Pie maddened Magpies

Pie maddened Magpies

Recently cos I've had to visit a sick relative at the San hospital I've been at Turramurra Railway Station a lot. Early thhis afternoon I got back to the station from the hospital and found I had time to buy a meat pie.

So I'm standing on the platform nibbling at the hot pie and suddenly an entire clan of magpies descends from the trees.

Clearly they are also fans of meat pies and VERY hungry!

It's the whole family staring at me mom dad last years gray almost black younglings and one grey speckled fledgling all studying me and my pie.

Now its school holidays and a long weekend so its understandable that there's no or less humans around willing to feed scraps and tidbits to magpies.

Magpies however seem to feel they have a right to be fed.

That we're paying them their rightful tribute for sharing their territory.

After all they were here even before the aborigines.

But hey guys flying up and trying to snatch my pie when I was willing to "drop" a few bits anyway is just too stroppy and cheeky.

And the whole time one of the adults was trying this on the rest of the family are carolling at each other probably making rude observations about humans.

How to deal with stroppy magpies?

Stare back at them Remind them who's bigger.

Talk at them. They will listen.

Sometimes they will understand words like

"If you lot don't stop fighting with the pigeons / swooping at me there'll be NO scraps at all"

This should be accompanied with appropriate foot hand gestures.

Everyone loves the pies at Turramurra including the Magpies!

However they really need to learn some grace and style!

The meat pie by the way was an excellent steak tomato and onion !

Be careful if you're at Turramurra and the magpeis are hungry but do try the pies!