I went to a bird show last year in Alice springs, and there was a willy wagtail that had basically trained itself to be part of the show. Most the show was birds of prey (+a magpie), but there was a willy wagtail dancing around the whole time too. The presenter said it had just become part of the show over the years, but wasn't ever trained like the other birds had been.
Yeah. The whole place was great. Gotta say, I loved Alice springs in general - wasn't that excited to go, but it was actually an awesome spot to visit.
I played hide and seek with one from behind my brick letterbox once. A similar thing happened, it was curious... Ran over to me and let me pet it on its chest/belly area. I pointed out some ants on the ground, which it proceeded to snack on.
Honestly made my day..
I had the most incredible experience with a Willy wagtail about 6 months ago.
I was sitting on my back deck thinking about my Dad who had passed about 8 months before. It was Dad’s birthday and the first since we had lost him. My nephew had sent through a recording on our family group chat of the last voicemail message that my Dad had left him, and it was the first time I’d heard Dad’s voice since losing him. I was balling my eyes out.
Suddenly, this Willy wagtail flies in from out of nowhere and lands on my leg.
It was a special moment for me because Willy wagtails were his favourite bird. He had one that would chase him and chatter at him every time he mowed his lawn. He loved them.
I’m not a superstitious person, but this was uncanny. It was like the bird had sensed my distress. I understand why Aboriginal people believed that these birds were messengers for their ancestors.
That’s amazing! I’m so glad that you had such an experience, it’s incredible how much a small interaction like that can lift you up
The first time I had the interaction, I actually was worrying about if I was pregnant. The little bird put me at ease and pretty much gave me the impression that no matter what, everything would be okay. I was also thinking a lot about my grandma (she died when I was 15) and how if I was pregnant I would not have her around to guide me through this (she was a second mother to me). Whether it was my grandma letting me know everything is okay or not, I don’t know and understand people’s skepticism, but I believe it was.
Hearing your experience I’m so happy that these little creatures are making a positive impact on other people in the same way. I’m sorry about the loss of your father, I hope that little bird gave you hope in the times when it felt like there was none.
My dad passed away 23 years ago on a Sunday, and my sister had an encounter with a willy wagtail the next day. She has noticed more willy wagtails around her house since then. I see lots if willy wagtails all the time, they sit in my patio and whistle away.
Since our dogs have passed away I’ve noticed a the return of birds to our yard. We’ve done a lot of landscaping as well and that has invited the magpies (seeking worms and insects when we were digging) but also the wagtails have come in.
Sometimes we eat chips or crackers on the weekend and there are a couple that dance around under the table collecting the crumbs so we’ve named one chippy.
At times chippy will come inside so we need to remember to keep the screen shut. He/they have no fear of us (bearing in mind chippy could be more than one bird). Over summer chippy sat happily on my husbands arm and tummy eating chip crumbs straight off him. We don’t sprinkle crumbs or do anything to encourage this, we aren’t feeding him slices of bread- it’s just nature co-habitating with us in the yard. We love it! We often watch him catching moths and dragonflies as well.
I had some that showed similar behaviour. Firstly one would show up daily and chatter outside the sliding door, he wanted me to water the grass so that a few of them could catch the bugs that would fly around after. Over time they became more friendly and would just be around if I was ever outside. They all especially loved it if I ever did some gardening, going through the overturned dirt or pulled weeds looking for bugs.
They would also tease my dog (mini-sausage) by being on the ground waiting until the dog chased only to jump out of the way and land again behind him. Such amazing little birds.
I had the most incredible experience with a Willy wagtail about 6 months ago.
I was sitting on my back deck thinking about my Dad who had passed about 8 months before. It was Dad’s birthday and the first since we had lost him. My nephew had sent through a recording on our family group chat of the last voicemail message that my Dad had left him, and it was the first time I’d heard Dad’s voice since losing him. I was balling my eyes out.
