A FRIENDLY Magpie has set up home on a train station platform – sharing passengers snacks, landing on their heads or shoulders and even trying to jump onboard with them.

Maggie the Magpie is as cheeky as they come and has been livening up the day for thousands of commuters at Stourbridge Junction train station in Worcestershire.

She has befriended passengers and staff at Platform One of the station and doesn’t mind being stroked, sitting on peoples laps and happily rummages in ladies’ handbags.

And, when people pop their coins into the station’s ticket machine, Maggie sits on top and watches intently.

Line supervisor Steve Darby,  41, said: “We’re not sure if Maggie is a he or a she but we call her a she. The bird has become a daily visitor over the last couple of weeks.

“Maggie’s very friendly and I’ve seen her on all three platforms, sometimes on people’s heads, sitting by them and eating their food.

“The other night I was cleaning at about 9pm and Maggie flew on to an elderly lady’s lap and she was stroking the bird.�

“Nothing seems to faze Maggie.

“If she’s by the platform when a train comes she moves back towards the railings – but she doesn’t fly off.

“And when I saw her on the lady’s lap she was there for quite a time – and the woman seemed to enjoy it.�

Train driver Debbie Digger, 47, said: “One day I saw Maggie land on a chap’s shoulder and share his sandwich.

“Then she tried to jump on to the train. She’s just part of the crew here now.�

Rail staff believe that Maggie was an orphan who was taken in and raised by a local couple who have an aviary in one of the houses backing on to the car park of the station.

And the bird now spends her days happily flitting between their garden and her fans at the train station.

So now passengers can while away the time as they wait with a spot of bird – as well as train – spotting.

Stourbridge Junction station engineer Gary Picken said: “I’ve seen Maggie helping herself to sandwiches and going into bags to see what’s there.�

One passenger Alex Cairns, 17, of Blakedown, Worcs, was sitting on a bench waiting for a train home after a session at a local gym, when Maggie landed next to him.

“I thought ‘whoa, what’s happening?’ – and it was a bit odd,� said Alex, a sixth form student.

“At first I thought it was going to peck me but it was just friendly and eating the crisps.�

Spokesman Hayley Meachin, of London Midland, which runs Stourbridge Junction station, said today: “We have a wealth of wildlife around our stations because of where they are and the fact that they are open.

“On Saturday our staff at Gravelly Hill station in Birmingham had to deal with a four foot long grass snake on a ramp – and on June 26 a dog hopped on the 9.19 Four Oaks to Redditch train and was taken off by the RSPCA at New Street.

“Maggie seems to be unique because she’s so tame – but, like other magpies, she has the characteristic of being curious.

“It may be alarming to suddenly have a bird sat next to you – but it’s not dangerous.�



NewsToday UK

ALBION -- A bald eagle hurt in a fight for territory this spring is once again flying high over western Erie County.

The eagle, now healed, was released in Conneaut Township, near where he was found, on Friday.

In a small, sunny pasture off Route 215, the eagle hopped out of a dog crate, took off, landed briefly, and then gracefully took flight toward a distant tree line, where it circled for a moment and was out of sight.

"Beautiful," said Kris Steiner, taking a long breath, then beaming. Steiner helped nurse the bird back to health at Tamarack Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in Saegertown. She brought him home to west Erie County on Friday in the back of her sport utility vehicle.

"He's fine. He should return to his life just as it was before he was injured," Steiner said.

The eagle was injured in late April in combat with another male eagle. A passer-by spotted the two birds rolling on the ground and slashing at each other and called the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

The birds were still fighting when a wildlife officer arrived and threw a blanket on the battle. One bird came out from under the blanket and flew away. The other -- battered, bruised and minus feathers -- was taken to Tamarack for care.

The center's eagle team, each member experienced in eagle care, responded. They found no fractures, but the bird's front talon, needed to hunt, had been torn nearly off.

Bandaged, the eagle was kept quiet in a cage, and in time was released into a larger space to hop and stretch and finally was turned loose in a long building to fly. Five weeks later, it was healed and ready for release.

Steiner's 14-year-old daughter, Rylie, and Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer Darin Clark accompanied Steiner on Friday as she brought the eagle home. All three expected the eagle to roost in a tree for a time to get its bearings. Instead, it flew off.

"Even better," Steiner said. "He knows exactly where he is."

The eagle probably won't fight for territory again until spring, when male eagles' hormones begin to boil, Steiner said.

Four more eagles, including another male involved in a similar territorial fight near the Union City Dam, were admitted to Tamarack for care this summer. Steiner said that Tamarack is in need of venison to help feed those birds.

"It's a sign of how many eagles we have here now," Steiner said, "enough that they're battling for space."

Adult eagles generally claim about a three-mile radius from their nests. But sometimes "rogue" eagles, young males that have not yet mated and established their own nests, try to claim another's, Steiner said.

"That's most likely what happened here," she said.

Steiner can't say if the eagle returned to Conneaut Township is the nest owner or the rogue.

"Whichever he is, we'll just have to let nature take its course," she said.

