Urban Magpies

[bat119]

I have Magpie nest in the top of a pine tree in my back yard (30 ft up) I would have no problem cleaning it out with my 12 ga. However I live in a city. These birds have been terrorizing my yard for a few years and I am looking for a live trap or something. Back on the farm we used to put a spring type gopher trap with a piece of gopher in it on top of a fence post but with my luck I’d get the neighbors cat. I would like to catch them and take them for a ride to the country.

Anybody have any idea’s ?

[CaberTosser]

If you're in Calgary come borrow mine. It's a wire mesh rig I fabbed up using some input from TreeGuy and some government (Ag Canada or something) plans that were linked on a previous AO magpie thread. The cage is a bit like a lobster trap, there's a funnel to get them in and then they can't visually figure out how to get out. I set out the trap for a few days so they become accustomed to its presence, then start baiting around its entrance. After a day of that the bait trail goes right into the trap where a larger bait pile lies. I spread out some fast food wrappers as they seem accustomed to associating that with food. I've had as many as 7 in mine all at once. The first time I set it out I wound up with a squirrel in it though, I just tipped it on its side to release the tree rat, the thing was frantic and had been running the perimeter of the mesh like a hamster in a wheel that had been turned horizontal (the trap is circular).

[Tundra Monkey]

You're getting soft Caber.....that squirrel is gonna move into your attic :sHa_sarcasticlol:

[CaberTosser]

The poor bugger was frantic & wheezing like Animal from the Muppets after a few hours of extended drum solo, I kind of felt for it; besides, those critters don't make all kinds of disruptive noise or otherwise bother us.

[Tundra Monkey]

We've got magpies up here now.....dang they are smart. I got one with a pellet rifle and a nest including ma and pa with a 410 in the last three years.

With no exagerating I'm in excess of 200 squirrels over the same time :angry3:

Just ordered a Weihrauch 97 tho....hoping to pick up my magpie numbers :)

[Dacotensis]

I don't mind magpies at all.
They clean up the dead birds and mice.
I once saw one clean out a mouse and eat it's intestines in about 20 seconds.

I caught a baby bird one time.
The others would not leave the box I had it in for the entire night.

I really wanted to train it, but had a trip planned so I let it go.

They are a smart bird for sure.

[Tundra Monkey]

I prefer all the lil' song birds that hang around the house. The magpies take them out so they gotta go :character0110:

I give a pass to a couple of whiskey jacks that we have cuz the kids like feeding them :)

Too many of them around and they get the same treatment as magpies and the tree rats tho!!

[Red Bullets]

Sounds like you are not adverse to killing a few magpies. You can hang your gopher traps by the chain and still have the gopher or bait chunk wired to the pan. Let the trap free hang/dangle, vertically from 6 to 12 inches down off of the chain. Hang the trap chain from a high branch. I used to catch magpies like this when I was a kid and there was a 5 cent bounty. Sounds odd, without being to graphic, but every magpie was caught by the head in my Number 0 and 1 victor gopher traps. Because the traps were hanging/dangling I never caught any ground animals and no other birds or creatures. I know I caught quite a few this way 50+ years ago. Should still work.

Just put such sets where others most likely won't see any hanging magpies.

[Big Red 250]

I prefer all the lil' song birds that hang around the house. The magpies take them out so they gotta go :character0110:

I give a pass to a couple of whiskey jacks that we have cuz the kids like feeding them :)

Too many of them around and they get the same treatment as magpies and the tree rats tho!!

They for sure do like eating baby song birds. I would think if you were to put up a single post with a gopher trap on it, the cat's would leave it alone. Especially if it's high enough so the can't jump up there. I used to catch magpies without even using bait. They'll land on the trap being curious.

[Tundra Monkey]

Thanx for the tips Big Red and Red Bullets....I should try trapping the buggers as they're pretty wise to my range with the pellet rifle. That's why I upgraded :sHa_shakeshout:

The kidz thought they were "pretty" until they saw one take out a chickadee nest. After that it was game on!!

Thankfully we don't have too many up here yet but they are moving in :2mo5pow:

[Red Bullets]

We've got magpies up here now.....dang they are smart. I got one with a pellet rifle and a nest including ma and pa with a 410 in the last three years.

With no exagerating I'm in excess of 200 squirrels over the same time :angry3:

Just ordered a Weihrauch 97 tho....hoping to pick up my magpie numbers :)

I see you are further north but this might work up there too.

Get yourself a crow call and go sit in the bush and get ready. I have used a crow call in the bush west of Edmonton and it almost spooked me. Within 3 minutes of blowing the call there were 20 magpies around. Then a coyote and a couple crows appeared a few minutes later. It made me think that if I had been in big predator country they wold have showed up too. This was during fall before the crows flew south.

