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Swooping magpies to keep grey nomads on their toes

Published: September 23, 2014

Spring has sprung and while most grey nomads welcome the rising temperatures, they are generally less enthusiastic  about another seasonal fact of life … magpie swooping!

The black-and-white birds are notoriously protective of their nesting sites during breeding season and nature-loving nomads are very much in their sights at this time of the year.

A National Parks and Wildlife spokesperson said the protective behaviour only lasted a few weeks.

“In the vast majority of cases, the swooping is simply bluff but sometimes people can receive minor head injuries,” he said.  “Magpies are a protected species and it is against the law to kill them, collect their eggs, or harm their young.”

Sydney Wildlife’s education officer Eira Battaglia said the best way to deal with a rogue bird was to quietly walk away.

“They can swoop past your head and it’s a warning but it’s only occasionally that people have had them peck their head,” she told Daily Mail Australia. “If you stand still and put your hands over your head, they’ll stop because you’re not threatening them. Do not wave your arms around, walk quietly don’t make a big fuss, and they’ll leave you alone.”

It might also pay to wear a hat or helmet, or hold an umbrella or stick above your head.

Wildlife Animal Rescue and Care’s Jacky Hunt also warned people not to pick up young birds they found.

“Magpie parents will often leave them on the ground for two or three days at a time to teach them to be independent, so they can learn how to feed themselves and hunt,” she said.

Interestingly, she said magpies were also selective when it comes to their targets.

Ms Hunt said research had found there were four kinds of stimulus magpies would attack, and they would stick with that one type. The types are:

• Magpies which attack people on a motorbike – like posties – or other fast moving vehicles that they consider an animal.
• Magpies that attack someone on a bike. That’s a fast moving predator not quite as noisy.
• Magpies that attack joggers
• Magpies that attack people walking.

“They will only go for one type,” Ms Hunt told Daily Mail Australia. “If one goes for a motorbike, it won’t attack someone who’s walking. ‘It depends on their experience with a stimulus. They may have had some sort of encounter and think that it’s a threat.”

Happily, it seems magpies haven’t identified caravan or motorhome travellers as some sort of major threat … or have they? Comment below to let us know of your magpie swooping experiences.