"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
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"BAC" wrote in message
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"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
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"BAC" wrote in message
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"Sacha" wrote in message
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On 5/8/06 23:42, in article ,
"Alan
Holmes" wrote:


"Russel Sprout" wrote in message
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"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 3/8/06 10:58, in article
,
"DB01" wrote:


"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
. net...

"DB01" wrote in message
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How do you discourage the magpies? We do get a couple trying to
enter
the
ivy covered poplar that all the small birds live

They're a pest and a pain, handsome though they are. The old
country
people
used to inject an egg with poison and put it into nests the
magpies
were
plundering - or shoot them, I'm afraid.
--
Sacha

A much maligned species.

Not when they destroy other small birds.

Alan

Indeed. I've seen them do it and it's not pretty.

It might not be pretty, but predation is just a part of nature.

But when they completely destroy all the small birds, which then take
many
years to recover, they need to be culled,

They don't completely destroy all the small birds, though. If you have
an
open mind on the subject, please read the RSPB's take on the effect of
magpies on songbird populations,

The last time we have an influx of Magpies ALL the small birds
dissapeared,
and it was several years before they came back.


We have less magpies in our neighbourhood than in recent years, but still a
few, plus crows, rooks, jackdaws, the very occasional raven, squirrels,
cats, kestrels, pigeons, doves, sparrowhawks, buzzards, gulls, and not much
apparent difference in small songbird numbers, year in, year out.