Mum runs!!! And gets bales, Dad just visits – both get grasshoppers – Australian magpies

It's always a bit of a surprise when you realise something has snuck up on you. “Snick Snick” - Mum nabbed an insect just behind me. She got bales and a couple of frozen grasshoppers. She's pretty alert on the first bale – a magpie is going territorial defence in the background and she has a sing – the first screech from a distant male was at 1:07.

I couldn't tell if it was Dad (AKA Adam) or not – it looked to be over a neighbouring territory but...magpies seem to have some kind of understanding when it comes to chasing away predators. Magpie songs aren't necessarily just noises – remember when Mum sang the same song twice in the space of a couple of minutes?

   • Magpies sing duet TWICE!!  Same song two m...  

That's what her little chat reminded me of but without the “signing off” she did on the birdbath. There just has to be an exchange of information occurring in these conversations.

Mum gets 3 bales and they aren't great. Just as well I have a few grasshoppers from yesterday – 4:28. Eat, pre-flight and off – she's all business when she's got eggs in the nest. Probably.

I didn't get any more grasshoppers for today. I stopped watering after the radar showed rain was coming this way. 2mm overnight, that'll do.

Dad has become extremely comfortable around me since his injury. All that supplemental feeding and now he's snavelling roaches from underneath me. He didn't seem to favour either leg and didn't seem to be limping that I saw. He's been doing a lot of territorial defence but since the grass suddenly turned green again there are grasshoppers everywhere.

Barring any further injuries I can stop hunting insects for him, save for treats and to get them out of the veg patch. He might not be 100% but he'd be getting close.

Cheers folks!


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