Migrating Magpies is a program in which ABO and citizen scientists north of the Alaska Range are partnering to document the possible northward range extension of a conspicuous, unambiguously identified bird. With the onset of long-term global warming, many species are experiencing range changes. Tracking these changes can help scientists anticipate potential changes in community composition. Citizen scientists will enable us to sample a large region over a long period of time while they have the opportunity to learn more about the phenomena of global climate change and its local effects and about a new species of bird and its interactions within resident wildlife communities.

There is evidence that wildlife and wildlife habitats are affected by ongoing large-scale rapid climate change. These effects include changes in breeding phenology, increases or decreases in populations, and range extensions or contractions of a variety of species. These changes are predicted to be most evident at the higher latitudes.

Magpies (Pica hudsonia) are denizens of open areas where they also have access to nearby trees and shrubs for building their large domed nests. They forage mainly on the ground, sometimes in trees or shrubs, for insects, other invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, young birds and eggs, small mammals, carrion, and wild and cultivated fruits and seeds. Like the other corvids (ravens, crows, and jays), they are generalists and benefit from human activities; they feed on roadkills, garbage, and the remains of hunter harvest. They are highly adaptable and can survive in a variety of places under a variety of conditions. The northern limit of their range in the United States is considered to be southcentral Alaska. There is a breeding population of Magpies in Denali National Park and Preserve and a few sightings of them north of the Alaska Range. The extension of their range northward may reflect a warming climate and will add another predator species to those that predate small birds.

Please report your sightings to us by filling out our Magpie form or e-mailing the information: date, time, location, number of magpies, what they were doing, and any additional comments to us at birds@alaskabird.org

Magpie nest in Denali National Park