Swooping season has rolled around again, with magpie swooping being reported all around the Yass Valley.
From late July to December is magpie breeding season, which means that swooping season goes for half a year. Peak magpie swooping season is in September and early October, when the magpie chicks hatch.
Magpies swoop due to them feeling threatened when someone enters their 100-metre protective zone of their chick or eggs.
Magpies have a fiercely protective nature of their nest and young, and any threat will cause them to become aggressive.
The NSW Department of Planning and Environment outlines five ways in which to avoid being swooped.
Try to avoid the area. Do not go back after being swooped. Australian magpies are very intelligent and have a great memory. They will target the same people if you persist on entering their nesting area. Make a sign to warn other people about the swooping magpie.
The first is to be aware of where the bird is as most magpies will swoop from behind and they are less likely to swoop if they feel watched.
Drawing eyes on the back of a helmet or holding a long stick in the air is a good way to deter swooping.
The second way to avoid swooping is to keep calm whilst walking away quickly, running will only aggravate the magpie more.
Place your folded arms above your head to protect your head and eyes if you are in a position of major concern.
The NSW Department of Planning and Environment advises that if you are on a horse or bicycle you should dismount immediately as “the noise and motion of a bicycle’s wheel can irritate the birds.”
Attaching pipe cleaners or straws to your helmet as a deterrent is an effective way to deter swooping.
The worst thing to do is to harass or provoke nesting birds as a harassed bird will distrust you.
Magpies have great memories and provoking them will make you a bigger target in future.
It’s important children learn to protect their faces and educating your kids about the birds will help them keep calm if they are targeted.
It has been advised to also be on the lookout for the magpie lark, which is not a magpie despite the sharing of the name.
The magpie lark resembles a miniature magpie and is a far more dangerous swooper, as they tend to flap in front of you with its claws out and attack the eyes.
Sea birds are the only birds that will swoop all year round, and like Australia’s iconic kookaburra, they tend to swoop for food.
However frightening, it is not in the bird’s best interest to hit its target, as it can do damage to itself.
2,000 magpie swooping attacks have been reported across Australia in 2022 so far, with many more going unreported.
The Yass Valley Animal Shelter is placing signs around Yass where aggressive birds have been reported swooping.
Although the Yass Valley Animal Shelter doesn’t have the authority to relocate magpies, you can report areas where swooping has occurred to Environment NSW.
Ed Dodds
