On Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:34:18 +0100, Adam Funk
wrote:

I recently found that something had been digging around in one of my
vegetable containers; at first I figured it was a cat, but there was
no poo, & three copper plant tags had disappeared. I've seen magpies
around occasionally this year, & someone told me they like to take
shiny things back to their nests.

Comments, suggestions?

Use wood or plastic plant labels; magpies may go for copper if it
glints in the sunlight.

I've never noticed them digging in the ground here (and there are a
lot of them); they don't seem to touch any seed that falls to the
ground from a feeder though they do take over the bird table
occasionally and will kill any small bird that has the temerity to
land whilst they're gorging.

I do have blackbirds and thrushes that go into the ground around small
plants, presumably looking for meat! They seem to ignore ground around
more established plants, perhaps because that's less disturbed by my
ministrations and so is a bit harder.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from Swansea Bay. Dave's at that
end; I'm at this end. Bill's in the middle.