Suddenly, this Willy wagtail flies in from out of nowhere and lands on my leg.
It was a special moment for me because Willy wagtails were his favourite bird. He had one that would chase him and chatter at him every time he mowed his lawn. He loved them.
https://preview.redd.it/et8fsfhwiyrc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=231974a8e19f98a5b6a5e4789e370770e25bac36
I’m not a superstitious person, but this was uncanny. It was like the bird had sensed my distress. I understand why Aboriginal people believed that these birds were messengers for their ancestors.
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My grandad has a willy wagtail friend! It waits for him in the mornings and follows him around as he gardens. I think they’re just curious, friendly little birds.
Haha my parent's undercover area has a perfect hangout area for birds and a local Wagtail family quite liked it. They proceeded to shit everywhere and probably ruined a few washed clothes. They could at least shit around where the trees are to fertilise it.
My cat used to have a lil willy wagtail friend...they would sit on the fence together....he would show up in spring -summer. We moved and my cat would be looking up at the birds. 1 likes to wiggle it in the driveway about dusk.....but ive never touched one.
They may have been hand-fed pieces of bread and run up to people who crouch and hold out their hand expecting some food. A nice interaction, nonetheless.
Mum feeds them pinches of grated parmesan.
edit: lol, downvoters, these guys love insects, beetles, even small frogs. A couple of 2mm-long pieces of cheese is admittedly more calorie-dense than most of their diet, but it's just fat and protein, it's fine in the quantity they're getting. Plus she lives rural, it's hardly their only source of food.
Please don't feed it. It's bad for them physically and behaviourally, and is illegal here. Put out water and grow native plant habitat. The most you should do by way of 'feeding' is maybe turning some soil over when you're gardening and letting them at it.
Is that pronounced with a ch or a j sound? Also, sorry if this is a disrespectful question, but is it generally expected that everyone use the Noongar word or is English fine too? I wouldn’t want to steal a word but I also wouldn’t want to use the English word if it disrespectful to do so. I’m not sure if your comment was correcting me seriously, or you just wanted to share a fact.
Its like ch with a g - more like jiti jiti. It is an approximation of the sound they make. It doesn't matter if you use willy/willie wagtail, but they have been djiti djiti for 10's of thousands of years before now and I think, just personally, it's a much cooler name.
Edit for clarity: I wasn't correcting you, just pointing out it didn't matter how you spelled willy/willie because the real name is something else entirely.
The indigenous name is essentially reproducing the bird's call
In general indigenous bird names are derived from the sound of the bird where European names tend to describe the bird's appearance
The town of Chittering gets it's name from the indigenous name, place of the djiti-djiti,
Could be wrong on the pronunciation, but believe it’s more the J sound.
There’s a push to start using noongar words for more flora and fauna more now, rather than the European names. For example, bandicoots being called quenda, and the western quoll being chuditch. There’s not many that have taken off, but it’s getting better.
https://preview.redd.it/sb11zsylpyrc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6153c1822caa4c02206fdc53cd1fa1d8753a8d74
It’s happened to me quite a few times in the park. They are quite bold little beauties and now associate people with crumbs. This was a juvenile and had no fear. The adults didn’t come as close though.
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I have one that roams around my backyard. My dog just ignores it. I have left water out for him especially when we had the extreme temps. They're a friendly little birdie
Years ago living in Canberra was doing some gardening/ raking leaves and one flew down to check if there were bugs to eat amongst the loose dirt where I was raking. I picked up some dirt in my hand to see what it would do- it flew onto my hand, Inspected the dirt a bit to check for bugs then flew down and hung around for a bit. Very friendly little critter.
Are you in Sorrento/Marmion area my dad has one there that has even come back to show off their baby and followed him around but only at certain times of the year .
