naturally west with fiona drummond
Magpie love at the cemetery Annette and Andrew Ross, locals from Glen Eden, like to exercise daily at Waikumete Cemetery. During their excursions in 2019 they became acquainted with some locals (the living ones that is). Specifically they noticed four groups of magpies living in the big macrocarpas, gums and pines of the cemetery environment and soon identified where each family group was nesting.
The nest that Jenny from Group B built predominately with used nylon eed-eater line.
Magpies in the cemetery are fitting given that they belong to the Corvidae family which includes ravens and crows, symbolising death. A magpie on a headstone is an eerie sight. Annette and Andrew have dubbed the magpie groups A, B, C and D. They have also named the adults and can recognise them, despite the fact that the chicks are a similar size to the adults now. Group A is Captain and Tennille who have one chick which has fledged and another chick from the same nest that hatched later. Jack and Jenny of Group B have raised three chicks in one clutch. Group C is Mister and Lady. This pair had an infertile egg but tried again and had one chick successfully. Lady has a deformed leg and is therefore cautious, not being able to flee quickly if necessary. Group D is a mother (Maggie) and her chick, with no mate, but the Ross's believe that Jack from Group B is the father of her chick due to his frequent visits. They also note that Jenny, Jack’s regular mate, takes a noticeable dislike to Maggie. Maggie’s chick is the
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YOUR ORGANIC HEALTH HUB IN THE HEART OF GLEN EDEN A f u l l ra n g e of o rg ani c pro d uce, g ro cer y i tem s, baby g ood s , s u s ta inable and eco fr i end ly pro d ucts. Natu ro p ath ava il ab le Sun -T h urs an d a B ari sta on dut y eve ry day.
only one that the Ross’s have had physical interaction with. The chick had fledged normally but was pursuing an adult from another group, demanding to be fed. It was being aggressively rejected but did not appear to understand and kept running toward the threat. In the interest of the chick’s wellbeing, Annette carried it back to Maggie's territory. Joining Annette and Andrew on a magpie safari one Wednesday in late spring, I was surprised to see that the magpies are quite restrained and civilised when they eat, taking their time to collect the morsels and flying off when they have enough, often to share with a chick or chicks. During this visit, I was privileged to encounter the whole Group B family of five (a once a week event). Andrew pointed out that the chicks can be differentiated from the adults by their grey beaks, the adults’ beaks are white. Magpies typically have a clutch of 3-4 eggs, but mostly only raise one chick as it takes one parent per chick to provide sufficient food. Over the course of two seasons the magpies have got to know and trust Annette and Andrew. As they take a drive around the cemetery to visit each family group, the magpies will recognise the car and Andrew's whistle or Annette’s call and magically appear. The upside of these encounters is that Andrew, a keen amateur photographer, has been able to capture images from closer than would be normal and he has captured some special moments. The Ross's are humbled that the adults trust them enough to allow them into close proximity to both themselves and their chicks. Normally magpies tend to keep to a territory in pairs or groups, and as many of us have experienced, they will
Maggie's chick was happy to be rescued
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