Spring, winter, autumn and summer – forget them. In Australia there’s only one season that matters and that’s And a veteran hang glider was surprised to learn it’s that time again while he was soaring 300 feet (91 metres) above the Blue Mountains. Neil Evans has shared video with Yahoo News of his encounter last Friday.
“Hello maggie," he says before a territorial male flies directly towards him. Reflecting on that moment this afternoon, Neil recalled the first thing he heard was the bird warbling. “Then he flew up and then attacked me.
He kept going until I was out of his area — probably half a dozen times,” he said. Luckily the magpie was more interested in striking the wings than Neil, and after he left its territory the bird left him alone. Male magpies only attack to defend their chicks in August and October, and as a father himself he can't help but respect them.
“They just go to the glider and I think it shows a lot of heart,” he said. “I love nature, and they’re a beautiful bird — most of the year they’re really friendly. But they just have a job to do right now.
“I actually talked to the magpie. That’s what I do when they come at me, sometimes I whistle a bit.” Neil has now uploaded the footage to TikTok with a thumping Fat Boy Slim soundtrack, exciting hang-gliding enthusiasts around the world and clocking up over 40,000 views.
Seeing birds in the sky is more exciting than watching them from the ground. It’s not just magpies Neil .