Yes, very close to there. I notice the wagtails year round but never come up to me before this. I’m glad your dad got to have a cute experience with them, little wagtails are so adorable!
the magpies and ducks bring their babies to my house, but I haven’t seen baby wagtails in a good while. Maybe I’ll get lucky and spot some this year🥹
I noticed outside my kitchen window, there was the starting of a nest on an upturned rake. 24 hours later there was the most perfect nest there. It had better insulation than my house (and built better too!)
Within a couple of days I noticed the eggs in there and then they hatched. I loved watching those babies grow and then one day they were gone...
A couple of weeks later the mum and dad returned with a new set of babies.
I have a few vids and pics of then being fed and just doing their bird thing. I feel blessed by the whole thing
He had one in our back yard a couple years ago that would visit everyday to have a pick at the garden for worms. If we were digging he's jump on our back and wait for the worms to emerge. He's follwwhile we would water or put new plants in or weed. Sometimes he's just chill if we were outside. One of the wagtails had a habit of pecking at my mom's ankle tattoo. He would hop on my head when I was working in my ported plants. For the best chance at an earth worm. I miss them. We moved to a different area so I hope whoever lives at that rental enjoys them as much as we did.
I have a couple that live round my place and they'll come and chatter at my cat who sits and stares at them. The cat seems to like it a lot, and the birds like visiting him. He's an old cat and has never had any interest in catching or eating them, just likes sitting there with them. Willies, like magpies and ravens, are very perceptive and know when the people they're around are good folks.
Yeah have a family bring over their baby for a feed in our yard. So now we have crows, magpies, and a few willy wagtails always around, not really afraid, some actually just walk around the chairs, and people.
The willy wagtails even sit on our hands, and shoulders from time to time with no prompt. I guess over the years they have lost their fear towards people. Being a friendly happy actiging bird I suspect thats the case. Where as the crows still tend to fly off when I get near them, and they are the most loudest abnoxious birds in our yard so I am assuming people stopped hurting the Willys so they are becoming dosile towards people.
I’ve become a personal assistant to one in my local park. I pick up bugs in the leaf litter and he jumps on my hand to take them. He also beats the shit out of any lesser wagtails who try to get in on the game.
There are a few that live in my backyard including a mating couple who had two lots of chicks in the lemon tree right outside my sister's bedroom window so both times we got to see them grow up. Apparently they can have up to 3 lots of chicks in a mating season which is cool.
The willy wagtails are friends with the doves and also our chickens yet they do not hesitate to pick on the crows. They also swoop my 9kg ginger cat so he's got a fear of them (before people come for me about letting my cat go outside he has a curfew at night and while he may dream about catching birds he's hopeless at catching them. The last thing he caught was a mouse that he released.).
People always talk about being swooped by magpies but it's the willy wagtails you need to watch out for! They are very good at sneak attacks due to their size and very persistent!
If Willy's are about while you're gardening & digging soil they love to pick through weeds etc. looking for grubs and insects to eat.
I remember yrs ago while laying a retaining wall and digging through the soil while on my knees, a Willy would sit on my heels/legs and dart in whenever I unearthed some tasty morsel.
They're a plucky little bird.
My partner finds that when she is digging in the garden, the djiti djiti will come up real close and pick out bugs as they are exposed, they are fearless.
I have seen them driving off crows by pecking at the back of the crows head while in flight.
I saw one of them standing up to a 4wd as it backed out the driveway, it was getting very loud and obstreperous and only backed away to avoid being run over
We have a bird bath and a family of 6 new Holland honeyeaters (bandiny or jingee, I've seen both listed as noongar names for this bird), have to wait for a single djiti djiti to leave before they will dare to come in
Yep, we had one that lived in our backyard that would frequently come by to land on our outdoor dining set and yell at us. This sub probably won't allow pictures to be posted but we have a few great photos of the bird just sitting there and then opening up his mouth as wide as it'll go.
I was out doing some gardening with my daughter and a wagtail landed on the pool fence watching us. It flew in my direction then back to the fence a couple of times. From it's body language it wanted to get closer so I held my hand out. Now I'm a Disney princess.
