I golfed today at the National Course, Cape Schanck – specifically the Moonah. As I approached the 18th green I noticed an Australian Hobby diving almost vertically into some thick grass presumably after a rodent. As it hit the deck it was immediately attacked by an Australian magpie who sought a share of the booty – the magpie seemed almost to be waiting for the Hobby attack. As the two birds tumbled around like a couple of furious wrestlers in the grass I heard “eek-eek” above. I then saw a second Hobby hovering overhead – presumably the partner of the first – that dived directly onto the magpie. Now all 3 birds engaged in a wrestling match in the grass for a few seconds.
The magpie is a much bigger bird and it caused the other two so much trouble that they flew off. The magpie then searched the area for the target, I think without luck. The two Hobbies resumed their hovering for prey only 50 metres from where the fight had occurred. It seemed as if a squabble with a magpie and a bit of a punch-up was all in a day’s work. No concerns about a repeat.
I hit a great second shot to the green and finished an indifferent round of golf with a par on one of the tough holes on the Moonah course. The ornithological punch-up added to the pleasure. (698)
I think it’s that time of year. I saw a bit of surreal fight between a duck, which was standing in the middle of the road, and a cockatoo, which was repeatedly swooping it and trying to avoid getting pecked by the duck as it do so. I have no idea why this was happening as I haven’t seen cockatoos attacking other birds much before (let alone a duck standing on the road).