A pair of magpies has been building a nest in the top of our cupressus leylandi. Yes I know, but it's the only tree which is a shelter for birds for a long way round.
It's been fascinating watching them flying to the tree with very large lengths of twig, I wouldn't have believed it possible for them to carry such lengths - some more than 2' long I reckoned.
More than 600 cm for the Imperially challenged.
The tree is also host to very many smaller birds which build there, collar doves, blackbirds, sparrows, various t*ts, possibly a pair of woodpigeons, and I was worried about their nests being invaded for food for the young magpies when they happened. I've seen such a thing, it's not a happy sight.
Spouse collected a long ladder from a son tonight, two x 13' (work it out!), put it against the tree and, with me standing on the bottom and praying, climbed up to the top. I wasn't happy about his doing it but he was determined.
When he got to the top of the tree he began throwing down the nest material. When I saw it coming, in the advancing gloom, I bent my head. Sometimes things hit my arms, holding the ladder. It hurt. There was one large, shaped lump of compacted mud too.
When he came down we picked up the bits and pieces to burn.
The mud was held together with various coated and plain wires. There were long lengths of stout wire - some as thick as coat hangers, there was a wire wall tie, there was a decorative white plastic coated 'Gothic arch' thing which is used to edge flower beds. There were twigs too of course. There were pieces of plastic and bits of roofing felt.
I thought it would just be a haphazard pile of twigs, that's what these nests look like from the ground, but no, it was all carefully tied together, the bent wire made it very difficult for Spouse to dismantle. Tomorrow I'll look at the wire in daylight and perhaps weigh it too. It was a real eye-opener for me, who thought she knew something about magpie nests.
Mary