A magpie saves a life

@JudyEv (358558)
Rockingham, Australia
July 5, 2025 8:43am CST
Another feel-good Western Australian story involves a lady from Esperance where we once lived. Sandie Gillard has been caring for wildlife for over 70 years but in a freak accident in 2020, she fell from a two-storey balcony, hitting her head on the pavement below. She cracked her skull and her right arm was torn from its socket. As she began to regain unconscious, she heard a purring sound and felt something was tapping her gently on the head as if trying to waken her. She came to enough to call her husband. Paramedics were called and Sandie was flown to Royal Perth Hospital. Doctors say that if she hadn’t woken when she did, she might have died. The purring and tapping came from Jellybean, a magpie that Sandie had cared for after it fell from its nest, too young to fly. Jellybean lived in the wild but regularly visited Sandie. The photo is of my mother’s magpies. They were wild but came to the back door to be fed. What I found interesting about Mum’s feathered friends was that a single bird would arrive, Mum would get some food for it and half a dozen more birds would suddenly appear without the single bird uttering a single chirp. The photo is of a handsome magpie that my Mum used to feed.
22 people like this
20 responses
@DaddyEvil (153341)
• United States
5 Jul
I'm glad she got help in time... That is a nice story.
5 people like this
@DaddyEvil (153341)
• United States
6 Jul
@JudyEv Yes, they are... Birds in the Corvid family have tested out at about a 5 year old human level. I'm sure they aren't the only ones, either.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
Animals are much smarter than we sometimes give them credit for.
3 people like this
@rebelann (114278)
• El Paso, Texas
5 Jul
What a sweet story. I don't get either magpies or crows here but I've read about how smart both of them are.
4 people like this
@rebelann (114278)
• El Paso, Texas
6 Jul
I have never seen one so I wouldn't know.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
Our magpies are a bit different to yours although still black and white.
3 people like this
@popciclecold (40024)
• United States
5 Jul
That is an amazing rescue. Animals are really smart. I am glad the bird was there.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
As time goes on, we are discovering birds are much smarter than we've thought. How are you going these days? I hope you're okay. You were having a lot of pain in your heel last post.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (192782)
• United States
5 Jul
They are smart birds. Animals know when we are not exhibiting our usual behavior and become concerned. Friend feeds a crow on a regular basis.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
Crows are supposed to be some of the smartest.
2 people like this
@Tampa_girl7 (52866)
• United States
5 Jul
She is one blessed lady to have been saved by Jellybean.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
She is indeed. It said she had a special bond with Jellybean.
1 person likes this
6 Jul
That is indeed a very handsome Magpie Judy. Jellybean really did good tapping on her head to wake her up. Clever bird indeed
2 people like this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
Our magpies have a beautiful song and sometimes warble on a moonlit night which is lovely to hear when you're lying in bed.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 Jul
@Ineeddentures Yes, they are different.
2 people like this
6 Jul
@JudyEv They look a bit different too.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (164749)
• United States
6 Jul
It seems it was concerned that she fell from her "nest" and was returning a favor.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
That could well be so but the doctors said if she hadn't been woken at that point, it could have been fatal. But her falling from her nest does make sense.
1 person likes this
@rsa101 (39100)
• Philippines
7 Jul
I'm not sure, but I believe I saw a lot of these birds in Singapore too. Despite being smaller in size, it has a reddish beak. I didn't mind them because they seemed pretty normal there.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Jul
There are a lot of these in Australia. They're very common.
1 person likes this
@rsa101 (39100)
• Philippines
8 Jul
@JudyEv In Singapore, they're quite the regular too, just like the ever-present crows that seem to be everywhere. These fearless creatures have no concept of personal space, and if you're enjoying a meal in public, they might just decide to join you—uninvited, of course—swooping down like little food-snatching ninjas to steal your lunch right out of your hands. .
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Jul
@rsa101 Birds get very cheeky. At one seaside camp, kookaburras will sweep in and take your meat off the barbecue.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (479005)
• Italy
5 Jul
I am always amazed when I read stories like this. Animals are incredible and some birds are really smart.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (479005)
• Italy
6 Jul
@JudyEv I loved to see the grackles coming to our garden. They threw the whole nuts on the pavement so they broke, they consumed the inside and threw the shell into our pond.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 Jul
@LadyDuck So they didn't leave the shells lying around as rubbish but threw them in the bin/pond!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
We're only just beginning to realise how clever birds can be.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (119276)
• Marion, Ohio
5 Jul
That's a sweet story.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (119276)
• Marion, Ohio
6 Jul
@JudyEv The red wing blackbirds here will do that
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
Magpies get a bad wrap sometimes when they divebomb those who get too close to their nests.
1 person likes this
@rakski (143245)
• Philippines
6 Jul
What a touching story, both Sandie Gillard’s experience and your mum’s connection with the magpies.
1 person likes this
@rakski (143245)
• Philippines
7 Jul
@JudyEv most of them mean no harm
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 Jul
My mother loved all creatures and they seemed to know she meant no harm.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (32036)
• United Kingdom
8 Jul
They are very clever, there's no doubt about it.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Jul
We're only just finding out how clever they are I think.
1 person likes this
@Ronrybs (20883)
• London, England
5 Jul
Often hear the chattering of magpies while the cats are out and about. Once the cats have moved on, the magpies eat the left overs from the garden cats
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 Jul
@Ronrybs They soon learn where there is food to be had.
1 person likes this
@Ronrybs (20883)
• London, England
8 Jul
@JudyEv Oh yes. The magpies here when they find food don't chatter about it like others do
1 person likes this
@Ronrybs (20883)
• London, England
6 Jul
@JudyEv Yes, ours are a bit different. This morning, I gave Grey cat his breakfast and there was a magpie only a foot or two away, waiting his turn
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (46276)
6 Jul
That's a really good story. She cared for Jellybean when he fell from the nest, and Jellybean was there when most needed. Incredible...animals often know way more than we think they are capable of.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 Jul
It is a nice story. We need to learn more about how we can communicate with animals and birds.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (46276)
7 Jul
@JudyEv I think many animals can be very intuitive. Many seem to know when we are happy, sad, in need of comfort, or just sit by us when we need a quiet time.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (50012)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
5 Jul
Jellybean knew that she, too, was too young to fly...
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
Something like that I guess. I wonder if she would have brought the lady a worm at some stage.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (149603)
• India
6 Jul
Animals have better instincts than us human beings Our dog once alerted us when there was a sound in the kitchen We were in our bedroom. The cable had caught fire.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
They certainly know when something is not right. And look at all the things they've trained dogs for too.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (86951)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
5 Jul
Now that is a story that brought tears to my eyes, What a wonderful bird Jellybean is,
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
She is indeed. The lady has moved to another town now and had to leave Jellybean behind but apparently she (Jellybean) visits lots of schools and 'talks' to the kids.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (194717)
• United States
5 Jul
She is one lucky lady. We don't have magpies here in Ohio.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
I just checked their distribution and they are more to the west regions.
1 person likes this
@Dreamerby (8755)
• Calcutta, India
5 Jul
Oh that's so touching!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
It's a lovely story.
1 person likes this
@Beestring (15627)
• Hong Kong
5 Jul
That's a sweet story.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (358558)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Jul
It is indeed.