It was a lovely morning on Thursday May 21st 2020, just like a lot of the mornings since we finished school. It was a few days after our dog Rutleys birthday and I could hear the sound of birds chirping and making noise.
It wasn’t unusual to hear these noises as we put out bread every day to feed the birds. Lots of different birds visit our garden because of this, some like the hedge sparrow and magpie have nests in our garden where they hatch their eggs. So it was with great excitement that my mommy showed me a baby magpie on the ground, sitting all alone in the shade under the big tree where the magpies had their nest.
She was very still with hardly any movement except her eyes. It probably was her first day or even her first few moments out of the nest. There was no sign of her parents so we thought it was best to leave her alone as we may have been frightening them away. We kept an eye on the little bird from a distance as she hopped around our garden.
A few hours went by and no sign of anyone coming to feed her. We were now getting worried as little birds just out of their nest need help to be fed as they are unable to fend for themselves at this stage. We decided to leave the garden altogether and see would someone come and feed the little magpie. After a little while we heard a screaming noise coming from the garden and I saw my mommy rush outside to chase away the big jackdaw bird that was trying to attack the little magpie.
Two other magpies helped chase away the jackdaw. We ran over and picked up the screaming baby bird who survived the attack but was very frightened. We kept her safe in my mommy’s arms for a short while and tried to give her some food but she would not feed for us. It is at this stage that we called the vets and asked what we should do.
They suggested that we should call ‘Claddagh Swan Rescue‘ and ask them for their advice. A nice lady answered the phone and told us that we should wait to see if the adult magpies would come back and if not, maybe we could give it shelter for the night as she was afraid the big jackdaw would harm the little bird. To add to all this we heard on the news that there was going to be heavy winds overnight which would have made it very difficult for the baby magpie to survive on its own.
They also suggested that we could feed it cat food as it would be easy for her to digest it and would provide the moisture that she also needed. They also told us to open her beak by gently squeezing her cheeks so she would open her mouth and we could place the food down her throat. We put her in a cardboard box with blankets and a small teddy inside to keep her warm. We named her Buttercup and she slept in our utility room overnight which kept her safe from the storm and any predators.
We got up early the next morning to find her safe and well with her beak open looking for breakfast. It was still windy out in the morning with the large jackdaw still outside waiting. After further research we decided to get her a big cage filled with branches, rocks and other stuff to climb on to help her get ready for when she learns to look after herself.
It can take several weeks for a magpie to get its flight feathers and finally learn how to fly. Day by day she got used to us and we got used to her. She takes food every two hours and knows how to ask if she’s hungry by chirping and opening her beak. We let her walk freely in the garden each day where she potters around and plays with fallen leaves and twigs. She also would hop onto our feet and play with the shoe laces on my daddy’s shoes.
She has learned to feed herself a little but still prefers us to do it, and today she gave herself her first bath in our garden bird bath. Every evening at 9 o’clock to 10 o’clock, Buttercup puts on a display for us to show us the progress she has been making each day, jumping from perch to perch, longer and higher each day. Any day now, Buttercup will take flight and hopefully she will be safe. We feel her mommy and daddy are waiting to take over the job of minding her but we are very grateful for the special time we have had with her, watching her grow.
The few facts I have learned about the magpies are — They are part of the crow family. They are very clever and very common. They recognise faces and voices. When the baby magpie is born they start off with four claws at the front of their feet and as they grow, one of their claws goes behind so they have a good grip on branches. They are around 16-18 inches in length and are omnivores, which means they eat berries, grains and insects. They spend about two weeks on the garden floor before they can fly.
There have been a few robins hopping around the garden keeping an eye on her since she came out of her nest and the other few birds in our garden have been busy minding their babies as well. A lot goes on in our gardens, you just have to look.
