October fun!
This shot in Cobar Street, Lota on Brisbane's southern bayside shows two of the things to watch for in our city at this time of year. Firstly, we have the gorgeous Jacaranda Tree, thousands of which colour South East Queensland during the month. If you are lucky, you may find a couple of the much rarer white ones.
Somewhere in the trees not far away a pair of Australian Magpies also have a nest and young. During this time, an occasional male may swoop, a frightening experience for the unprepared and uninitiated but they are just protecting their territory and family of course. The males that swoop are very much in the minority.
If you live in Australia where Magpies live (and they certainly live in urban areas), one just has to be aware and take sensible precautions just as we do for the many sometimes scary insects and animals that co-inhabit our country. Our local Council also puts these warning signs up to encourage awareness.
We love our Magpies and we purposefully get to know them, talk to them and let them see and remember us in positive ways and this lessens the likelihood of issues. None of our locals swoop.
The young are mostly well and truly up and about now and a feature of our suburbs is the noise made by the constantly begging sounds as young Maggies seek food from parents.
We stopped and had some coffee and cake this morning at a cafe in Wynnum and at one stage I had a juvenile at my feet and another within inches of my face, in fact it took a peck of Jenny's cake!
In summary, Magpies are just wonderful!
Don't be alarmed, here's some information to help you deal with "swoopers" -
birdlife.org.au/news/its-magpie-swooping-season-once-agai...
October fun!
This shot in Cobar Street, Lota on Brisbane's southern bayside shows two of the things to watch for in our city at this time of year. Firstly, we have the gorgeous Jacaranda Tree, thousands of which colour South East Queensland during the month. If you are lucky, you may find a couple of the much rarer white ones.
Somewhere in the trees not far away a pair of Australian Magpies also have a nest and young. During this time, an occasional male may swoop, a frightening experience for the unprepared and uninitiated but they are just protecting their territory and family of course. The males that swoop are very much in the minority.
If you live in Australia where Magpies live (and they certainly live in urban areas), one just has to be aware and take sensible precautions just as we do for the many sometimes scary insects and animals that co-inhabit our country. Our local Council also puts these warning signs up to encourage awareness.
We love our Magpies and we purposefully get to know them, talk to them and let them see and remember us in positive ways and this lessens the likelihood of issues. None of our locals swoop.
The young are mostly well and truly up and about now and a feature of our suburbs is the noise made by the constantly begging sounds as young Maggies seek food from parents.
We stopped and had some coffee and cake this morning at a cafe in Wynnum and at one stage I had a juvenile at my feet and another within inches of my face, in fact it took a peck of Jenny's cake!
In summary, Magpies are just wonderful!
Don't be alarmed, here's some information to help you deal with "swoopers" -
birdlife.org.au/news/its-magpie-swooping-season-once-agai...