People given warning on what to do if they see magpies in their garden this winter

Anyone who has magpies in their garden this January has been warned.

Magpies are one of the most common birds on the island. Members of the corvid family, they are omnivirous and will eat meat as well as nuts and seeds.

In fact, magpies have been known to attack other songbirds like thrushes and steal their eggs.

Many people decrying magpies as vicious, disruptive animals which ruin lawns or kill friendly birds.

Gardeners and homeowners in Ireland are now being warned that you shouldn’t get rid of magpies in your garden - because they actually chase down and remove pests.

Bird food supplier GardenBird says: "As an omnivorous, voracious scavenger, the magpie is firmly within the curious realm of what one could call the canon of contentious garden birds; a marmite, if you like, of love and hate, similar to the Jay, and anything but, for example, the gentle, loveable Long-tailed tit.

"But there are always two sides to the coin: yes, Magpies have been accused of stealing and consuming the eggs of innocent garden birds, but they have also been seen as incredibly adept at warding off similarly dangerous pests.

"Over the past two decades and beyond, magpies have shot up in number across the UK, and are now among the most commonly observed garden birds in the UK. But along with this rapid increase in population has arisen a most abundant form of hatred among people, and this is, apparently, put down mainly to their 'cheeky behaviour'."

Furthermore, gardeners are being urged to leave out foods that magpies will eat, such as kitchen scraps, as well as fruits like raisins and sultanas, oats, nuts and even raw meat such as diced raw chicken.

Many of these foods - especially the meat - won’t be taken by other birds or squirrels, so will serve the dual purpose of feeding hungry magpies and keeping them away from other birds or their eggs.

Magpies will then hunt down insects, slugs, snails and other pests in your garden, lending you a hand to control these unwanted invaders.

They’ll even remove dead birds and other unwanted dead matter in your garden for you.

So, there you go. Next time you see a black and white creature lingering on your lawn, give them a wave and thank them for their service.