For all you tortoise lovers out there I thought I should share something with you. They say you live and learn and today I certainly did.
I put my two 14 month old Hermans outside in the sun today and put a metal fence around them for both protection and to stop them wondering. I also covered the top with some wire mesh. Having watched them for about 20 mins I popped inside to do a few bits. After five minutes I took a look outside just to check on them. To my horror and dismay there was a magpie pecking one of my babies through the mesh. I knocked on the window (how I didn't put my hand through the glass I will never know) and raced to the scene. My tortoise was tight and not moving and had secreted a large amount of urine - I assume as a defence mechanism. Rather than go into all the details my tortoise is now fine and indeed got away with a very very lucky escape. I would suggest that things could and would have been so different had I of left them for another few seconds. The magpie was definitely interested as it kept swooping round after I had taken them back inside. I have to say that I have never experienced anything like this before despite having my tortoises outside as frequently as possible.
Its just something you should always consider when leaving them outside and if anyone has any further tips please feel free to post them because as i learned today - AS MUCH AS YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT TO DO YOU NEVER KNOW IT ALL.

Hi, yes I have heard of this before.  One person put their babies out, then went inside to get the wire bars to put on the base of the rabbit cage, while she was inside getting the top of the cage, a magpie got one of hers, it dropped a piece of dirty meat in the cage and took the tort and she saw the magpie eating her tort on a roof.  It is such a good job you had the mesh over yours. But certainly a lesson to others, thanks for sharing this with us.

Regards Vivienne

I have a set of covers that go over my outdoor enclosure when I am not right there myself to make sure its safe.  These covers are made of wooden frames with wire mesh and they are very ugly.  But like you I have seen the magpies and in the summer they knew there was food in the enclosure. (Tortoises)

I was able to put them off their attempts to break into the enclosure by putting lines of orange string across above the enclousre, like washing lines crossing each other.  The magpies dislike this becasue they don't want to get tangled in the string, being clumsy big things. Once I had the orange washing lines up they kept their distance more.

I find it hard not to hate these birds, but they are only doing what comes naturally.  Unfortunatley us humans have created ideal conditions for them, leavng rubbish for them to eat and in other ways.  Their numbers have grown hugely and they have become horrible pests not just to tortoises but to other birds as well.

This is correct, i was told once by someone who works for the RSPB that magpies can easily suss a trap and if something is distinctive enough then they will avoid it, they will generally only atack if there is no food to feed their young. They are also pack birds so if you harm one then the rest will come to mourn their loss, i discovered this when my dad shot one with a rifle after it attacked one of his ferrets and they all swarmed his garden making this awful cackling noise.

Horrid birds and they are rife here at the back of my garden.

Ali