magpie maybe

SORRY FRANL I DO NOT WANT TO BE RUDE BUT YOU FEED THE DEVIL. ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL MAY BE BUT I HATE THEM.

Aw Costas, why do you hate them? They are lovely...I know they are quite destructive, but so is everything in it's own way, and nothing more destructive than humankind eh? Only a pretty Crow really.

Magpies are lovely birds, members of the crow family. They have some unsavoury habits like eating young chicks and eggs of other species. Normally this would fit into the ecosystem in its place but the Magpies notoriety is enhanced because their numbers are kept artificially high by the birds propensity for multiplying as a result of feeding from bins etc. I wouldnt wish them any harm. But its hard to completely like them.

I'm interested...hardly ever see one really. I'm not overfond of Crows of any kind...especially the ones that dance on my bedroom roof every morning! At least these are pretty ;)

Magpies do take eggs and baby birds, which isn't nice, but it's nature. There have to be checks and balances to keep everything in proportion - nature's only kind from a distance.

*s* know that with my head, not with my heart! I'd do my best to stop a magpie raiding a nest.

dancing on your roof, Karen? that sounds unusual!

yes Fran! They come every day at Dawn to try to raid the sparrows nests, and they land on the flat roof above our bed...you should hear the noise, it's like toddlers on a decking!! Grrrr! Luckily, the nests are completely out of their reach. Scott chucks water up from our bathroom and they fly away.

is ther esomething ou could put on the roof to discourage them? or at least muffle the noise??

Nope. It's a fancy flat roof material which can't be covered or have anything fixed to it.

awwww - not even a layer of something over the top to act as a buffer??

I don't have a problem with magpies although I do know their bad habits! I see them more often in the woods and around the pond and they rarely venue into my garden. I was amused to see Karen talking about dancing crows. My 'dancers' are jackdaws and it sounds like they are wearing hobnailed boots when they hop down the roof :)

Sorry, Fran, should have said how well you've done to get this photo. They usually disappear very quickly if they see any movement nearby. I think they know they are not the most popular of birds :)

I tool this from the kitchen doorway, as far away from the feeder as I can get and still see it - or at least get pics of it! The magpie has been on the lawn several times, but not long enough to get a pic.

when my bro took me for a visit to his new house, years ago, he'd suddenly lift a hand while driving along. after he'd done this a few times, he said he'd seen a magpie and was greeting it, as traition demanded. not said "hello" to this one, wonder if I should!

I've heard about that 'greeting' thing too, Fran. I usually find myself repeating the Magpie rhyme 'one for sorrow, etc...' when I see them and remember the old TV programme too :) I often talk to all sorts of birds that venture in the garden - my grandson calls me Mrs Doolittle :)

Yes its an old country lore thing. If you see a Magpie before noon you must greet it with a salute and the words '' Good Morning Mr Magpie '' and good luck will follow you the rerst of the day. However should you be so silly as to say good morning after noon, then bad luck will ensue.

lol like hte magpie knows what the time is! (any more than I do, most of the time)

wonder how the "greeting" started, and why? I'll have to ask Mr Google