Nice people thread 2 - now even nicer

Generali

This is what the blasted magpies do over here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkBGUXXaeTQ&feature=related

They are a serious menace, especially when you don't know what is happening. I've worked out that once you hit a speed of about 32-33kmh they can't keep up. They try to peck your eyes out.

It is illegal to kill magpies without a licence in Australia

:-(

carolt

Yes, they get very excited at our recycling - love the shiny bits of silver foil and drop them annoyingly all over the drive...

You have my sympathies.

Davesnave

We don't have magpies here. The man at the other end of our field is a gamekeeper, and when I last saw him he had a magpie in a cage called a Larsen trap. Once in the cage, the magpie flaps about which, as viva has noted, gets other magpies hyped-up, so they also go inside to see what's going on and....

Basically, one magpie can trap half a dozen more. Then it's bye-bye magpies.

We do have a lot of other birds.

silvercar

Basically, one magpie can trap half a dozen more. Then it's bye-bye magpies

YUK! Can people post nice things on the nice people thread please.

Feeling a bit fragile at the moment. Son home from a music festival in Germany week before last and then we read about the awful deaths there last week. Just leaves me a bit shaky. Reminds me of the Kings Cross fire in 1987, when I'd changed tubes there an hour before the fire. Took a few weeks to get over the "what if..." thoughts.

vivatifosi

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

[I was doing an oil change on the car once and a magpie swooped down to grab the socket (as of socket spanner) I had been using.
Fortunately it was too heavy/slippery and it dropped the socket half way down the garden]

Its quite amazing the weight they can carry given that they are only using their beak. I think in my case they were annoyed they couldn't get right in the window and therefore went on a bit of a rampage. Its just their strength in using momentum to topple a big rotary washing line. The solar light parts were relatively lightweight (I hadn't thought to check and there may be some missing), so chucking those on the ground will have been easier, but I was still surprised. I knew I could trust everyone else for a few Magpie related stories though...

Thankfully peace returned last night, even though I slept with window open. Will be more careful in the future as I don't want them pecking at my eyes in my sleep :eek: (sorry Silvercar).

On a different note, glad your son is home safe Silvercar. My Mum and Aunt once walked down the platform at Euston, got on a train and the restaurant where they were having a cuppa before getting on the train blew up as the train pulled off. Its a horrible thought as others were injured, but we were so relieved when they got home as there were no mobiles back then to check they were ok.

Davesnave

silvercar wrote: »

YUK! Can people post nice things on the nice people thread please.

I was as un-graphic as I could be!

I realise it is silly to assign a 'value' to any wild bird, but I do prefer the goldfinches, blue tits etc to the magpies. We also have jackdaws to outwit, as they wreck the feeders, given half a chance.

Out in the field, the buzzards are pretty unpopular with other birds; the crows will drive them away on sight. I can't put the small chickens out unprotected from above, but the buzzards also see off lots of rodents and baby rabbits, so they are OK from my POV.


Daughter 1 used to go to the Love Parade, but I think Edinburgh has taken over from that in recent years.

My 'What if?' story concerns the Bath Rapist and the fact that I gave a teenage girl a lift home on a night when he struck. The girl told me to drop her at the end of a lane because of one way system hassles, but I eyed it up and decided to go to her door. It was a drag, and I nearly didn't, but it was Halloween and there were all sorts of folk around. Anyway, the Rapist attacked someone else in that lane at around the same time.

Later, the police asked me, "Did you see anyone acting suspiciously or looking odd?" to which I had to reply, "What? On Halloween?"

I can see why they dislike it.

SingleSue

I went to Donnington back in 1988 and I put my parents right through the wringer with worry as they had heard that people had been killed in the crush down the front....even more so as again, there were no mobiles back then and it had taken us some time to get out of the car park after the event and to a service station where I called home.

The relief in my mums voice was very apparent, she was in tears and after getting over her initial relief, I got the blasting of my life for worrying the life out of her.

carolt

Shame (or good thing maybe?) that lir's not here - just found this in the Telegraph.

The bunch of literary thieves!

Not a patch on lir's of course:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/outdoors/7906736/Keeping-chickens-Hen-and-the-art-of-chicken-maintenance.html

treliac

silvercar wrote: »

Feeling a bit fragile at the moment. Son home from a music festival in Germany week before last and then we read about the awful deaths there last week. Just leaves me a bit shaky. Reminds me of the Kings Cross fire in 1987, when I'd changed tubes there an hour before the fire. Took a few weeks to get over the "what if..." thoughts.

vivatifosi wrote: »

On a different note, glad your son is home safe Silvercar. My Mum and Aunt once walked down the platform at Euston, got on a train and the restaurant where they were having a cuppa before getting on the train blew up as the train pulled off. Its a horrible thought as others were injured, but we were so relieved when they got home as there were no mobiles back then to check they were ok.

Same here Silvercar... glad your son is home safe and sound.

One of my close friends was only 10 mins or so infront of one of the 07/07 bombs. I always think 'there but for the grace of god.....'

fc123

carolt wrote: »

Shame (or good thing maybe?) that lir's not here - just found this in the Telegraph.

The bunch of literary thieves!

Not a patch on lir's of course:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/outdoors/7906736/Keeping-chickens-Hen-and-the-art-of-chicken-maintenance.html

I'm missing LIR's input a lot I have to say.....but looks like we have got Bouche in her place. :wave: Welcome.


Magpies...I have some tales about sarf east lundun ones that I will try to recall later. I am back and only 1 lurking around but 2 Sparrowhawks are living in our gardens now. They like to grab a bluetits off my neighbours feeder.

I have a whole new batch of wildlife in my garden here...and I saw Mr/Mrs Hedgehog the other night. The only reason for keeping the bottom of the garden overgrown.:o