Destruction of the Magpies (by sarah)
I was hoping to get some nice pictures of the little blue tit family that had taken up residence in the bird box on the apple tree. The little chicks were being fed by the industrous perants and we were concerned as part of the rose bush that lives near the tree had blown infront of the opening making it a bit of a struggle.
The wind came and sorted that out for us as we hadn't wanted to disturbe them too much is we could help it.
Then Barabara comes over all sad - she found the top of the nesting box ripped off, she had already risked disturbing the nest to nial down the lid to try and prevent the magpies doing this but is had only been at the very corners and wasn't obviously secure enough :'(
She climbed up to find the little nest ripped to shreds and no sign of the eggs.
She then climbed the tree to nial it on good and proper so that if the blue tits had another brood they would be safe. Here she is hammering the lid on:
However this turns out to have been a bit in vian as she found what is probably the mother, dead and forlorn, we think she was probably sitting on the nest when they ripped the lid off.
I also found this egg down by the compost heap now it is possible that it just fell out of the nest once the chick had hatched - I can't remember what Barabara said it belonged to - something like a hedge sparrow or something. But it is possible that either the Magpies got that nest too like it did the ducks last year or (and more lickily) a cuckoo did it as this is one of their favourite nests to lay in.
It's about 3 cm long and a bright terquoise blue with little dark flecks.
Mon 7th May 2007 12:54 pm 
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