War on magpies!!

[shenners 0]

I watched a pair of magpies tear a robin to pieces in my nan's garden.

 

I was so appaled by what I saw that I have decided to try and thin out the magpie population in my area and get some songbirds back into my garden.

 

Does anyone really like magpies? And why are we seeing so many of them these days??

 

This a call to arms!

 

I aim to take 10 a week from now on.

 

Shenners

[wats 0]

no we dont like em you see more around towns nowadays like rats kill everyone you can mate dirty f***ers,there cowards, ya should see em scream when a hawk nails em, priceless.

[Coney 3]

Flying vermin...I agree with wats on this one, drop every one you see as long it is safe to do so, good luck and keep us posted.

[woodchip 2]

i read an artical a while ago in the shooting times saying about the large numbers of magpies and crows etc it said the reason we see such large numbers of the nowadays is because of the lack of gamekeepers and the ones we do have dont have time to be killing them.?

[DIGZY 4]

SHOOT TO KILL

[targa 5]

Nasty killer birds those maggies, since may 06 I shot at least 150 of them in a 500m area around the gardens and house. Much more blackbirds, robin's, woodpeckers, and other songbirds now.

Yep, shoot to kill mate.

[Scuzy 1]

Shoot the flying rats!

Just the same as Jackdaws and Crows, smelly, filthy b*****ds that deserve a pellet in the head...

[paddy.t 5]

Got 3 that come and nick food from bird table, have spent hours sat in bedroom window hiding waiting, never turn up, so im just going to stick a lump of C4 under table, second i see them BANG

[Deker 3,478]

I admire them a lot for the simple reason they are very good at what they do..that's why we see so many these days, but they are a real pain in the butt!!

 

On the whole they are not easy to get out in the field, in many cases your best bet may well be the back garden.

 

Whilst many of my landowners have different quarry preferences, every single one wants the Magpie removed!!

[trappa 518]

Good lad kidda! Theres an old wives tale that if you kill a magpie you save a thousand songbirds!

A great cause, get some photos up!

[Guest silenthunter]

i thin out magpie's anyway i can mate i seen three magpies attack a female blackbird on chicks on my permission i shot the magpies and went and had a look at the damage they did they killed 2 of the chicks and there was one chick still alive on the floor so i put the chick that was flung from the nest back into the nest and waited fank god the female blackbird come back and sat on the chick and the male bird came back feeding the chick and female same happened to my friend the gamekeepers son he had a robins nest riped to bits by 2 magpies my mate shot the magpies with my weihrauch hw77 air rifle but he wasnt looky anough to save any of the chicks the best magpie is a dead one happyhunting silenthunter......

[Malt 379]

I admire them for their intelligence, but that don't mean I like the feckers! Nest robbing, thieving b'stards the lot of them.

 

Keep at 'em!

[shenners 0]

Well I'm glad that so many of you share my dislike of Magpies, I will keep at it and post pictures of my results..........

 

I have been out this morning for a couple of tins of .177 Bisley magnums and re-zeroed for this pellet.

 

Watch them fall.

[Clover 0]

Get some for me - they are going into my hen house and stealing my eggs.

[Biffo1262 0]

Magpies for me are a love - hate relationship. Close up they are beautifully marked bird with outstanding iridescent colours, excellent parents and very intelligent. I had one as a pet from a chick many years ago and it made a marvelous garden watchdog, making a terrific row if anyone was sneaking around and even nipping their heels. Kept well fed he never molested any songbirds and they seemed to know he didn't present a threat eventually as they would not be scared off. However the wild Magpie has got far too prolific and is one of natures many success stories - for the Magpie that is. I don't like shooting ANY bird bird but out of necessity it has now become a must. Our local park keeper used to keep them under control locally with an air rifle but with the anti-gun lobby and public liability these days, it has come to an end. Now I can understand why Magpies have to be shot and are considered a serious pest but just why are Jays on the DEFRA list? It is very rare that a Jay will take a young bird though they will take the odd egg or two but any damage a Jay does is far outweighed by the advantages. Jays are credited with the the vast majority of seeding of new Oak trees due to their habit of burying their Acorn caches spread over a large area and being forgtten about. These acorns sprout and hey presto new Oak trees. The managers of the Sandringham Estate certainly don't discourage them for I have seen as many as thirty playing about in one small clearing. A beautiful bird, the Sandringham Jay will actually take food from your hand and are a tremendous source of pleasure to visitors and locals alike.