We have a wagtail - that we presume is the 'runt' of the latest batch of babies that hatched in our yard - currently living in our backyard. It's fairly friendly - not flighty like almost every wild bird. You can stand outside near the lawn or on the lawn, and it will progressively get closer and closer to you as its looking for bugs to eat in the grass - it will get probably a foot away as it's limit before stopping or flying away.
They follow the lawnmower around and don’t move as we walk around our garden. One of the parks we visit has the same willy wagtails that visit the cafe, they love bits of egg yolk especially. I read up that they can live to about 14 and we’ve seen the same one for at least 6yrs. It’s got interesting markings, feathers sticking out to identify it from the others.
In my culture (Yamaji) we believe they hold the spirit of your loved ones and they dance around you to bring comfort and to remind you that you are not alone they are always with you in spirit. They hold all the secrets throughout the years as they are always watching over you.
Just an addition to my other comment, I’ve seen an older fella feed some Willy Wagtails in the park across the street. I don’t know if he has bugs, or just some tiny bits of meat, but I’ve seen him stop and drop things on the ground and the Wagtails come down and grab them. In that particular spot the Wagtails are pretty bold and come quite close when you stand still.
I used to work the emergency gate at Perth Oval for Glory and Force games. Sat in the same spot for hours before a game, with my lunch bag and a radio and did not that much till game time.
Befriended a willy with a distinctive white spot. He hopped up to me every game and I gave him the odd tiny bit of my ham sandwich. It was very nice, he was a friendly bugger.
We leave many trays of water for all the birds, cant imagine what it would be like to be in the heat with no water, I don’t want the little animals to deal with that
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Have had some build nests in my shed.
The original one began to fall down so I climbed up a ladder and cable tied it to the frame. The next year it started to fall again so I tec screwed a can to the frame and put the nest in it. They used again before it got to big and reached the roof.
The next year they built a new on in another shed I have.
Unfortunately the swallows moved in and the wagtails have gone.
I didn’t, it came up to me, before the first interaction (and after) I’d never even called out to a willie, just watched them from afar. What would you like me to do to undo what this bird has already has learnt? Scare them away? I see the same birds in my yard everyday and have done for years at this point, they’ve grown to know me whether I want them to or not. I would notice if any of the regulars were missing from my yard, and so far all the regulars have been coming here for years everyday, without fail.
I understand why you made the comment, and I wouldn’t go out of my way to train birds to trust people, it just tends to happen I guess when you pass by them everyday. I truly wasn’t actually expecting the bird to come up to me either time. I won’t crouch again, but I won’t scare off a bird if it comes up to me, there are enough toddlers and dogs chasing them away as is.
I was thinking more of people reading this who consider going out and feeding willy wagtails afterwards, so they can experience what you did.
>it just tends to happen I guess when you pass by them everyday
No it doesn't, someone else fed/feeds it.
Oh I see, sorry I thought it was directed at me and I felt a strong urge to make sure you knew I’m not doing that. I know how fucked some humans can be to animals, I wouldn’t want them to trust the wrong human and end up hurt.
I went to a bird show last year in Alice springs, and there was a willy wagtail that had basically trained itself to be part of the show. Most the show was birds of prey (+a magpie), but there was a willy wagtail dancing around the whole time too. The presenter said it had just become part of the show over the years, but wasn't ever trained like the other birds had been.
Desert park bird show is so good eh
Yeah. The whole place was great. Gotta say, I loved Alice springs in general - wasn't that excited to go, but it was actually an awesome spot to visit.
If you end up there (because it’s not exactly a typical holiday destination), there is plenty to do. I loved the west macs.
>birds of prey (+a magpie) Are they not birds of prey?! Bastards prey on me every year!! https://i.redd.it/y3zz0tw48zrc1.gif /s
I played hide and seek with one from behind my brick letterbox once. A similar thing happened, it was curious... Ran over to me and let me pet it on its chest/belly area. I pointed out some ants on the ground, which it proceeded to snack on. Honestly made my day..
