willedoo Posted September 12 Author Share Posted September 12 On 10/09/2024 at 4:49 PM, octave said: Something I have noticed is that in the past they seemed to make contact with the helmet but lately seem to go for the ears. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/315557416917?_skw=Medieval++Helmet&itmmeta=01J7JXD9GZ5F5FZD6AZQ4BKDYB&hash=item4978b00fd5:g:2zAAAOSwPAVmVhx-&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKlrF%2B62eY91%2FTEPhqKnffGrLtmo9xfF%2Bfx3MdJuYvTcfdYce6cYgnkXzL5RJvmp2xgDp0YFW%2Bsq7hvwAfLqGCCwNx4TISbPAhLk8qr9ek6jWnj5dgMruNdttQVFcKFWWZ3C6xFKnvU7r9BH%2FJABG6kXhulXLspBkJv3lrHl5T3cZldn3CBWrlOd3dPGb7He5%2FQKOOAN%2BfWEI%2BX2cHjuZvH9kVgGDVTRxvYC4GGp7p7SuUdArfHB1DMWrCZ9Wlby%2Fk6dePAsOMt%2BCWjPqZyjIL%2B1UIpRJgyZGA09dkPBDFLPng%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR9CYtd28ZA 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted September 12 Share Posted September 12 Ear, ear. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tuncks Posted Monday at 12:54 AM Share Posted Monday at 12:54 AM I never heard about the guy with his eye pecked out, but in Edenhope, there was a letter-delivering lady who got lots of magpies killed cos they frightened her. I was, and still are, angry at her. I may have bought her a helmet, but that's all. We have lots of magpies around here, and I really like them. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tuncks Posted Monday at 12:56 AM Share Posted Monday at 12:56 AM The main enemy of the magpies are the kookaburras, they seem to hate each other. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted Monday at 02:00 AM Share Posted Monday at 02:00 AM Suburban development has had a positive effect on magpie numbers. Suburbanites like their manicured lawns. Grubs and bugs like to chew at grass roots. Magpies love to eat grubs and bugs. Therefore, more grass lawn + more grubs and bugs = more magpies. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octave Posted Monday at 02:11 AM Share Posted Monday at 02:11 AM I also like magpies although not keen on the 10% of male magpies that get a touch aggressive every September although they are just protecting their young. Here is a website where you can report attacks and also be alerted to locations with aggressive magpies. Australia's Magpie Swooping Map 2024! The red one is the extra aggressive one that got me. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomadpete Posted Monday at 02:50 AM Share Posted Monday at 02:50 AM If you can get to know your magpies, they won't attack you. Several times, I have seen magpies attack newcomers to their territory (in breeding season), and leave us regulars alone. Don't ask me how to make it happen. But the magpies are smart enough to recognise individual people. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tuncks Posted Monday at 03:03 AM Share Posted Monday at 03:03 AM Wow nomad, yep they sure are smart birds. Once, I hit one with an electric model plane prop and I felt bad when it plummeted down to be joined by it's mate on the ground. I didn't want to disturb their grief, but half an hour later, the crook one had recovered enough to fly away! I had noticed that well-known people were not swooped, but dogs sure were, especially black and-white border collies. I love how they ( the magpies) are so unafraid that they will fearlessly attack. Mind you, where I used to live, the tiny little birds we called willy-wagtails used to chase the magpies away. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_d Posted Monday at 04:50 AM Share Posted Monday at 04:50 AM Advice from The Guardian... https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/sep/15/magpie-swooping-season-is-here-but-you-can-avoid-attack-if-you-play-by-their-rules 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willedoo Posted Monday at 05:37 AM Author Share Posted Monday at 05:37 AM Birds sure are clever. I only get the very occasional magpie visit at my place as they know it's the resident raven's patch. However, they must know that I feed the raven. One magpie appeared on the verandah rail with a crook leg he couldn't put weight on. It didn't stop him from perching (standing on one leg) or flying but he couldn't walk to hunt for food. He knew it was a good bet I'd feed him until his leg got better and that's exactly what happened. Once he could walk again a week later he left and went back to his own territory. