Magpie behaviour

[Canardly]

I scattered some grapes on the rear garden yesterday. A magpie picked up a grape and took it to a preferred location on the lawn. It then went to collect a large fallen leaf, returned to the grape and covered it, using the leaf. Well I never.

[hellymedic]

Magpies locally had a penchant for cat food we put outside.

[T42]

We have a few local magpies and a family of ravens that muscle in on them from time to time - waiting until they've built their nests then pulling them apart to build their own, etc.

It wouldn't surprise me if a magpie concealed food from the playground bullies.

[Salvatore]

A magpie visits my garden every morning and takes anything the hedgehogs have left.

I've never seen the behaviour of Canardly's magpie, but on the rspb website it says

When food is abundant, magpies hoard the surplus to eat later. They make a small hole in the ground with their beak, place the food in it and cover it with grass, a stone or a leaf.

so it's not unusual.

[aeolus]

We have magpies and when I put out any bread that is really like concrete (Tesco's), its not unusual to see them taking chunks and soaking them in the bird bath before eating them.
Quite fun when another comes and steals it away from the one who is doing the dunking !