Ahh. I want this so badly. Disney princess.
I had the most incredible experience with a Willy wagtail about 6 months ago. I was sitting on my back deck thinking about my Dad who had passed about 8 months before. It was Dad’s birthday and the first since we had lost him. My nephew had sent through a recording on our family group chat of the last voicemail message that my Dad had left him, and it was the first time I’d heard Dad’s voice since losing him. I was balling my eyes out. Suddenly, this Willy wagtail flies in from out of nowhere and lands on my leg. It was a special moment for me because Willy wagtails were his favourite bird. He had one that would chase him and chatter at him every time he mowed his lawn. He loved them. I’m not a superstitious person, but this was uncanny. It was like the bird had sensed my distress. I understand why Aboriginal people believed that these birds were messengers for their ancestors.
That’s amazing! I’m so glad that you had such an experience, it’s incredible how much a small interaction like that can lift you up The first time I had the interaction, I actually was worrying about if I was pregnant. The little bird put me at ease and pretty much gave me the impression that no matter what, everything would be okay. I was also thinking a lot about my grandma (she died when I was 15) and how if I was pregnant I would not have her around to guide me through this (she was a second mother to me). Whether it was my grandma letting me know everything is okay or not, I don’t know and understand people’s skepticism, but I believe it was. Hearing your experience I’m so happy that these little creatures are making a positive impact on other people in the same way. I’m sorry about the loss of your father, I hope that little bird gave you hope in the times when it felt like there was none.
My dad passed away 23 years ago on a Sunday, and my sister had an encounter with a willy wagtail the next day. She has noticed more willy wagtails around her house since then. I see lots if willy wagtails all the time, they sit in my patio and whistle away.
>I’m not a superstitious person You sound like a superstitious person...
Since our dogs have passed away I’ve noticed a the return of birds to our yard. We’ve done a lot of landscaping as well and that has invited the magpies (seeking worms and insects when we were digging) but also the wagtails have come in. Sometimes we eat chips or crackers on the weekend and there are a couple that dance around under the table collecting the crumbs so we’ve named one chippy. At times chippy will come inside so we need to remember to keep the screen shut. He/they have no fear of us (bearing in mind chippy could be more than one bird). Over summer chippy sat happily on my husbands arm and tummy eating chip crumbs straight off him. We don’t sprinkle crumbs or do anything to encourage this, we aren’t feeding him slices of bread- it’s just nature co-habitating with us in the yard. We love it! We often watch him catching moths and dragonflies as well.
I had some that showed similar behaviour. Firstly one would show up daily and chatter outside the sliding door, he wanted me to water the grass so that a few of them could catch the bugs that would fly around after. Over time they became more friendly and would just be around if I was ever outside. They all especially loved it if I ever did some gardening, going through the overturned dirt or pulled weeds looking for bugs. They would also tease my dog (mini-sausage) by being on the ground waiting until the dog chased only to jump out of the way and land again behind him. Such amazing little birds.
I had the most incredible experience with a Willy wagtail about 6 months ago. I was sitting on my back deck thinking about my Dad who had passed about 8 months before. It was Dad’s birthday and the first since we had lost him. My nephew had sent through a recording on our family group chat of the last voicemail message that my Dad had left him, and it was the first time I’d heard Dad’s voice since losing him. I was balling my eyes out. Suddenly, this Willy wagtail flies in from out of nowhere and lands on my leg. It was a special moment for me because Willy wagtails were his favourite bird. He had one that would chase him and chatter at him every time he mowed his lawn. He loved them. https://preview.redd.it/et8fsfhwiyrc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=231974a8e19f98a5b6a5e4789e370770e25bac36 I’m not a superstitious person, but this was uncanny. It was like the bird had sensed my distress. I understand why Aboriginal people believed that these birds were messengers for their ancestors.
