How can I be safe going to school without getting swooped?

As a young tacker, I had a little trick for avoiding magpies – I ran all the way to school.

Magpies don’t go for hard targets.

vg said :

“You could also try just hardening up – magpies are annoying, but only that.”

Tell that to the kid blinded on the southside a few years ago by a swooping magpie. But you know it all….I forgot

Exactly, I think it was a Kambah kid. Most magpies are pretty harmless (flapping wings,clacking beak), but the really aggressive ones can cause serious injuries.

caf said :

If you hand-feed the magpies in your area during the rest of the year, when it comes to swooping season they’ll remember you and won’t “bite the hand that feeds them”.

Too right, 6 years ago when I was in year 3 my family and I did just that so much that if we left our back door open, the magpies would walk inside squarking for pet mince, I would walk to school along a track near our house (we used to live in Stirling, Robert Comb Gardens) with many magpie nests during spring and never get swooped, infact they would walk up to me wanting to be fed more- my friends would not get swooped if they were with me as well. The worst thing you can do is throw sticks/rocks at them… because they’re smarter than you think.

Magpies will swoop whatever they perceive to be a threat to them or their young. So no, they’re not pests they’re doing what is natural to them.

I’ve even seen them swoop my stationary black car before.

You’ll also probably find that those magpies further out on the edges of town or in areas where there’s less human-bird cohabitation will appear to be more aggressive.

In my experience the best defense is to carry an umbrella/stick like object and place it above your shoulder pointing back while also maintaining visual contact in the direction of the bird. The stick will prevent the bird from getting to close and keeping an eye on it might prevent it from swooping at all.

Common signs of a magpie about to swoop include watching them fly up to a perch first, and then once on that perch/tree they’ll hunch down and steadily watch you. Usually the first sign of warning for those less aware of their surroundings is the whoosh whoosh of their wings or the clacking of their beaks. It’s for this reason that during swooping season I advise against using portable music devices, or if you do, at least leaving one earphone out.

Food for thought!

An umbrella?

sloppery said :

vg said :

“You could also try just hardening up – magpies are annoying, but only that.”

Tell that to the kid blinded on the southside a few years ago by a swooping magpie. But you know it all….I forgot

Maybe that kid should watch where they’re going next time…

Well i’m sure they would… if they could see. Very Sympathetic you are

Birds including magpies are attracted to things that shine. If your cap shines, the chances are they are attacking your cap rather than yourself. Try to wear something that doesn’t shine when the sun gets to it. If that doesn’t work, walk a different way to school.

vg said :

“You could also try just hardening up – magpies are annoying, but only that.”

Tell that to the kid blinded on the southside a few years ago by a swooping magpie. But you know it all….I forgot

Maybe that kid should watch where they’re going next time…

I stand by the comment I made, although perhaps I could have phrased it better than “harden up”. Magpies are part of the environment. By all means be careful, wear a hat, carry a stick or equivalent — but they’re really just doing something that’s built-in. If you’re really that afraid of them, then don’t leave the house, and spend the rest of your life in your pristine, safe, boring environment. In the mean time, myself and pretty much every other Canberra schoolkid ever (and student, and all the rest of us who still walk/ride places) have been swooped, have learnt how to deal with it, and accept it as just an annoying part of Spring.

“Tell that to the kid blinded on the southside a few years ago by a swooping magpie. But you know it all….I forgot”

I really do feel sorry for that kid, and I don’t mean to trivialise their injury. But frankly, it’s a one-off event, unless there’s been a recent epidemic of magpie-inflicted blindings that the Canberra Times has mysteriously failed to report. Considering the number of magpie swoopings that must occur every year, I’m not convinced that we need to start wearing goggles outside or getting mummy/daddy to drive us to school every day.

niftydog said :

Don’t try to hit them with sticks or anything like that – they are a protected species and if you harm one you could be fined.

Indeed – rocks are far more effective.