You are right, it happens here as well, I know its natural for them to do it but I don't like it, I have even had them flying at my head because I was working near the hedgerow and they had built there nest in there, they can be very nasty and even the cats won't deter them, I do my best to dissuade them nesting there now..

Nature in the raw… I do not feel we have any right to dictate what is a good, or a bad, bird, as this is just our view. We get starlings mobbing feeders where they can - have they any less right to food than the Passerine's? We have a sparrow hawk which hunts through our garden at least once a day… he needs feeding too. Magpies are part of the bird kingdom which is pretty much in balance - it is humans that cause most of the problems!

Hi Amsterdam, magpies are beautiful birds, look at the colours in their plumage. Apart from black and white, the blues and greens in their wings is beautiful. That is where the beauty ends, as they are vicious. I have seen many blackbird nests in my conifers raided and baby blackbirds thrown to the ground to die. Sadly, that is nature and who are we to interfere? Where blackbirds nest and magpies are flying about, you will hear many battles going on and the noise from the blackbirds is very loud. Other blackbirds from around the area will fly in to scare off the magpies also adding to the noise. I sit in my conservatory watching and listening but can't help. Countryside folklore has it that farmers, when they see a magpie, doff their caps and say "Good morning Mr Magpie" as a mark of respect, hoping that the magpie will leave his crops alone.
Another piece of useless info I have picked up in my time.

If its a case of protecting a child or myself from a bird I can assure you I will continue to do so, thats not dictating whether its good or bad, its self preservation, wouldn't dream of stopping them from eating, I wouldn't like a mouse or a rat living in my home either and would definitely stop them as well........

Sorry Lincslass… how do you or your children need protecting from Magpies?

I already stated Moongrower, when they built their nest in our hedgerow they kept flying at our heads, I know they were protecting their nest but a young child of 2/3yrs old has a very tender skin and is also easily scared, I can assure you it wasn't a nice experience and I will never forget it, they were darned lucky, my shotgun happy neighbour hadn't moved in, I would have asked him to practise willingly that week and no I wouldn't have felt guilty...
Natures way is to protect the young and that does include grandchildren would you not agree..

Mmm.... Can see that I've opened a can of worms here! Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I agree that magpies have a right to live and are part of the ecosystem of survival but I'm just saying I don't like them! We can't interfere but I will still come running out of my backdoor when I see them in my garden to scare them off!

The magpies around here seem to have a preferred territory. My neighbour seems to get a lot of attention from the maggie. Only on rare occasion do I get them in the garden. Even then it is the front garden.
Even so, they are tolerated. They are, as has been mentioned, rather lovely.
Nevertheless, blackbirds, thrushs, blue/great/long-tailed and coal tits abound. Various finches and woodpeckers et al arrive; And they all seem to get along.
I am at a loss as to how to de-magpie a garden. They go their way. As do others.
I feed the birds - fat-balls, regular seed and niger. Had no problem with anything other than the robins; They vie with each other to dominate the area, but it not so much a problem as more a way of life. But in the end the status quo prevails and they all sort of rub along.
Now, if the wren will just stay still long enough, I can grab a picture. :)

The game keepers keep their woods Magpie free by
carrying a shotgun. So the wretched birds come into
towns to raid our gardens.
Red Kites are increasing now.
The RSPB encourage these predators, shame on them.
Small birds are entitled to live, same as we do.

We have a pair of crows who chase away the magpies.....

personally i am a fan of them, and you have two that is quite 'joyful' as the old poem says. granted i know they are vicious but thats how they are and i say tough there are worse birds out there, also they are extremely clever and lovely to watch. we have four pairs or so nesting in a big tree a couple of doors down from me, yes we have crows in the area that frighten them but they also frighten every other bird as well!

Everything in balance, Diane the game keepers up here killed every last red kite the RSPB reintroduced them on the Black Isle and I am delighted to say they are now doing extremely well, watching their soaring flight is a joy. We can't pick and choose which birds we want we simply have to accept what comes to our gardens and is in our area.

When the magpies ate the bluetit fledglings in my garden hub blocked up the holes of the nest so they (bluetits) couldn't use it again in the future, we had watched the parents make the nest and feed the young right above our heads, it was fascinating, i watched everyone of them (3) flap there tiny wings and fall with a tiny bump onto my lawn, then one by one a magpie swooped and tore them to pieces on my fence, i was distraught.. so, its the small birds we try to discourage not the magpies, the blackbirds can take care of themselve's, i saw them attacking my dog because she was near there nest, Good on them :) I agree that it is nature and try not to interfere but, I do Hate magpies ..

I don't hate them now, they are a lovely looking bird, although I did at the time I have explained about, I only discourage them from nesting in my hedge, they continue to visit my garden and guess they always will, they are welcome to share the food I put out, if they are going about their lives and don't come at us again they'll be left alone...We often have the battle in the skies between the crows and the red kite and it gets quite aggressive at times but yes its an awesome sight........

Had to come back and tell you as its so exciting and appropiate to the topic, lol, I've just found Jenny Wrens nesting site for this year, I was working near my bottom pond and could hear a bird getting quite agitated, few mins later I spotted her flitting about in the conifers that separate the compost cubby from the rest of the garden, good job I have more compost bins as that area is now out of bounds for a while, that means I'm on guard again, my cats and the magpies better beware.........

Oh lovely Lincs, the bluetits nest between a block pillar and the slab on top, its a tiny crack but very safe with a hedge behind, last year robin nested on the gh shelf
fingers crossed for them all

Magpies were quite easily to tame and taught to talk before the Victorians got out their nasty little guns and shot anything that flies. Unfortunately there are many people who like to do the same today. Cats are just as deadly to small birds and I won't tolerate them in my garden and Magpies don't poo on the flower borders.

I agree with MG here that all animals have a role to play on this earth. Us humans can't pick and choose which should live just because they are cute or not a threat to us. This would upset the ecological balance as nature has a way of keeping things in order.

It is us that is causing the problems. We do things like put out food for the birds and foxes and we then get annoyed when they come into our habitat to get it. Any animal will take the easiest option to get food, so why not just leave them to get their food from the wild like they are supposed to do? We are not helping and we only have ourselves to blame. Look at the problem we now have with urban pigeons and seagulls because people feed them.

It makes by blood boil when I here that some surfer or swimmer has been attacked by a shark and boats go out looking for it to kill it. THAT'S WHERE SHARK LIVE FOR GODS SAKE. They live, breed and swim in the oceans. It's their home. If and when sharks cross that boundary and start to come into our houses and attack us, then that is the time to start shooting them.

Well said Myron...

I agree with everyone here, We all have an opinion and are entitled to one :)

Sharks Myron! give me a Magpie any day :)