r/magpies

I recently moved into a new place and on day one I was greeted by a welcoming committee of magpies.

These two are definitely the friendliest and seemed pleased with my offering.

so so grateful, i love my magpie friends so much

We have an adult magpie who’s been in our garden for over 24 hours now, and something seems off with him.

I first noticed him yesterday while picking up fallen apricots. He was sitting on the ground about a foot away from me, and I didn’t even see him until I reached for an apricot right near him. A healthy magpie would normally have flown off long before I got that close. He did eventually fly up to a grapevine, but only once I got even closer.

**•**	He can fly, but only short distances, and it’s not graceful. It’s more labored than a healthy magpie.  
**•**	He can walk/hop, but again, not smooth or effortless. One wing sometimes comes out like he’s using it for balance.  
**•**	He’s missing some feathers around one eye and generally looks a bit rough/disheveled.  
**•**	He’s spent a lot of time just resting (on the ground in the mint, tucked into a narrow gap between a wall and a planter, sitting still on a log pile) rather than moving around the way our other resident magpies do.  
**•**	At times he’s looked a bit puffed up.  
**•**	He can still fully extend both wings, so nothing looks obviously broken.

We do have other magpies that regularly visit and eat the apricots, cherries, etc. in our garden, so I’m confident there’s no shortage of food for him if he’s able to eat normally. I’m mainly wondering:

**•**	Should I be doing anything differently in the meantime (shelter, water, etc.)?  
**•**	Is there anything in his behavior that points to a specific issue (something people have seen before)?  
**•**	Any tips for keeping him safe from cats/other predators while we wait to hear back from wildlife rescue?

The camera was sadly tilted down a bit, but I am still more than happy with the end result

I took my brother somewhere the other day to help him out, and this little guy landed on my car, presumably to see if I had any snacks for him.

I have been feeding what I thought to be a single magpie through spring with soaked meal worms. He has been appearing with a mate the last couple of weeks and I’ve noticed them feeding a fledgling on the chimney on the house behind. He is very loud!
Some days I forget to put the food out and when I sit in the garden to smoke I get bits of moss landing on and around me. I know that magpies pick moss off the roof for food, but it’s literally only in the area where I sit. It’s quite funny really and a rather clever reminder!

Just spotted out my front window, noticed because my dog was growling, presumably because she was thinking wtf is that bird doing with a clothes hanger.

Long time lurker first time posting

For context we have a family group of magpies here at my worksite, and the little guy keeps running up to me and my coworkers doin the squark thing yount magpies do, and walking up to us then flinching away when we move slightly, not sure if the little guy is curious or may have already befriended one of my coworkers