Bird Wars
On a regular basis I have witnessed aggressive behaviour in birds. On a previous post I wrote about the conflict in our garden between a Willie Wagtail and a New Holland Honeyeater. The New Holland Honeyeaters seem to be aggressive towards many species. So is the Red Wattlebird, often seen chasing away other species from its favoured feeding plants.
Willie Wagtails are well known for taking on much larger birds, even as large as a Wedge-tailed Eagle which is many times its size. This is especially so during nesting time. Magpies get very aggressive during breeding season, the male defending the nest from all who dare come near the nest, humans included.
On fewer occasions I have observed a group of one species attacking a single bird from another species. Mobbing of Owls by honeyeaters, for example, is relatively common. Less common, in my experience, is a group actually doing harm to a single bird. While driving recently near our local racecourse I saw about a dozen Common Starlings attacking a Spotted Turtledove. The details are sketchy because I was concentrating on driving and couldn’t stop to observe further. The hapless turtledove seemed destined for a nasty demise. Perhaps the lady walking her dog towards the scene of the crime disturbed the attackers and gave it a reprieve. Whatever happened, I saw no body there a few hours later as I passed the same spot.
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Uninvited Picnic Guest
3 Comments »26th July, 2006; Category: General
Australian Magpie
We were having a peaceful picnic in the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens near Adelaide last Sunday when we had an uninvited picnic guest. This Australian Magpie settled on our picnic basket for about five minutes. It was only about a metre from where we sat. There were several other magpies that came quite close too, so they are obviously very used to being around humans.
While it was sitting on the basket we noticed that one of its legs was severely deformed, as if it had been broken at some stage. This did not seem to hinder the bird in any way, though balancing on the handle of the basket was tricky. We were delighted that he decided to honour us with a beautiful carolling song. Hearing the magpies carolling at any time is a delight; hearing it sung at such close quarters was magnificent!
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Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens in winter
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Flock of Magpie Larks
No Comments »25th July, 2006; Category: General
I need to go for regular walks for the good of my health. These walks regularly give me opportunities to do a little birding as I go. A few evenings ago, just on sunset, I saw 21 Magpie Larks all flying overhead in the same direction. I have normally only observed single birds or a pair. Most often one only experiences a few at a time, rarely in large groups.
On checking the handbook of Australian Birds (HANZAB) I have discovered that flocks of up to 100 individuals have been seen. I am not sure where they had been but they all seemed to be heading for a nearby oval, possibly to roost in the trees next to the oval.
Larking around
Magpie Lark
There was an interesting item on a local television news broadcast this evening. It seems that a pair of Magpie Larks has been causing a few problems at the Festival Centre in the CBD of our state capital, Adelaide.
The report stated that a nesting pair of Magpie Larks was busy swooping every pedestrian who dared to use the footpath. The news footage used showed the Magpie Larks swooping low over people’s heads, pecking some of them.
I am very familiar with Australian Magpies swooping people who dare to venture near their nest. I’ve been swooped many times – but interestingly never by our resident pair that nests close to our house. But I’ve never been swooped by a Magpie Lark. Furthermore, I’ve never witnessed this behaviour in this species before, nor have I heard of anyone being swooped by a Magpie Lark.
Interestingly, the news reporter was sporting a nasty wound above his eye. He claimed to be a victim of a Magpie Lark attack earlier.
Magpie Lark
Charlie’s Bird Blog
One of the more entertaining birding blogs on the internet is Charlie’s Bird Blog. Charlie has a dream job – for a birder. He works for British Airways and in this job he flies all over the world to some wonderfully exotic birding places. He makes regular postings of places he has been and what he has seen.
Photo Gallery
Charlie’s photo gallery has over a thousand shots of birds from many different countries. He has 116 galleries in all. They are all brilliant but be warned: they take a while to load.
Trip Reports:
Since 2004 Charlie has been posting trip reports of the birds he has seen in all those wonderful places he visits. These now number over 60 reports and most have photos. The trip reports come from his visits to Africa, Asia (Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Singapore, Thailand), Australia, Europe (UK, Germany), North America (USA, Canada, Mexico), the Middle East and South America.
Motto:
I love Charlie’s motto: “…sleep can wait, I’m going birding!”
Web sites:
- To access Charlie’s Bird Blog click here.
- Another blog Charlie writes is called Hummingbird (click here).