46 thoughts on “Everybody needs <strike>good</strike> weird neighbours.”

  1. Sorry – having a giggle on your behalf. I live in a rural area and the locals walk around here carrying sticks, poles and GOLF CLUBS!!! Plovers are aggressive.

  2. Oh that was soo funny. I couldn’t help but lauph as I could picture the whole thing taking place. I’m glad you made it out safe and now have a funny story to share.

  3. You are not alone and it is not irrational! I loath birds! That time of year is upon us where those damn nasty magpies nest and attack on sight. I will not walk the streets for the months of August, September and October for fear of them.

  4. Oh you poor things!!! Plovers are the worst!!! I accidentally hit a plover with my car the other day. It flew straight into my bonnet. I figured it was justice for all the times plovers and swooped me as a kid.

  5. ooh yes they can be quite aggresive. Just make sure you always go walking with a hat on! Lots of people around here actually wear helmets or ice cream containers on their heads! I get frightened in nesting/breeding season too!

  6. My “irrational” fear of birds became rational a few weeks back when I had a random “bird encounter”. It was a Saturday morning, I was half asleep out the front of my suburban Melbourne home collecting my newspaper.  FLAPPING birds flys straight at me, clips my shoulder, hits front window, flaps back & hits me again. Petrified of birds this was my worst nightmare! Sure the neighbours had a great laugh at the crazy woman in her PJ’s spinning around on her front porch making strange noises whilst a random bird attacked 😉

  7. Oh you are preaching to the converted here! Aug, sept I get so paranoid – I feel stupid but I have had two bad magpie swoopings and am scarred ( to be honest it’s emotionally scarred not physically scarred ha)! Anyone seen Alfred Hitchcocks classic – The birds!!! 🙂

  8. I hear you Chantelle, loud and clear. I can’t stand birds! They freak me out.
    But I have to say this made LOL, im sorry hahaha 🙂

  9. I’m giggling away, but understanding at the same time. 😀 Don’t mind birds – snakes are my fear! I live in the UK, so it’s not even like I encounter them on a regular basis….. I know!!! My youngest is on the verge of moving to LA and has already said he’ll never take me to the mountains ‘cos they have bears there!! And has put me off ever visiting Australia because “they have ‘dunny spiders'”!!! NOW who’s weird? LOL. Jude.x

  10. Lmao this is rediculously funny although i understant the fear lol i am absoloutly terified of grasshoppers have had many panick attacks from them. I couldnt stop the laughter reading this but lmao and pluvers of all birds to have upset lol feel for you

  11. Happens to me in the US too … we walk through certain sections waving arms above the head. Some people swear that they don’t like blondes so if you wear a hat it might be better. Or dye your hair. My grays make me have to be more blonde than I used to be! The last tip I received was that they won’t attack if you stare them down – so last time through one area, as soon as I heard that chirp, I found it, pointed a finger at it and stared. Yes, I even had to walk backwards as I passed the bird but it never moved …

  12. I’m sorry but I just had to laugh! Its funny when it happens to someone else. Lucky you weren’t hit by the bird. I was walking on a path surrounded by pine trees when I was younger and out of no-where came this crazy angry plover and it hit me on the side of my head after coming at me from behind. I didnt know it was there. I ended up with a cut eyelid, huge black eye and scratches under my ear. I hate birds 🙁

  13. Lol! I totally understand what you went through. Plovers are very nasty birds when breeding! Think of it this way though, you’ll always have a great “remember how we met?” story to laugh over with your neighbours!

  14. I’m fine with most birds, but plovers are nasty! There used to be lots of them on the farm where I grew up, and on the sports fields at school… you quickly learn which ones they are and to avoid walking ANYWHERE near them!

  15. Ha ha ha ha! What a great laugh!! Thanks for sharing! Im sorry to laugh but you have to admit its pretty funny! Good luck on your future encounters! 🙂

  16. I too am afraid of birds. Not quite as afraid as you are but having one squawking and dive bombing me would send me running and screaming too. I am afraid of them because when I was in grade school my best friend had a pet bird that would dive bomb my head all the time and her brothers would let it out when I was there because they thought it was funny. Yeah, hahahaha, real funny.

    The house next door to us is empty. We have lived in this house for 17 years now and there used to be a couple that lived there. They lived in that house for decades. So, they are the only ones we ever knew in that house. The wife died about two years ago after fighting cancer for several years. The husband died last year. His health had been bad for almost 10 years. This is because their house burned badly just three days before Christmas in 2001. The husband went back into the house to get his wife because she would not leave without her dog. When they finally put him in the ambulance his skin was dripping off of him. We didn’t think he’d live then, but he fought and dealt with a whole host of health problems for the rest of his life.

    Their daughter has worked hard to get the house in shape (her dad had fallen and there was blood stains on the carpet) to sell. It finally went on the market about a month ago. There’ve been a lot of people looking but no one interested yet. I would really like to see someone with kids close to my kids’ ages move in, but we’ll see. That couple were great neighbors and we miss them very much.

    • Oh that’s such a sad story of your neighbours. I hope a lovely family moves in and has nothing but good luck. x

  17. Yep…I’m already carrying an umbrella here in Melbourne after been swooped by the same magpie twice this week!! I LOATHE this time of year…but we walk to school, so it’s hard to avoid!! Umbrella goes up rain or shine…I would rather be safe than sorry after my 13 year old daughter got attacked by them on the High School oval last year…there was blood and everything!! I’m sure your neighbours will understand…if nothing else, it’s a great way to break the ice with them!!

