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Cracticus tibicen
A young Australian Magpie with his entourage of Noisy Miners (Manorina melanocephala). There was lots of skwarking, wing-flapping, and beak scrapping against the tree. The miners are nesting at present (in the middle of winter, mind you), and magpies can pose a major threat as they often raid the nests.
These birds are found wherever there is a combination of trees and adjacent open areas, including parks and playing fields. They are absent only from the densest forests and arid deserts. They are very common in Australian cities and towns. This fellow was spotted in suburban Brisbane.
Spotted on Jul 21, 2014
Submitted on Jul 31, 2014
5 Comments
It's my pleasure. What's your name? I did a lot of research before upgrading, and finally settled on a Canon G1X Mk II. A large compact, but it feels like a big DSLR. Your Nikon looks like a great camera - awesome zoom capacity, although I wasn't after zoom. Mine was speed and clarity, and a good macro function. But it had to portable, so this is still a pocket camera. If nothing else it's a step up from my Canon S90.
I love magpies! They are funny birds. Thanks for all the positive comments by the way. You mentioned your pocket camera, I wanted to share with you the camera I own. It's a digital Nikon Coolpix p510. Very affordable, for its zoom capacity. A great field camera. Especially since I'm not the type to want to mess around with DSLR lenses.
Maggies are awesome. I've never had a problem with them around nesting time. If in doubt, a little bit of roo mince works wonders. Just a bit so they know you're a friend. If you come across local birds regularly, they'll never touch you, even though they may not get a treat regularly.
I love magpies...except when they're nesting! Great series Neil! Thank you for sharing :)
No mistake, Ernst. I've identified the spotting as a magpie, but the miners were the assailants. In the case where there are two or more species in a spotting, as long as one is identified as the primary species, others are acceptable. Cheers for picking that up though.