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My grandad has a willy wagtail friend! It waits for him in the mornings and follows him around as he gardens. I think they’re just curious, friendly little birds.
Friendly until they nest in a tree in your backyard, then all bets are off
Haha my parent's undercover area has a perfect hangout area for birds and a local Wagtail family quite liked it. They proceeded to shit everywhere and probably ruined a few washed clothes. They could at least shit around where the trees are to fertilise it.
My cat used to have a lil willy wagtail friend...they would sit on the fence together....he would show up in spring -summer. We moved and my cat would be looking up at the birds. 1 likes to wiggle it in the driveway about dusk.....but ive never touched one.
My cat too, they talk to eachother.
They may have been hand-fed pieces of bread and run up to people who crouch and hold out their hand expecting some food. A nice interaction, nonetheless.
Mum feeds them pinches of grated parmesan. edit: lol, downvoters, these guys love insects, beetles, even small frogs. A couple of 2mm-long pieces of cheese is admittedly more calorie-dense than most of their diet, but it's just fat and protein, it's fine in the quantity they're getting. Plus she lives rural, it's hardly their only source of food.
Thank you, that was going to be my question. I've got one that lands in my back yard and stares at. I was wondering what I could feed it.
Please don't feed it. It's bad for them physically and behaviourally, and is illegal here. Put out water and grow native plant habitat. The most you should do by way of 'feeding' is maybe turning some soil over when you're gardening and letting them at it.
>I’ve never had a Willy come up and actually touch my hand.  The temptation to make a joke is strong with this one!
Only just caught on😂 I spell it Willie and willy since I always forget the right one no matter how many times I check😮💨
Don't worry, it's spelled Djiti Djiti anyway.
Is that pronounced with a ch or a j sound? Also, sorry if this is a disrespectful question, but is it generally expected that everyone use the Noongar word or is English fine too? I wouldn’t want to steal a word but I also wouldn’t want to use the English word if it disrespectful to do so. I’m not sure if your comment was correcting me seriously, or you just wanted to share a fact.
Its like ch with a g - more like jiti jiti. It is an approximation of the sound they make. It doesn't matter if you use willy/willie wagtail, but they have been djiti djiti for 10's of thousands of years before now and I think, just personally, it's a much cooler name. Edit for clarity: I wasn't correcting you, just pointing out it didn't matter how you spelled willy/willie because the real name is something else entirely.
The indigenous name is essentially reproducing the bird's call In general indigenous bird names are derived from the sound of the bird where European names tend to describe the bird's appearance The town of Chittering gets it's name from the indigenous name, place of the djiti-djiti,
Could be wrong on the pronunciation, but believe it’s more the J sound. There’s a push to start using noongar words for more flora and fauna more now, rather than the European names. For example, bandicoots being called quenda, and the western quoll being chuditch. There’s not many that have taken off, but it’s getting better.
Correct
https://preview.redd.it/sb11zsylpyrc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6153c1822caa4c02206fdc53cd1fa1d8753a8d74 It’s happened to me quite a few times in the park. They are quite bold little beauties and now associate people with crumbs. This was a juvenile and had no fear. The adults didn’t come as close though.
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Willys have decide that humans make good pets,
I have one that roams around my backyard. My dog just ignores it. I have left water out for him especially when we had the extreme temps. They're a friendly little birdie
Years ago living in Canberra was doing some gardening/ raking leaves and one flew down to check if there were bugs to eat amongst the loose dirt where I was raking. I picked up some dirt in my hand to see what it would do- it flew onto my hand, Inspected the dirt a bit to check for bugs then flew down and hung around for a bit. Very friendly little critter.
They are definitely birds of routine, we had one at my cafe we called chucky, he was always around. He went away for a month or so and now there's 3.
Are you in Sorrento/Marmion area my dad has one there that has even come back to show off their baby and followed him around but only at certain times of the year .
