Not magpies, but woodpeckers
I awoke at the crack of dawn (who's she?, Ed) a week or two ago to a raucous rat-tat-tatting. A woodpecker had enlarged a hole in the decaying siding of the current rental house. Once inside, it pulled insulation out, covering the garden in a fiberglass moss, before carrying into its new nesting site twigs, feathers, etc. And once inside, in the nice warm comfort of the wall-space, it continued to tap-tap-tap as it enlarged the hole and made itself generally comfortable.

Did I mention that this hole was about 18 inches from my head, when in the sleeping state?

It took me a few days to get round to it, but I blocked up the hole (flattened tin-can screwed onto the siding (which is where I discovered just what a poor state it is in), well-caulked and covered. The giant swinging steel doors at Fort Knox are like cardboard compared to my barrier. She's not been back, but I've heard insistent rat-a-tat-tatting echoing around the neighbourhood as she tries to get herself situated for springtime egg-laying.

Oh, and the solar-powered owl, with bobbing and rotating head, turned out to be as much use as a chocolate teapot.

Length? About 9" with red and black plumage...
(IHaveComeAmongThee__Twice Tissues on the left. Self-esteem on the right., Wed 5 May 2010, 19:32, Reply)