On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 08:41:24 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


"Mogga" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:05:29 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

They're definitely nest building. One is in an ash tree visible from my
study window. It tweaks off twigs and flies off with them to my study
chimney!
I'd forgotten this charming but destructive habit of theirs!

Are they better than magpies? Watched a pair a few years ago pile
masses of long twigs into a heap in a tree and then it all fell out.
It was a pretty impressive pile of sticks by the time they'd finished.

We demolished magpie nest in one of our trees (because we were rearing
chicks) and found masses of lengths of steel wire, wall ties and even a
plastic covered steel wire decorative garden edging hoop. It was all held
together by something akin to concrete and took a lot of effort to demolish.
I took a picture of the metalwork, all the time I'd watched them building I
thought they were just using twigs.

You've just reminded me now of how much rubbish was in it. I should
have took a photo of it at the time ...



We watched the pair re-build in someone else's tree and saw one carrying
another of the hoops.

We described it to the local pigeon shop man who said that he once tried to
demolish one by shooting upwards into it with a 12 bore. It made no
difference to the nest at all.

Mary



I don't know where they nest round where I live now. There's not as
many as where I used to live. Mind you they have parakeets there
apparently now. (Ardwick in manchester)
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