Bye bye birdie: Magpie flies the coop at Edmonton's Royal Alexandra hospital

A magpie that took up residence in the Royal Alexandra Hospital's six-storey atrium last month has finallyflown the coop.

• Edmonton's Royal Alexandra atrium goes avian after magpie caught inside

The bird flew into the hospital through an open door last month andrefused to leave, eludingpest control and a baited trap.

"A lot of the patients and visitors had become fond of this bird and had taken to feeding it plus there's usually no shortage of scraps laying around in a public space like the atrium,"saidCliff Richard, the hospital's director of facilities maintenance and engineering.

"It was well-fed and had no particular inclination to go into that trap."

While the bird's squawking, scattered excrement andfrequent dive bombing of visitorsbothered some, the magpiehad its following at the hospital.

"I'm well aware of a number of staff that make a point of looking for it everyday," Richardsaid."He became a bit of a mascot."

But the magpie departedpretty much in the same way it arrived onits own terms, though not without thehelp ofhospitalplumber Blake Blouin.

"We decided to go up on the roof and prop the doors open and bait him with a little bit of freshly-baked cheese bun out of my lunch," Blouin said.

The savoury snack proved too much for the wily magpie to resist.

"In the evening time, one of the housekeepers heresawthe bird fly out and some of the cheese bun was gone so I assume that worked," Blouinsaid.