Attack of the Magpies

There have not been many disappointments Nick and I have encountered since moving to Australia, but one issue has come up in the past few weeks that has caused much stress in the Miller household…THE MAGPIES!  

Magpie breeding season is from late August to early October and during this time they are very aggressive towards people within 100 meters of their nest.  The first I had heard of magpies was at school when I noticed a boy with a scratch on his face.  He told me he had been attacked by a magpie on his way to school and this attack caused him to fall off his bike.  I became nervous as I inquired more, realizing that magpies were particularly aggressive towards people on bikes.  Nick also did some research and found that their aggressive behavior includes swooping in from behind and pecking at the face, neck, ears or eyes.  They have even been known to “dive bomb” and strike cyclist in the head.  I noticed cyclist wore helmets with zip ties attached as protection from the magpies.  I have also heard that people draw eyeballs on the top of their helmets as magpies are less likely to attack if they believe that they are being watched.

This weekend Nick and I had some fun in preparing a little “get up” I could wear to be fully prepared for magpie swooping season.  To the disappointment of Nick I only wear the helmet while riding to and from school.
Just yesterday on my way home I was swooped three separate times by a magpie.  We moved to a new house and the current bike path to school is really wooded.  The sun was on my back and I could see the shadow of the magpie swooping in.  I heard its wings flap close to my ear, saw the shadow lift and then he swooped in two more times.  I have never peddled so fast in my life.  Today I avoided the forest and walked along the street.  The bike path will have to wait until breeding season is over and the babies have left the nest!

P.S. Ryan Smith, I was thinking you guys should come and visit sometime between August and October.  What do you think?

Hervey Bay

This weekend Nick and I traveled four hours south to Hervey Bay to do some whale watching!  This time of year humpback whales are traveling south towards Antarctica and pass through Hervey Bay.  From the pictures we saw advertised for the cruise we would be taking, our expectations for the day were very high!

Whales travel in packs called pods and we immediately saw a pod of whales upon leaving the marina.  The captain of the boat was amazing at tracking the whales.  He could see spray from their blow holes from miles away and could also identify their location from what he called a "foot print" which is a flat circle of water on the surface caused by the motion of their tail.  We approached a pod, the captain turned off the motor and we waited to see if the whales would approach the boat.  Humpback whales are typically curious of the boats and often approach them.  The first few pods we approached showed no interest in our boat, however we saw a spectacular leap from one directly in front of us.  It was amazing to see such a massive animal able to propel itself so far out of the water.  Unfortunately I was only able to capture the enormous splash.  After giving up on the first few pods of whales we came upon a 3 year old baby whale that was very interested in our boat.  He swam right up to the side to check us out.  It felt like he was playing with us because he would pop up on one side and then swim under the boat to the other side.  Everyone on board was running side to side and front to back trying to guess where this little guy would pop up.  I say "little guy" because he was very small in comparison to a full grown humpback which can weigh as much as 45 ton and grow as long as 50 feet.  It was spectacular to see a whale up close and I had to admire how curious and playful these creatures were.  The captain said they respond to movement and sound so everyone on the boat was waving to the whale and he eventually waved back.  I would say our expectations were met to say the least!

Just missed a giant leap but caught the giant splash

Belly role

Nick waving...

...whale waving back:)

Bye whale!

Bye Katie and Nick!  See you next year!

The fun didn't end at Hervey Bay.  Look what we saw on our way home:

Toolooa State High School

I took Nick on a tour of Toolooa High this Sunday and thought I would share the pictures we took with all of you.  I am really enjoying my job at Toolooa High and feel really lucky to have this experience.

I am working as an aide to the special education teacher and help special education students in their general education classes.  I have been working the length of the school day which is from 9am to 3pm.  Students have four 1 hour 10 minute periods and two 40 minute breaks so the day goes by really fast.  Period one and two are back to back, then a forty minute break.  Period three and four are separated by a forty minute break and then it is time to go home.  Students eat lunch or play basketball on their breaks.  There isn't a cafeteria, just picnic tables set up throughout the campus and all classrooms are accessed from the outside.  Most classrooms have large sliding doors that teachers often leave open so it is almost like going to class outside.  Both the staff and students have been really friendly and when I pass students they always say, "hello miss".  Students wear uniforms which I believe is the case in most Queensland schools, both public and private.
 

I have been riding my bike to school which is about a 3 mile ride each way.  Conveniently there is a bike path from our apartment all the way to school.  The weather has been beautiful for riding and being out in the sunshine always puts me in a good mood.  I ride by a primary school on my way to and from Toolooa High and I love seeing the younger kids walking and riding their bikes to school.  Primary school students wear tilley hats as part of their uniform and they all look really cute. 

It didn't really hit me that I was teaching in another country until the students were called to an assembly (which they call a parade) and everyone sang the Australian National Anthem.  There are other small reminders as well.  I have had to brush up on my knowledge of the metric system and there has been confusion with some vocabulary.  I told a student to be sure to put a period at the end of his sentence and he had no idea what I was talking about...apparently here a period is called a "full stop".  Many of the boys at school wear hats with American NFL/MLB/NBA team logos but have no idea what the logo represents.  One of my students had a Detroit Lions hat and I said, "Hey, I'm from Detroit".  He said he had no idea where Detroit was but apparently likes the colors blue and grey.  Another student had a Chicago Blackhawks hat and I was able to convince him to do a math problem by agreeing to tell him what sport his hat represented when he was done.  He was very disappointed to find that it was ice hockey...told me it wasn't worth all the hard work:). 

The "tuck shop" is a snack bar where students can buy food for lunch

Covered pathways in case of rain

A sliver of ocean view from campus

Nick and I also went back to the botanical gardens to hike around.  We found a trail that lead us to a vista with a great view of Gladstone.

The red arrow points to our apartment so you can see our close relation to the airport

Lake Awoonga

This past Sunday Nick and I went to check out Lake Awoonga located about 10 miles south west of Gladstone.   It was a beautiful place but I would say that most of the excitement was brought by the wildlife.  We spotted a kangaroo that hopped across the road about 50ft in front of our car and it happened so quickly that I didn't have time to snap a picture.  I think the brief sighting completely satisfied Nick's need to see a kangaroo; if you have seen one, you have seen them all.  I on the other hand can't get enough!  I don't know if I will ever get used to seeing roos hopping around!  I am still in shock from my close encounter at school.

We were also able to get up close a personal with a kookaburra.  The bird was perched on a railing overlooking the lake and no matter how close you got, the kookaburra wouldn't move!  Nick must have been channeling his inner Ace Ventura because I felt a real bond between the two...just take a look:

Boing, Boing, Boing!

I started working this week as a teacher's aide at a local high school here in Gladstone.  My first week is going really well and I think the position is a great fit for me.  Over lunch I was expressing to fellow staff members how I had yet to see a kangaroo and how I was really hoping to see one soon.  One of the women said that she was currently nursing a baby kangaroo back to health that had been separated from it's mother.  She lives on a large farm and found the joey on her property.  Much to my disbelief she told me she could bring the kangaroo to school.  She named the kangaroo Rosie and she was precious.  I never thought the first kangaroo I would see in Australia I would also be able to hold in my arms; it was a pretty cool experience.  Here are some more pictures of Rosie:

You can see Rosie's legs poking out of her man made pouch