Mice.

dcmg

DCMG

have to say... ( link to the Lakeland thread!!!!)
IF ONLY LAKELAND DID MOUSETRAPS.....

or.....if Carling did.......

My sister just told me that a mouse once met a horrible end in her toaster.

Oh, dammit, JessM, I was just about to go and use the toaster...

Why do cats always bring in mice still ALIVE!!!! and then let them go, to run under furniture and then die???? One ran into my living flame gas fire (it was unlit) and I had to dismantle the whole thing!!!! Grrrrrrr

My cousin's cat often brings dead mice in - he left the last one in his food bowl - perhaps he was saving it for later in case they didn't feed him.

Yup I go with the cat one. Mine chases them till he's bored then destroys them and leaves them outside the cat flap. He has been seen chasing a rat up the road too! Lost out today though, he got attacked by a flock of crows and several magpies who obviously didn't like him, so a quick trip to the vets to discover he just about got away with his life, his head has been shaved to reveal all his wounds and two very nasty cuts near his eyes. Oh yes, and the bill.......

Bellesnan that's really sad - hope he heals quickly and his pride is not too badly dented. Shame the magpies weren't keeping themselves busy catching the mice and rats.

... as for the bill... oh dear.

Goodness me. Magpies and co obviously thought cat was competition in the local predation market...

Maybe that's why there seem to be so few cats around here - a plethora of crows, magpies, rooks, jackdaws, jays... Mind you, the four labradors next door might have something to do with it too.

I'll never forget years ago seeing my little black cat sitting on a fence near a magpie that was hurling abuse at him. The farmer used to put a 'Larsen' [?] trap in the field which I thought was cruel until he pointed out how many songbirds we now had. Saw a 'magpies wedding' years ago when I was walking in the Peak District. Hundreds of them; like starlings they were.

I read somewhere that when a prime magpie territory falls vacant the dominant birds vie for the chance to take over the nest site and all the more junior birds in the area gather to watch the dominance battle to see how it turns out. So that is probably what you witnessed. More like a boxing match than a wedding.
Good looking birds but they do eat a lot of eggs and nestlings of small birds.

Several years ago, I watched a pair of crows diligently building a nest high up in a birch tree across the brook at the end of my garden. I had the binoculars on them while I lay in bed in the morning! After a year, they abandoned it and it was taken over by a pair of magpies which finished it off with their characteristic dome and have had it now for the past three years. The crows occasionally come back and have a look but are ferociously warned off by the magpies.

Does anyone see Jays very often? They're supposed to be quite common, but I've hardly ever seen them. Such a beautiful colour.

I see them a lot because I am surrounded by oak trees here. They hang around in twos and I usually see them plummet to the ground to gather up acorns. My dog stands by the door growling at them but they ignore her - beautiful birds.

When I was staying somewhere outside London earlier this year there was a Jay in one of the trees in the garden. It was a huge garden and I didn't have my bins with me,so I couldn't see it very well, but it seemed to be in the same place at the same time each day, and followed the same 'flight path'.

I know they are there, but they don't often come down into the gardens, except in the winter to see what there is in the bird feeders, and when they are feeding their young in the spring.

In this south london suburb we have quite a lot of birds that are quite surprising at times there are still sparrows here and have seen woodpeckers

But the dominant birds are crows and magpies - we have a lot of large trees around.

However this year there are new arrivals moving in..... Parakeets!
There are a lot in this part of London but have only seen them flying over but now a group seems to have moved in to one of the trees.
Bright green with red beaks!
Have seen some quite fierce stand offs with magpies!

Do parakeets eat mice?

dcmg, I was just wondering how we'd managed to change this thread from mice to birds, but now you have deftly switched it back. Well done!

We have jays and see them quite often from the time the apples on the tree are edible right through the winter. Then they vanish into the woods (I suppose) during nesting time and reappear when it's time to check out the apple supply. Doesn't take them long to strip a whole tree. We don't mind as it's a very old apple tree that has fallen over and taken root via its branches. The apples are very small and wormy. Great jay food.

Annobel

YOUR challenge is now....
to take it from Mice to J Clarkson... and back to mice...
Go on...

Afraid parakeets eat fruit and veg.
Actually Richard Hammond is rather mouse like isn't he. Kinda cute, appealing beady brown eyes looking up at you in a "take me home and look after me" kinda way...

Maybe, JessM as long as he keeps his facetious mouth shut!