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted Monday at 10:01 AM Share Posted Monday at 10:01 AM I'm surprised at how nearly all meat-and-bug-eating birds, won't touch dead meat, or dead bugs - they like them alive and warm and wriggling. But crows love anything dead, and actually seem to prefer carrion to a lot of other types of food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomadpete Posted Monday at 11:31 AM Share Posted Monday at 11:31 AM 1 hour ago, onetrack said: I'm surprised at how nearly all meat-and-bug-eating birds, won't touch dead meat, or dead bugs - they like them alive and warm and wriggling. But crows love anything dead, and actually seem to prefer carrion to a lot of other types of food. Each to their own. Most of us prefer our meat not too wriggly. Are we more like crows than we like to admit? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Litespeed Posted Monday at 11:55 AM Share Posted Monday at 11:55 AM Yes, some birds refuse to eat it unless it's alive and healthy. My mate Zoro, the super model of birds - a Greater Egret, will only eat live fish, prawns and squid. I can feed him live ones, which he will take, but if it's not fighting to get away, he looks carefully and refuses it. Does the smart dog thing of tilting his head to show he is thinking about it and weighs the risk. Zoro will now come when called to fish on the verandah and always hoots to say hello. Funnily if he misses a catch, he will grunt and hoot in disgust as he does if disturbed by others on the dock. He clearly communicates differently for the circumstances. He even has different speech to tell the Night Heron to "fuck off, I am king of the dock". He even hangs out looking inside the boat through the glass door to see what's up. If the doors open he will poke his head in to check us out. He is a absolute character and given he arrived as a adult, he is remarkably friendly for a wild predator. If he catches one that won't fit head first down his throat, he drops it on the dock for us to have. He has done this with really big Garfish, too big to safely swallow. He always orientated the animal to slide down head first, this stops the risk of a fin or spine catching in his throat- that would be fatal. The Cormorant that always fishes under my friend's houseboat is a massive greedy guts and will swallow fish half his weight easily. Watching them hunt blows me away, they can fly underwater faster than most fish ever swim and be under for minutes. A perfect hunter above or below the surface. Sorry the pic is from crap phone. Zoro is 3 feet away, as I drink a beer and he fishes. Note he is growing his Sexy feathers on his back and will soon have bright red legs and his beak will change from yellow to green. Then he will dance the fantango and find a mate. Living on the water in a world renowned RAMSAR bird sanctuary sure has its benefits. 1 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted Wednesday at 11:56 AM Share Posted Wednesday at 11:56 AM We've discussed the intelligence of crows. Now check out the logic of this cat. https://www.facebook.com/reel/1262511565175795 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted Wednesday at 10:51 PM Share Posted Wednesday at 10:51 PM Red, that's not a cat video, you have the wrong FB link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted Thursday at 01:24 AM Share Posted Thursday at 01:24 AM Sorry about that. Unfortunately I can't go back and get it. A stuff-up with the copy and paste. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted Thursday at 03:27 AM Share Posted Thursday at 03:27 AM Is this the same cat? The craftiness of this cat is amazing. I'm trying to figure out how he knew the wedge was stopping the door from opening? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomadpete Posted Thursday at 05:03 AM Share Posted Thursday at 05:03 AM (edited) I had a cat that I used to lock in the laundry at night. Each morning he made a terrible racket. So I spied on him an discovered that when he woke up he wanted to come out to us, so he would leap up and hang off the door handle with one paw, and with the other, pull down the handle to unlatch the door. The racket was created because he couldn't work out how to makel the door swing inwards to open it. When I let him out, he would go straight to our bathroom and open the sliding door to let the dog out so the pair could come and say 'good morning' to us. The more I know about people, the more I like (other) animals. Edited Thursday at 05:05 AM by nomadpete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red750 Posted Thursday at 07:51 AM Share Posted Thursday at 07:51 AM Yes, that's the clip I hoped to copy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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