At the bottom of next door's garden stands a very tall bushy leylandii tree, near the top of which magpies have nested for the past two years.

Magpies construct a sort of loose canopy of sticks above the nest, presumably to deter predators and possibly keep the worst of the weather.

I'm not a great fan of magpies as they predate nesting and eggs. However, this year they have been given a taste of their own medicine courtesy of a pair of sharp eyed local crows.

Last spring two young magpies fledged but this year the crows clearly remembered the location of the nest and tried repeatedly to infiltrate the tree, much to the dismay of the adult magpies and both species indulged in a slanging match at intervals throughout the day.

However, after a rather lengthy incubation period, three young hatched and spent several weeks i engaged in so called 'branching' activities whereby they remained in the tree and did not attempt to fly out. The young birds resemble their parents but with much shorter tails.

Then at the beginning of June the youngsters began making tentative flights locally but always returned to the tree to roost every night and it was fascinating to watch the fledglings honing their flying skills from the top of the tree, constantly uttering high-pitched high squawks and squeals or chak-chak caws.

The young birds will remain with their parents until late September before venturing further to find their own territories.