[Red Bullets]

Thanx for the tips Big Red and Red Bullets....I should try trapping the buggers as they're pretty wise to my range with the pellet rifle. That's why I upgraded :sHa_shakeshout:

The kidz thought they were "pretty" until they saw one take out a chickadee nest. After that it was game on!!

Thankfully we don't have too many up here yet but they are moving in :2mo5pow:


Another thing that works with smart birds like magpies and crows, (they even remember faces of bad people and avoid them or scold them),
If you shoot or catch one magpie or crow and put it on display spread winged in a very visual place, the other magpies and crows will not come back. Especially if they see you are the one hanging it up.

Or ...:)... if you take a young magpie from the nest and humanize it you can teach it to talk. Then teach him to translate to the other magpies to get lost!

[Tundra Monkey]

Or ...:)... if you take a young magpie from the nest and humanize it you can teach it to talk. Then teach him to translate to the other magpies to get lost!

:lol:

Lovin' the tips boyz :happy0034:

Another couple weeks and we'll be moving back into the house so the season will begin. I'm sure with the year away it'll be a target rich environment!!!

[Coiloil37]

If you don't have pets, a bowl with a bit of dog food and some rat poison will clean them out in a day. Buy the block of rat poison they sell at crappy tire, cut into squares about the size of dogfood, put it out one day and your problem will sort itself out.

[CaberTosser]

If you don't have pets, a bowl with a bit of dog food and some rat poison will clean them out in a day. Buy the block of rat poison they sell at crappy tire, cut into squares about the size of dogfood, put it out one day and your problem will sort itself out.


But then there's a neighborhood full of dead magpies, FWIW I think its better to clean up the remains of ones handiwork personally.

[greylynx]

There is this guy on the forum who builds the Banff Springs Hotel of magpie traps.

He has referred to me as a bad kitty on numerous occasions.

He might be back at work.

I think he has pictures if they were not deleted on the forum.

No magpie gets killed.

[Dacotensis]

Another thing that works with smart birds like magpies and crows, (they even remember faces of bad people and avoid them or scold them),
If you shoot or catch one magpie or crow and put it on display spread winged in a very visual place, the other magpies and crows will not come back. Especially if they see you are the one hanging it up.

Or ...:)... if you take a young magpie from the nest and humanize it you can teach it to talk. Then teach him to translate to the other magpies to get lost!


Do you know Zip in Sylvan Lake?
He's been trapping Feral Cats.
Something tells me you both are retired:)

True, I like the song birds as well.
I've noticed a lot less robins in the past couple of years.
I blame it on the little sparrow hawks.
Those things are ruthless.

When the cedar waxwings swoop in here with their massive flocks, they get stoned off the mountain ash berries and apples left on the trees.
They smack into the windows around here and are either dead or stunned.
The magpies take about 1 minute to get their beaks bloodied.
Its really amazing to watch them at work.

I must add teaching a magpie to talk, to my bucket list.

[bat119]

Thanks for all the tips

The cedar wax wings stopped coming to my mountain ash because of the magpies

I found the plans for a magpie trap (thanks Caber)

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3496

These guys s**t on my truck for the last time !

[bison]

leave a good dose of exlax for him ;)

[Fisherpeak]

The poor bugger was frantic & wheezing like Animal from the Muppets after a few hours of extended drum solo, I kind of felt for it; besides, those critters don't make all kinds of disruptive noise or otherwise bother us.

Squirrels I had (past tence)wiped out all the song bird nesting boxes I had.Ruthless little basterds.And they took over the feeders in winter,moved into my storage shed and made nests in a friends furniture I was holding for him.
A little Crossman action took care of them.

[CaberTosser]

Well then they'd have it coming if they did that at my place too. I'll only pursue problem critters, no need to go after the ones minding their own business.

[Red Bullets]

Do you know Zip in Sylvan Lake?
He's been trapping Feral Cats.
Something tells me you both are retired:)

True, I like the song birds as well.
I've noticed a lot less robins in the past couple of years.
I blame it on the little sparrow hawks.
Those things are ruthless.

When the cedar waxwings swoop in here with their massive flocks, they get stoned off the mountain ash berries and apples left on the trees.
They smack into the windows around here and are either dead or stunned.
The magpies take about 1 minute to get their beaks bloodied.
Its really amazing to watch them at work.

I must add teaching a magpie to talk, to my bucket list.

Too funny. I don't know Zip. (sounds like you set me up for a joke:sHa_sarcasticlol:) Just because I don't know zip doesn't mean I don't know zip. I might be considered retired but I still work at spending money just like eveybody else.

