Here is one pic of a magpie in the chicken coop picking up the egg and one of the magpie entering the chicken coop. I have the chicken coop in a closed up run with a door I open every morning for them to free-range. If you notice each of these pics are taken on different days. I wondered why I wasn't getting eggs on some days If you look at the pop door you can see an egg on the 'porch'. At 3:56 the egg is gone and no chickens are around. The magpies were too fast for my game camera to get pics of them. I have taken an old trampoline spring, attached it to the gate and put some torque on it to give it enough tension it will spring shut once a bird lands on the stick. So far I have only trapped a sparrow It is very difficult to keep the chickens in the front yard while waiting for a magpie to enter the run. I shall persist and once I get a couple magpies trapped I will harass them enough they wont enter any more for fear of it being a trap. They are smart birds and once trapped they shouldn't ever try to enter again. I hope!!
The horses are terrible nosy. While I was trying to put enough torque on that spring they were right there helping, and when I would lose hold and it would spring back on me they just kept watching. Glad they don't try to poke there heads in that little door though. I do enjoy this challenge these birds are giving me. They have nests in the front yard in the big cotton wood trees. Once their young are grown and independent they all leave the area and go... somewhere. While nesting though they keep bigger hawks and eagles away from the area, and in turn all the smaller birds keep them in line. Kinda funny to watch; all these invisible boundaries show up around nesting season and the birds all know where the boundaries are. Even my cats get lined out about boundaries on the ground I just don't want them stealing chicks once the chickens hatch eggs this summer.
