The early bird gets the worm
Work and family commitments have conspired to prevent me from going fishing recently. I looked at my spinning rod, sitting in the corner, still rigged from my last outing. Outside, the sun was shining so I picked up the rod and wandered out to have a flick down the side yard just to keep my hand in. You know how it is!
First cast was just a loosener, no particular target. Half-way through the retrieve and WHOOSH! A pied butcher bird (Cracticus nigrogularis) dived past my head and landed half a metre from the jig. He tilted his head and glared at the lure with one beady eye, deciding whether it was something to eat or not.
Actually, I quite like butcher birds (this species has a beautiful call that has been compared to the opening bars of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony) and had no desire to harm it, so I shooed it off.