Protective parents got into a ruckus at a soccer game at New Lambton on Sunday.
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This might sound like we're talking about human parents, but we're actually talking about birds.
Yep, plovers got into the action during a youth soccer match between Lambton Jaffas and Edgeworth Eagles.
"The plovers were attacking all day. They hid down in grass before pouncing," said photographer Grant Sproule, who captured the angry birds in full flight.
"When the ball got kicked out on one side, it was rock, paper, scissors to see who would go get it."
The photos do bring to mind an urban myth about plovers. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you probably have a vague notion that they have spurs on their wings. The mythical part is that these spurs can inject some kind of poison.
While that's not true, it is true that plovers are territorial birds. When you see a plover on a road, or perhaps a verge, you may find yourself muttering profanities.
Maybe this bird-induced irritability is related to the myth. But it's probably more to do with the plover's high-pitched, grating chirp, masked head and skulking, defensive nature.
These birds aren't the most appealing of creatures, running in rapid-fire bursts with their heads down and squawking at imaginary threats. We'll take a peaceful waddling duck over a plover any day.
The plovers only swoop for a few weeks at a time to protect their eggs or chicks, so Arthur Edden Oval at New Lambton shouldn't be a plover danger zone for too long.
War Memento
Patrick Smith tells Topics that he found a memento with links to Newcastle in a glasses case.
He and his wife Jill work on a Lions Club project called Recycle for Sight, collecting eyeglasses that people no longer need from optometrists, medical centres and pharmacies in Toowoomba, where they live.
People involved with a work-for-the-dole program in Queensland help clean and repair the glasses before they're sent to people in need in Third World countries.
"On collection days, when we return with a boot full of glasses, my job is to remove all glasses from their cases," Patrick said.
"Earlier this year, in one old glasses' case, I found a badge or medal tucked away and wrapped in a tissue."
It included the term Pro Patria [meaning for one's country] and the initials JM.
On the back, an engraving reads: "To J. Marshall, from the residents of New Lambton on his departure to the war, 1915".
"Now obviously the recipient of this medal would no longer be with us, but I would like to be able to deliver it to Mr Marshall's next of kin," Patrick said.
Patrick can be contacted on (07) 46304578 or 0419 738 509.
Non-Viral Joke
What do vets give sick birds? Tweetment.
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