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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Regulars react to new kid on the block

At our feeders, this lone magpie is like the Rodney Dangerfield of birds

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 1/26/22

A new bird that has become a regular at our feeders recently reminds me a bit of Rodney Dangerfield… he just gets no respect. It’s a black-billed magpie, and it’s the first time …

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Regulars react to new kid on the block

At our feeders, this lone magpie is like the Rodney Dangerfield of birds

Posted

A new bird that has become a regular at our feeders recently reminds me a bit of Rodney Dangerfield… he just gets no respect. It’s a black-billed magpie, and it’s the first time we’ve ever had one show up in our yard, at least that we’ve seen.
It showed up first with a group of ravens that zeroed in on the remains of a deer carcass I had put out in back of the house. Magpies are a medium-sized member of the corvid family, which includes jays, crows, and ravens, but their spectacularly long tails and striking color patterns, including irridescent greens and blues, make them stand out in a crowd.
I suspect this particular magpie would have preferred to blend in, since his sudden appearance seemed to have set some of our other backyard visitors on edge. When he first started feeding on the cracked corn I spread on the ground, the red squirrels took offense, repeatedly chasing him off. He seemed to get the message, and after a few incidents, he started showing up when the squirrels weren’t around. But then he showed up when a ruffed grouse was eating. Normally shrinking violets when other birds are about (red squirrels like harassing the grouse, as well), the appearance of the magpie sent the grouse into an angry display, with tail spread, neck ruff extended, and wings flapping. He then charged the magpie, something I’d never seen any grouse do except when protecting young.
Not surprisingly, the magpie has learned to avoid the grouse as well.
I suspect the magpie is a juvenile, and probably fledged over on the west side of the Lost Lake Swamp, where the unbroken forest gradually transitions to more open country. Magpies generally prefer a mix of forest and fields, so they’ve long been regulars in the Little Fork Valley. Magpies are generally western birds, but their range extends to the east across northern Minnesota right about to the Cook area, which has generally been the cutoff for this bird, although they’re occasionally seen to the east of there.
Back when we still had open dumps, there used to be a small population of magpies around Soudan, but they disappeared about the time the dump was closed. Like other corvids, magpies are opportunistic scavengers, and can be found on roadkills, garbage dumps, or similar food sources.
I’ll be curious to see how long our lone magpie hangs around. He’s been a regular for about a month now. Once spring arrives, I suspect he’ll move on to greener pastures, most likely to be found about a dozen miles west of here. Perhaps there he’ll finally get some respect.