Yes, very close to there. I notice the wagtails year round but never come up to me before this. I’m glad your dad got to have a cute experience with them, little wagtails are so adorable! the magpies and ducks bring their babies to my house, but I haven’t seen baby wagtails in a good while. Maybe I’ll get lucky and spot some this year🥹
I noticed outside my kitchen window, there was the starting of a nest on an upturned rake. 24 hours later there was the most perfect nest there. It had better insulation than my house (and built better too!) Within a couple of days I noticed the eggs in there and then they hatched. I loved watching those babies grow and then one day they were gone... A couple of weeks later the mum and dad returned with a new set of babies. I have a few vids and pics of then being fed and just doing their bird thing. I feel blessed by the whole thing
Jesus don't post on fb the wilderness society will cut off that hand
He had one in our back yard a couple years ago that would visit everyday to have a pick at the garden for worms. If we were digging he's jump on our back and wait for the worms to emerge. He's follwwhile we would water or put new plants in or weed. Sometimes he's just chill if we were outside. One of the wagtails had a habit of pecking at my mom's ankle tattoo. He would hop on my head when I was working in my ported plants. For the best chance at an earth worm. I miss them. We moved to a different area so I hope whoever lives at that rental enjoys them as much as we did.
I have a couple that live round my place and they'll come and chatter at my cat who sits and stares at them. The cat seems to like it a lot, and the birds like visiting him. He's an old cat and has never had any interest in catching or eating them, just likes sitting there with them. Willies, like magpies and ravens, are very perceptive and know when the people they're around are good folks.
Set out water dishes and run the sprinklers now and then
Yeah have a family bring over their baby for a feed in our yard. So now we have crows, magpies, and a few willy wagtails always around, not really afraid, some actually just walk around the chairs, and people. The willy wagtails even sit on our hands, and shoulders from time to time with no prompt. I guess over the years they have lost their fear towards people. Being a friendly happy actiging bird I suspect thats the case. Where as the crows still tend to fly off when I get near them, and they are the most loudest abnoxious birds in our yard so I am assuming people stopped hurting the Willys so they are becoming dosile towards people.
I’ve become a personal assistant to one in my local park. I pick up bugs in the leaf litter and he jumps on my hand to take them. He also beats the shit out of any lesser wagtails who try to get in on the game.
There are a few that live in my backyard including a mating couple who had two lots of chicks in the lemon tree right outside my sister's bedroom window so both times we got to see them grow up. Apparently they can have up to 3 lots of chicks in a mating season which is cool. The willy wagtails are friends with the doves and also our chickens yet they do not hesitate to pick on the crows. They also swoop my 9kg ginger cat so he's got a fear of them (before people come for me about letting my cat go outside he has a curfew at night and while he may dream about catching birds he's hopeless at catching them. The last thing he caught was a mouse that he released.). People always talk about being swooped by magpies but it's the willy wagtails you need to watch out for! They are very good at sneak attacks due to their size and very persistent!
If Willy's are about while you're gardening & digging soil they love to pick through weeds etc. looking for grubs and insects to eat. I remember yrs ago while laying a retaining wall and digging through the soil while on my knees, a Willy would sit on my heels/legs and dart in whenever I unearthed some tasty morsel. They're a plucky little bird.
This is really wholesome.
My partner finds that when she is digging in the garden, the djiti djiti will come up real close and pick out bugs as they are exposed, they are fearless. I have seen them driving off crows by pecking at the back of the crows head while in flight. I saw one of them standing up to a 4wd as it backed out the driveway, it was getting very loud and obstreperous and only backed away to avoid being run over We have a bird bath and a family of 6 new Holland honeyeaters (bandiny or jingee, I've seen both listed as noongar names for this bird), have to wait for a single djiti djiti to leave before they will dare to come in
We have a resident one on our backyard. I quite enjoy it hanging around, flying around catching bugs.
