Magpie swooping season has been busy. But on this morning’s bike ride the magpies I saw were busy chasing a noisy miner (not a mynah). Then just when I thought I’d escaped, I was swooped - by a mob of ebullient rainbow lorikeets, high on their supply of bottlebrush nectar.

#birdlife #bikelife #swoopingseason

@writingslowly Oh, that’s a lot of swooping! There’s a charming pair of white-faced herons nesting near our house. The blimmin magpies harass them as they come and go.

@writingslowly Oof! Be careful out there.

@Miraz I think the magpies are introduced ‘pests’ in NZ aren’t they?

@lmika no way. I’m taking massive risks recklessly.

@writingslowly Hmmm, NZ Birds says: “It was introduced from Australia and Tasmania by Acclimatisation Societies between 1864 and 1874, mainly to control insect pests.”

@Miraz “Do we actually know what we’re doing?” - said no entitled group of men ever.

@writingslowly.bsky.social I’m reliably informed it’s a noisy miner, not a mynah. Always forgetting that