Pennsylvania's eagle population has increased almost every year since 1983, when the Game Commission began importing young eaglets from Canada in a seven-year restoration program. There were only three eagle nests in the state at that time, all three in Crawford County.

Now, the state is home to 203 known bald eagle nests, including eight in Erie County and 19 in Crawford County -- the most in the state. Game Commission Executive Director Carl Roe called the rebound "remarkable."

"Today, more Pennsylvanians have a greater opportunity of seeing a bald eagle in the wild since before the Civil War," he said.

http://video.goerie.com/?pl_id=24684&va_id=2689185 video

FOUR peregrine falcon chicks have successfully fledged in the Medway area thanks to a nest protection project involving Natural England and Kent Police.

The covert surveillance operation was launched following the theft of two chicks from the same location back in 2010.

Last year’s theft was discovered by Natural England’s John Black, a wildlife management adviser who had been made aware of the nest by site workers.

On his arrival, the chicks had gone and only fragments of egg shells remained. The culprits have never been caught.

To prevent any repetition, the police consulted Natural England and installed hidden CCTV cameras to monitor the nest.

The first signs of life in the nest were recorded in early-May, and a monitoring visit later that month confirmed that the nest was occupied by four healthy chicks which then had DNA samples taken and special rings fitted to their legs for identification. Their recent departure from the nest brings the operation to a successful conclusion.

Mr Black said: “It is important that we do all we can to support the recovery of the peregrine falcon population, and protect them from continuing theft and persecution. Following last year’s disappointment, it has been rewarding to have been so closely involved with this successful nest protection operation. We welcome the positive steps taken by Kent Police to protect the nest and look forward to continuing our work together to tackle crimes against wildlife and to protect endangered species.�

Kent Police’s wildlife and rural environment crime co-ordinator, PC Michael Laidlow, said: “We have worked with Natural England and the owners of the site who fully supported us in our actions. Together, we all support the fight against wildlife crime and we will continue to use all the resources available to us. Our wildlife is important, and we should all play a part in protecting it.�

Peregrine falcons are highly protected under UK and international law. Steep penalties can be received for injuring or killing peregrine falcons or for taking them from the wild. However, an illegal trade in peregrine falcons continues and chicks and eggs have been stolen from nests to be sold on to private collectors. Natural England is the regulatory body responsible for the protection of endangered species, and works closely with the police to help thwart this illegal activity.

The peregrine falcon population declined alarmingly in the 1950s-60s due to the impact of pesticides and persecution. Following the introduction of conservation and protection measures, the population has recovered and it is estimated that there are currently in the region of 14,000 breeding pairs in the UK.

  I'm actually glad they had Police protection this year. People are nuts stealing baby Peregrines and or eggs.

I had not heard of this one, much less seen it... so much more to learn about my native area!

(from the D&C, Bob Marcotte)

http://blogs.democratandchronicle.com/birds/2011/07/26/a-very-cool-looking-butterfly/

A very pretty Butterfly, leave it to Bob!

I remember when we went to Alaska-the Eagles  were like pigeons-eveywhere!  It was amazing!!!

Some day!

Kathy O tweeted 2 reports 25 minutes ago, but they haven't shown up here:

1. pefafollower - At KP . . Pefa has been on ibeam above scrape . . Flew out of sight to east

2. pefafollower - Second pefa on east stack lower cat walk

If she would use the a recognized keyword like, um, I don't know, maybe "falcon," "Archer," or "Unity" in her tweets, they would show up on the forum.

And that's tweeted from Alaska!!

Thank you Kat, always nice to hear how they are doing. They look like blips on the nest now. Hard to tell who is who!

http://ledyard.patch.com/articles/armchair-birding-with-video-2 Red Shoulder

Happy Feet goes for his first swim since capture.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/5338724/Weather-perfect-for-Happy-Feet Video

[Herb Houghton is an electrician by trade. But when his herniated discs blew out again a few years ago and he faced 10 tediously idle months recovering from surgery, he began an unusual new career — bird photography.]

http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/126076138_His_muses_have_wings.html

Herb Houghton is an electrician by trade. But when his herniated discs blew out again a few years ago and he faced 10 tediously idle months recovering from surgery, he began an unusual new career — bird photography.  Nice Snowy in there

I would have to stain 300 decks at 400 a pop to afford a bottle of wine!! I'll stick with Boone's Farm. 

Saw a Hummer this am at my dads house. Buzzed right in front of me, I was frozen with delight. Went to get my phone to take pics but it never came back. My dad feeds the birds every day...peanuts. I slept over last night to watch his dogs and I woke up to 5 Squirrels, 9 Blue Jays, 4 HUGE crows and many other birds on his deck, waiting for a handout. I handed them out alright. 10 handfuls of peanuts and boy did it get crazy out there. I took a video and will upload to youtube when I get back home from dads. I could live there if his house wasn't so scary. Very creepy at night. They live more in the woods and have no curtains on the windows.....or shades. I feel like I'm being watched so I throw towels on the windows at night for my own piece of mind. Waking up with many eyes on me was freaky but FUN!!!

There she is


"Did you see 2 little morsels here earlier?"

Then she left

"I have a bad feeling about this place"
"Me too, let's get out of here!"