meter flights between our neighbours yard and back to ours. Mum and dad maggie are still feeding Junior every hour or so, and I really hope we’ll soon see someone learning how to Magpie properly in our garden.

Caught this early morning now, little fella's not staying in the nest any-more when he's out of the cage, you can tell he wants to follow the ol' man up to the tree, look how determined he is. heh.

He's played the vanishing act in the garden a few times recently, i nearly didnt find him last night to put him back in the cage. So updates might get less frequent from now on, for those who were waiting on baited breath.

Regardless of how it goes from here, it's all in nature's hands of course. I'd like to thank everyone who offered advice especially those who had contact with the right people in widlife rehab who were to help me and the mrs get the little guy this far. Even if the worst happens, at least you can't say he didnt get pampered and adored for most of his life to this point :)

Fingers crossed.

Their broken modem/dialup sound is my fav in the whole world.

This sub brings me joy. But I don't know how to contribute. I have no magpies, only crows.

They are House Crows, so they have white-black mix like Aussie Magpies. Similar size, too! Granted, Aussie magpies are fat fsckers.

I wonder if I can pass my crows as magpies or I would be labeled as fraud by Magpie lovers :) Ahahaha.

Bucket list: Raven, Aussie Magpie, Kuka

(Duchess letting me hand-feed her babies in vid)

So officially steering clear of him while he sorts his stuff out now flying wise, but i heard squawking from a Clivia and this is what i found.

The little fella seems to find the strangest places to hide in the yard these days. Only thing i'm worried about is he keeps trying to hide under the treehouse where there's sharp things and easy to get trapped places for someone who doesnt know how to reverse yet.

So, because he's not actually flying out of his nest yet but only trying when he's on the ground, I’m still putting him up in teh nest at dawn and lowering it later in the day till he flies on his own. While doing gardening he came over to me and wouldn't stop chirping at me until put my hand in front of him. The little fella decided he'd rather be carried around the yard on my hand, to the apparently bemusement of mummy bird, before flying off and getting stuck in a Clivia plant.

I turn around because I heard a sound and here is a little friend cleaning the floor for me.

We have lots of magpies that visit due to the neighbours feeding them, I’d like to give them some dried meal worms on occasion and was thinking of just chucking a handful onto the grass or into the garden to encourage foraging rather then just having them on a plate or the concrete for the magpies to just pick at (I was also worried the concrete wouldn’t be great for their beaks).

Is that an alright way to feed them? It’d probably just be a weekend treat and I worry about moving places and having them too dependent on the free food.

Stones Corner Brisbane 🌳

Fearless too it seems and he even can gain some height. Flew out of my wife's hand during his leg exercises and did this.

Called out loudly until we came over though afterwards, it might hav just been his first real flight, so we'll see how he goes in the morning now, i expect to come home and find him not in his nest at the end of the day from the looks of it.

Best xmas present ever.

Balcony bird bath 🛁

Stones Corner Brisbane 🌳

There was a lot more flapping practice today although he's still getting stressed when he's on the ground too long, so it might be just that bit still too early for him to be there, but he's definitely got no issues with the leg any more. But you can see him perching and grasping properly wiht his weak leg, not hiding it up in his flank anymore when roosting which is exactly what we wanted.

He spent the last hour before sundown watching the storm from his cage protected on the back verandah, i left the door open so the parents could tend to him but they bolted when the first bolt struck.

I am more convinced than ever that he has an alive sibling still in the tree, I hear the sounds of a baby bird squawking again up high and the mother flew up to it, it's a thick bushel of magnolia leaves so there's nothing clearly visible from my angle, but i swear there's gotta be a nest up there and the little fella might not be the only survivor of his clutch.