Three is a crowd.

We went for a walk around the neighbourhood and were delighted to see a swamp harrier making an incursion into the city and eying up whatever it was in the upper reaches of the Heathcote that would satisfy his appetite.

I had my phone handy and after taking the usual unintended shots of the footpath, my thumb, my legs, managed to point it skyward for some freelance wildlife photography.

The harrier was seen at about the same time by two magpies who launching themselves from tall pine trees by the old church set about with some direct vigilante action and began to harry the harrier. The harrier readjusted its objectives for the afternoon and did a U-turn. The magpies were fairly persistent in their pursuit and seemed to take a few close and what I thought were risky swoops. It appears their tactics worked though, and for now they remain masters of the sky above Aidanfield.