  18. Owh can so relate to your post. Beware the plovers! They are brutal. Our daughter and her friends have recounted so many plover attack stories to the point that we can’t help but break out into laughter now if we go somewhere and are required to walk the green mile near a plover! Your neighbours will most likely fully understand and I’m sure you guys will look back on this one day and laugh with your neighbours 🙂

  19. I am not afraid of birds, I love them in fact. But an attack by a plover is actually terrifying! Especially the claw on the underside of their foot. Plovers are funny birds, they nest in the middle of open areas so that they can see people/threats coming and squawk and swoop them away when they have a nest. Sometimes they nest on the road, silly birds.

  20. I dislike city birds, as they are very aggressive in their attempts to gain food. On the other hand, I like watching birds in the countryside or in the zoo. I think it’s enthralling to watch them do their thing – as long as they keep their distance.

    We live in an apartment building and don’t really know any of our neighbours. There is someone with a dog that always barks when left alone, then there’s the lady upstairs who vacuums almost daily, sometimes twice. Once our neighbour called our door phone to get into the building from the pouring rain, as she’d forgotten her keys. We’ve lived there for nearly 2 years now, and we don’t know most of our neighbours even by looks. Is it weird to think this is quite normal for city living? Or is it just a Finn thing, liking to keep to our own company and avoiding daily contacts that have no deeper meaning (ie. real friendships, family or colleagues)?

  21. Plovers can be nasty, Telle. I’m not a bird fan either (my husband is… and I can put up with chickens but not birds) so I can totally imagine the fear coursing through your body.

    We have awesome neighbours on both sides and in front of us. Actually, we have been really lucky, we’ve moved several times and had awesome neighbours each and every time… the kind you can leave a spare key with, ring and ask to meet your childs bus, the ones who bring food over because they were making something they thought you’d enjoy. I don’t think I’ve ever had a nasty or weird neighbour. Well, sometimes we’re probably the weird neighbours but when you’re the weird neighbours dropping off some eggs laid by your chickens or a wedge of cheese that your husband made then suddenly you’re not so weird anymore. 🙂

  22. normal birds, no problem. Magpies? OH HELL NO. Scarred for life as a child, attacked me until I bled.

    Plovers are nasty. We went camping a few years ago and between us and the toilet block was a nasty plover who swooped us every time. turned into a bit of a game to see who was going to get attacked.

  23. Those plovers are dangerous so I would have done the same thing! Actually they are a hazard at schools as they normally make their nest in the schools oval and attack the kids 😉
    Love that you both ran!

  24. Wait. What? THEY’RE OUT AGAIN ALREADY???? Noooooooooooooooo…. It will be Xmas before I’m able to run outside again without the fear of bird beaks in my eyeball.

    And no, I’m not even joking, I’m petrified of the bloody things!!

    • I think we need to invent a stylish hat that scares off birds. I can’t walk around the block now with fear of getting attacked. It sucks!

  25. I would love it if you were my neighbor. for years I had a (secret) irrational fear of swans, And since i have been followed around the park by two swans, that fear is now rational.. See, not weird at all.

  26. You just made my day Chantelle! That is absolutely hysterical and if I were your neighbor I’d be running and screaming with you! Hugs!!

  27. My problem is those damn Myna birds! They seem to like attacking me specifically whenever I am with a group of people! Stupid birds can’t stand them! Last year a group of them set on me (not hubby and the kids thank goodness) and when they couldn’t get a good peck they tried to poop on me (lucky for some quick stepping on my part)… Only when the whole ordeal was over did I notice that I had attracted an audience(it happened just by the shopping strip)…I am more afraid of the spiders falling from the trees right into my top(has happened twice now)…Now there’s a dance and song (read screeching at top of lungs) that will bring tears to your eyes!

  28. First of all let me say, I am so sorry for your phobia of birds and you terrifying and embarrassing experience. Now I must say, so sorry, that I have not had such a laugh in a while. They say laughter keeps you young so that is good since I will be 69 in Oct. I hope you don’t mind but I have to share this so my friends and family can have a good laugh also. I just love your blog. You are so interesting and have awesome photos.

  29. thanks so much for the giggle – i’m a long time reader, first time commenter (is that a word?)… i just had to say that i share your (very rational, i believe!) fear of birds… any sorts… even those that can’t swoop. unfortunately my 16month old daughter seems to be developing an absolute love of birds… heaven help me.
    in answer to your other question – we have the best neighbours in the whole world – it would take something spectacular to make us leave our house, mainly due to our neighbours!!! however, in saying all that, our back neighbours have chickens… birds with purpose (i would love fresh free range eggs daily!), but birds all the same 🙂

  30. I completely relate! My hubby and I play golf together and I now refuse to play when magpies or pluvers are breeding. I did exactly the same thing as you on the third hole, waving my golf club around my head trying to get rid of this over-protective magpie mumma! Hitting the ball was the least of my problems! God knows what the guys teeing up behind me thought! 🙂

  31. LOL Chantelle. I found a bird had taken up residence IN MY SUNROOM a couple of weeks ago. I rang all my country friends to find out what to do (they told me to ring my husband). I rang my husband, who told me to open a door and wait. So I did. Until it just kind of wandered on out. Tough I am not. Weird I probably am.

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