Magpies

[Jemisa]

We've got a couple of pairs of Magpies living v/close, the noise they make is unbelievable and (you won't believe this) my cat is terrified of them. They tease her, they swoop down and almost cackle at her. Sometimes they surround her if she's sitting in the garden.
They are pests. My brother tells me because of the damage they do they are the only birds you are allowed to shoot legally, (not that I would I've only got a water pistol) but this surprised me, is it true does any one know.
Meanwhile my poor cat is v/apprehensive about going out.

jem

[tufty7]

The other day when I was taking my Kids to school I watched a couple of magpies beating up an adult blackbird, , i shooed them off but when i came back along the same path the blackbird was dead, first time i had ever seen that , as for cats , I cannot wait till the neighbour hood buzzards evolve and pick them up and take them away ...........

[boxtops]

I cannot tell you how, but my cats managed to get a magpie in through the catflap once - when I came home from work, the pesky thing was sitting in the ceiling light fitting, looking beadily down at me....

[jomifl]

I have raised both a magpie chick and a crow chick that had fallen out of their nests and can assure you that they are the most misunderstood birds around. They are basically insectivores and only raid nests that have been badly positioned. The magpie I passed over to someone else to finish raising as I was going on holiday. The crow I raised to maturity and it was a delight to me my wife, our friends and the local children. It was far more intelligent than a cat and more intelligent than a lot of dogs.

[Olivia-G]

You may think the magpies are being cruel, but they're only doing what instinct tells them. Yes, I feel sorry for the babies who are their prey, but does that give people the right to go out and kill them too? I used to get loads of pidgeons in my garden which annoyed me as they seemed to love perching on my window sill to then do their business... In the end, I got some bird scarer eyes that turn round in the wind and scare the pidgeons away. They were cheap, effective and humane - no need to go round killing birds or even chasing them with a water pistol! (which is great as it means they continue to work when I'm not home.) I'd definitely recommend them - if you're interested, I got them here:

http://www.primrose-l...678.html?cPath=24_127

But whatever you do, please don't kill the magpies!! :(