Translocation of aggressive Australian magpies: a preliminary assessment of a potential management action

Abstract

Australian magpies are the cause of a major wildlife-management conflict in suburban areas throughout Australia. Mitigation of this conflict is becoming increasingly difficult in some locations because of community opposition to the destruction of the birds involved, which remains a common management solution of many wildlife agencies. Translocation – the capture and release elsewhere – of offending birds has been advocated but never seriously evaluated. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of translocation as a means of eliminating magpie attacks. We also attempted to assess the impact of the approach on both the translocated birds and those remaining in the territory. A total of 20 aggressive magpies, all males, were captured and released at distances 17–150 km from the place of capture. Most birds released more than 30 km away were not seen again; two birds released less than 30 km away returned quickly and were recaptured. A single bird re-established itself on its original territory several months after capture. In many cases, new males had replaced the captured birds within days. There was no evidence of negative behavioural interactions between these males and the resident females or chicks. While the technique is effective in reducing the human–magpie conflict at specific locations, our lack of knowledge of the fate of translocated males, as well as several other issues, suggests that this approach be used only in extreme circumstances.