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Common as muck in the UK. Can be seen throughout Europe and even in Mediterranean countries. Never take much notice and, after all, they're just black and white...right. Wrong. When they show their hidden colours the iridescence of the blue feathers is amazing.

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@ssheipel. Put an end to the dive bombing and make friends with them. They are intelligent birds and learn quickly. A few years ago, I was living in a different area. The local magpies never swooped me or my dog but one day they did. I realised it was out of character so I followed them in the direction they kept coming from and discovered a young fledgling had fallen out of the nest so mum and dad were just protecting it because of course they couldn't get it back in the nest. Neither could I - can't fly and couldn't climb this tree. :)

I went home and got some mince meat, took it back and tossed a little bit to them. They immediately grabbed it and fed the young one. From that day on-wards, every time I went to the park, I carried a small amount of mince to make sure the little one was getting food. It didn't take long for the whole family to get in on the act and I eventually ended up with 8 or 9 of them that recognised me, the dog and my car and would fly straight down to greet me. They were not scared of my dog and she didn't mind them. They could land right next to her without any problem and they had no problem taking mince directly from my hand. They also learnt that I didn't always bring food or come at the same time, because I didn't want to create a dependency on human intervention. It was an amazing sight to start walking across the open grounds of the park and see 8 or 9 maggies gliding in to meet me. Turned a few heads from locals who couldn't believe what they were seeing.

And yes, they survived without my help when I left the area. Went back a couple of times to check up on them and they still recognised me.
 
@ssheipel. Put an end to the dive bombing and make friends with them. They are intelligent birds and learn quickly. A few years ago, I was living in a different area. The local magpies never swooped me or my dog but one day they did. I realised it was out of character so I followed them in the direction they kept coming from and discovered a young fledgling had fallen out of the nest so mum and dad were just protecting it because of course they couldn't get it back in the nest. Neither could I - can't fly and couldn't climb this tree. :)

I went home and got some mince meat, took it back and tossed a little bit to them. They immediately grabbed it and fed the young one. From that day on-wards, every time I went to the park, I carried a small amount of mince to make sure the little one was getting food. It didn't take long for the whole family to get in on the act and I eventually ended up with 8 or 9 of them that recognised me, the dog and my car and would fly straight down to greet me. They were not scared of my dog and she didn't mind them. They could land right next to her without any problem and they had no problem taking mince directly from my hand. They also learnt that I didn't always bring food or come at the same time, because I didn't want to create a dependency on human intervention. It was an amazing sight to start walking across the open grounds of the park and see 8 or 9 maggies gliding in to meet me. Turned a few heads from locals who couldn't believe what they were seeing.

And yes, they survived without my help when I left the area. Went back a couple of times to check up on them and they still recognised me.
The 'attacks' were always when with my dog and definitely when the fledglings were gaining their wings. And I wasn't troubled by the dive bombing, I thought it was great :) No need to make friends, we're already pals. I speak to every corvid I come in contact with (and they're thick here -- Edmonton is called Canada's "Maggpie City" in fact, and there are nearly as many crows and lots of ravens). Only downside of those chats is getting caught by other humans who can't imagine talking to animals, I guess, given the looks I get LOL Nice you got the trust to hand feed but I personally I try (except maybe a bird feeder in my past) to never feed wildlife, tho magpies are smart enough to not trust 'the next guy to come along.' Just love the image of a mischief of magpies coming to meet you. Lovely.