On Fri, 16 May 2003 22:57:34 GMT, (Andy Spragg)
wrote:

Malcolm pushed briefly to the front of the
queue on Fri, 16 May 2003 07:38:45 GMT, and nailed this to the shed
door:

^ On Fri, 16 May 2003 06:15:04 GMT, (Andy Spragg)
^ wrote:
^
^ Malcolm pushed briefly to the front of the
^ queue on Thu, 15 May 2003 08:13:02 GMT, and nailed this to the shed
^ door:
^
^ ^ On Thu, 15 May 2003 08:01:07 GMT, (Andy Spragg)
^ ^ wrote:
^ ^
^ ^ pushed briefly to the front of the queue on Wed, 14
^ ^ May 2003 22:47:38 GMT, and nailed this to the shed door:
^ ^
^ ^ ^ Would a magpie attack a robin's nest? I saw two robins setting up a
^ ^ ^ nest in a birdhouse in my back yard, then didn't see them for a few
^ ^ ^ weeks, so I had a look in the nest and there was an egg in it. I left
^ ^ ^ things alone but didn't see the robins any more. Then last week I
^ ^ ^ noticed that the nest had been pulled out of the birdhouse. I thought
^ ^ ^ maybe a rat or cat had been at it, as all trace of the egg was gone.
^ ^ ^ I put the nest back in the birdhouse just to see what would happen,
^ ^ ^ and today it was pulled out again. I saw a magpie looking around the
^ ^ ^ yard yesterday, so I'm wondering if it could be the culprit. If so,
^ ^ ^ could it have chased off the robins in the first place?
^ ^
^ ^ I would certainly think so. Where I work, the building is like a
^ ^ hollow square, built around a large open garden/quadrangle thing.
^ ^ Every year, ducks come and nest there - it's become quite an annual
^ ^ event, seeing how many young will be raised every year. This year is a
^ ^ record - 18 - but it's also the first year I can remember where the
^ ^ numbers were not reduced by at least 50% by magpies,
^ ^
^ ^ Lie. Have you actually seen a magpie taking the chicks? I very much
^ ^ doubt it!
^
^ No, of course not. Just because my office is on the first floor,
^ looking inwards, adjacent to a tree that the magpies sit in, and just
^ because I get occasionally alerted to look out when the mother duck
^ quacks blue murder when an ambush occurs and she spots it ... no, I
^ never saw a thing. I just took the time to chime in because I'm a
^ compulsive magpie-hating liar.
^
^ Precisely. This would be why there is no substantive fact to back it
^ up, no research, nothing.

Are you for real? Or perhaps American? Let mw rephrase what I said -
which related my personal experience, not my belief - in terms
suitable for the sarcasm-blind:

It would appear you are the one with a propensity for seeing things?

My office is on the first floor. It looks inwards, adjacent to a tree
that the magpies sit in. Occasionally I get alerted to look out when
the mother duck quacks blue murder when an ambush occurs and she spots
it. On such occasions, yes, I have seen a magpie taking a chick.

Liar.

This is not a "blatant lie". It is my personal experience. You may not
like it, but tough. And it may not generalize to ducklings in the
wild, but I never claimed that it did. I claimed that it led me to
judge as credible the possibility that a magpie might attack a robin's
nest.

No, you claim the magpie is to blame for all the worlds ills, based on
your ignorance of magpies.

^ ^ who given half a
^ ^ chance will attack and kill the ducklings when they they are still
^ ^ very small.
^ ^
^ ^ That is a blatant lie.
^
^ Whoo-hoo, you caught me out there. I just took the time to write it
^ all for the sheer malicious fun of it, but you got me bang to rights,
^ Guv. I'll need to get up earlier in the morning to catch /you/ out.
^
^ That's OK, you're not alone in making thing up to get attention, this
^ is why the magpie got the had name in the first place. Simple folk
^ just sort of latch on.
^
^ Hope it's been an education for you.

Oh, assuredly. It's taught me that someone I never met believes the
magpie to be an innocent victim of bad press;

Which it largely is.

and that that person
holds that belief so strongly that any testimony of personal
experience counter to that belief must in their opinion necessarily be
perjury. Hardly the most valuable lesson I ever learnt, but thanks. I
hope it's been an education for you too, but somehow I doubt it.

Well if you tell porky pies, you must expect to get caught.

So, you don't like facts that challenge your prejudice? I understand.

Prejudice? excuse me!

^ So, you dont like reasoned,
^ well thought out, civil debate?
^
^ I understand.

Ah, sweet irony.

Indeed.



--








So, you dont like reasoned,
well thought out, civil debate?

I understand.

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