Talking magpies ...it can be done with hand reared birds. There are a couple posted on youtube.

[HunterDave]

I watched a magpie take out a sparrow in the front of the house today. A second one showed up pretty quick. I'm going to have to think about thinning the population out before spring as well. I'm thinking leg hold traps that I can use next winter. :)

[kimmi07]

We have a cat that got one last summer in the neighbours yard. Bf called me out to help scare off the hoard that showed up to get the cat back lol. Our dog also got one last summer but that one didn't last long lol

[Faststeel]

We've got magpies up here now.....dang they are smart. I got one with a pellet rifle and a nest including ma and pa with a 410 in the last three years.

With no exagerating I'm in excess of 200 squirrels over the same time :angry3:

Just ordered a Weihrauch 97 tho....hoping to pick up my magpie numbers :)

I have a 97, stuff dies when it get pointed correctly. FS

[TreeGuy]

There is this guy on the forum who builds the Banff Springs Hotel of magpie traps.

He has referred to me as a bad kitty on numerous occasions.

He might be back at work.

I think he has pictures if they were not deleted on the forum.

No magpie gets killed.


GOOD Kitty! :lol:


Bat, here's a series of pics of the one I built. I belongs to Ken now. :)






http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s213/TreeGuy22/Magpie%20Trap/002.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/TreeGuy22/media/Magpie%20Trap/002.jpg.html)




http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s213/TreeGuy22/Magpie%20Trap/006.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/TreeGuy22/media/Magpie%20Trap/006.jpg.html)




http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s213/TreeGuy22/Magpie%20Trap/009.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/TreeGuy22/media/Magpie%20Trap/009.jpg.html)



http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s213/TreeGuy22/Magpie%20Trap/012.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/TreeGuy22/media/Magpie%20Trap/012.jpg.html)




http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s213/TreeGuy22/Magpie%20Trap/013.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/TreeGuy22/media/Magpie%20Trap/013.jpg.html)




The floor and trap door idea came about as part of a prank, and of course suburban practicality. Let's just say that more than one batch of live magpies have been easily and quickly transported for live release in a couple garages, a house and even a van. That's all I'm willing to claim! :lol:


Good trick is to put a couple of perches in there and clearly mark the entrance. Once you have one in there, his distress cries will call in many more. They learn quick though. Good luck and have fun.

Tree





http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s213/TreeGuy22/002.jpg (http://s153.photobucket.com/user/TreeGuy22/media/002.jpg.html)

[3blade]

Bowl of dog food + paintball gun + silencer. Window open, house dark, position a ways back so no one can see where the noise is coming from. :fighting0007:

Staple gun for alibi.

[Stinky Buffalo]

GOOD Kitty! :lol:

Bat, here's a series of pics of the one I built. I belongs to Ken now. :)

...Let's just say that more than one batch of live magpies have been easily and quickly transported for live release in a couple garages, a house and even a van.


Tree, that's the kind of stuff legends are made of! :D

Awesome.

[Davey Boy]

Nice trap tree.
Base is what 2' x 2.5' and what diameter is the entrance cone. 5'' down to 4"

[Bjay]

Will crows go into this trap or does someone have a good small crow trap?
Bjay

[The Fisherman Guy]

A related story;

My elderly neighbor approached me a few years ago and asked if I had a gun.

Thinking this was a loaded question, I asked why? He had a 40+ year old and healthy blue spruce on his front lawn which a pair of magpies occupied with their nest.

My neighbor asked if I would shoot the magpies as they were driving him insane.

I refused, and offered to try to remove them using Tree guy style tactics.

He refused, and said forget about it.

A few days later the tree was gone, we were shocked and disappointed. He paid an arbourist to come in and cut the tree down. Just goes to show how angry these birds make some folks.

[Geezle]

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but has anybody tried using the big rat traps on magpies?

The squawking at first light is starting to drive me loco!:angry3:

[CaberTosser]

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but has anybody tried using the big rat traps on magpies?

The squawking at first light is starting to drive me loco!:angry3:

It would be indifferent to species, and could easily main or break a wing rather than kill. I did put some up in my timber frame for some pigeons who erroneously felt welcome. I made some deep nail strips to thwart their return, but I feel the traps being set off had a lasting deterrent effect.

[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

Nice trap tree.
Base is what 2' x 2.5' and what diameter is the entrance cone. 5'' down to 4"

:D This is the most awesome homemade Magpie trap I have ever seen...the new crop is out and they are robbing us blind in dog food and cat food...would also like measurements if anyone know...

Neil