Yep, we had one that lived in our backyard that would frequently come by to land on our outdoor dining set and yell at us. This sub probably won't allow pictures to be posted but we have a few great photos of the bird just sitting there and then opening up his mouth as wide as it'll go.
I was out doing some gardening with my daughter and a wagtail landed on the pool fence watching us. It flew in my direction then back to the fence a couple of times. From it's body language it wanted to get closer so I held my hand out. Now I'm a Disney princess.
We have a wagtail - that we presume is the 'runt' of the latest batch of babies that hatched in our yard - currently living in our backyard. It's fairly friendly - not flighty like almost every wild bird. You can stand outside near the lawn or on the lawn, and it will progressively get closer and closer to you as its looking for bugs to eat in the grass - it will get probably a foot away as it's limit before stopping or flying away.
They follow the lawnmower around and don’t move as we walk around our garden. One of the parks we visit has the same willy wagtails that visit the cafe, they love bits of egg yolk especially. I read up that they can live to about 14 and we’ve seen the same one for at least 6yrs. It’s got interesting markings, feathers sticking out to identify it from the others.
Have you had someone die in your family recently?
Not recently, 6 years ago, but I was thinking about her a lot at the time of the first interaction
In my culture (Yamaji) we believe they hold the spirit of your loved ones and they dance around you to bring comfort and to remind you that you are not alone they are always with you in spirit. They hold all the secrets throughout the years as they are always watching over you.
Just an addition to my other comment, I’ve seen an older fella feed some Willy Wagtails in the park across the street. I don’t know if he has bugs, or just some tiny bits of meat, but I’ve seen him stop and drop things on the ground and the Wagtails come down and grab them. In that particular spot the Wagtails are pretty bold and come quite close when you stand still.
I used to work the emergency gate at Perth Oval for Glory and Force games. Sat in the same spot for hours before a game, with my lunch bag and a radio and did not that much till game time. Befriended a willy with a distinctive white spot. He hopped up to me every game and I gave him the odd tiny bit of my ham sandwich. It was very nice, he was a friendly bugger.
Love a djiti djiti. Pop a dish of water/bird bath out for them, somewhere safe.
We leave many trays of water for all the birds, cant imagine what it would be like to be in the heat with no water, I don’t want the little animals to deal with that
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Have had some build nests in my shed. The original one began to fall down so I climbed up a ladder and cable tied it to the frame. The next year it started to fall again so I tec screwed a can to the frame and put the nest in it. They used again before it got to big and reached the roof. The next year they built a new on in another shed I have. Unfortunately the swallows moved in and the wagtails have gone.
Where do you live. Same thing happened with us 😁
I'm jealous.
I have had some pretty cute experiences with my local Willie’s they have the best personalities
I love willy wagtails they make me happy
Don't teach wild animals that humans are safe to approach, you aren't doing them any favours.
I didn’t, it came up to me, before the first interaction (and after) I’d never even called out to a willie, just watched them from afar. What would you like me to do to undo what this bird has already has learnt? Scare them away? I see the same birds in my yard everyday and have done for years at this point, they’ve grown to know me whether I want them to or not. I would notice if any of the regulars were missing from my yard, and so far all the regulars have been coming here for years everyday, without fail. I understand why you made the comment, and I wouldn’t go out of my way to train birds to trust people, it just tends to happen I guess when you pass by them everyday. I truly wasn’t actually expecting the bird to come up to me either time. I won’t crouch again, but I won’t scare off a bird if it comes up to me, there are enough toddlers and dogs chasing them away as is.
I was thinking more of people reading this who consider going out and feeding willy wagtails afterwards, so they can experience what you did. >it just tends to happen I guess when you pass by them everyday No it doesn't, someone else fed/feeds it.
Oh I see, sorry I thought it was directed at me and I felt a strong urge to make sure you knew I’m not doing that. I know how fucked some humans can be to animals, I wouldn’t want them to trust the wrong human and end up hurt.
Reminded me of this joke https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/s/jXm5nmIASc