For example, being at home all the time I am able to keep a constant watch to ensure that prowling cats and thieving magpies keep clear of all the birds (nesting and feeding) in my bird-friendly garden.
[i] Yes, I know magpies are birds, but I don't like their rapaciousness ;-) [i]
My late father used to feed the birds too. It amused him that no matter how devious visiting cats were they never caught a bird. As soon as the birds arrived you could see the cats hiding in his shrubs and bushes.
The birds in our garden have got wise to the cats. There were three starlings and two spparrows on the feeder, a pigeon on the bird bath and a bluetit in the bush plus a cat about four feet away in the middle of the grass making the noise cats make at birds. ( we call it whitneying )
How do you chase away magpies without changing the other birds also?
We have a magpie visit most days and it doesn't take any more than others. The starlings are the greediest!