Magpie swooping season

[Tigers!]

On Sat a few fellows from our church cycling group started to ride to Geelong, the next regional city from Melbourne, Victoria heading along the north western edge of Port Philip.I was never going to Geelong but rather to Lara to see my daughter Laura. Lara is the town before Geelong. I had never done this ride before. Made it to my daughter's. Spent some time with her and headed back to Melbourne. I was rather pleased with my effort. I had not done a ride this long since Mar. 2022. The picture shows the Strava record of the ride.

One of the joys of the great outdoors in southern Aust. during Sept-Oct is the swooping of the Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen). During this time the magpies are mating, nesting and laying their eggs. The males are extremely territorial and will swoop and attack any perceived threat with cyclists, dogs, prams and strollers etc. being favourite targets. I have been swooped in the past, pretty well every year, as have my friends. This ride was no exception. The brown dot on the picture above shows where a most ferocious magpie swooped me on the way home.
When the male (90% of the time) attacks they come from the rear quadrant and are usually very silent. This one was was very quiet. When they crash they beat you with their wings and use their claws to hold onto your ears and rip at you. Occasionally its large bill will peck your helmet. I have never had that happen but have seen the finish of a helmet with magpie pecks. Eight (8) times the magpie crashed into me. I was forced to get off my bike and walk backwards facing the magpie till out if its territory. Usually the magpies will defend a 120-150m stretch of ground. This one was> 200m.
Here is the result on the right ear after a quick clean up at home. The left was just as bad. I had blood inside both ears, down my neck and onto the right shoulder on my jersey. The worse ever swoop I have experienced.

The one that attacked me was not quite as large as the sculpture shown earlier (but close to it).
The spot was a known attack point and I have been swooped there twice before. Was tired and not alert.
The magpie has a most melodious warble and hearing this tune is one of the best parts of dawn/dusk on a nice spring or autumnal day.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I've never had much bird trouble, but I'm thinking of one day long ago with my mother's cat. I think it was a mockingbird rather than a magpie, but whatever it was it most certainly didn't approve of cats and would swoop from behind. Bird strikes, the cat jumps to try to catch it and of course failed. But it certainly looked like the bird strike flipped over the whole cat. Unfortunately, that was in the era of film where you wouldn't think of having a camera running in the hope of catching something.

 

[Politesse]

How disturbing for you! We have magpies here, but I don't recall hearing about attack magpies. I suppose I'm not surprised, if there is such a thing as a deadly magpie, to learn that it lives in Australia with all the other deadly creatures. Here they mostly just hang about in fields eating cow shit and chortling to themselves.

 

[bilby]

We have a family group of magpies who live in our street, and they know us and don't swoop us. They're very intelligent, and tend to only attack strangers, and people with wheels (wheels are clearly against natural law).

We occasionally put food out for them, which helps a lot in keeping on their good side.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

We have a family group of magpies who live in our street, and they know us and don't swoop us. They're very intelligent, and tend to only attack strangers, and people with wheels (wheels are clearly against natural law).

We occasionally put food out for them, which helps a lot in keeping on their good side.

Yeah, some birds in time learn what creatures are around but don't bother their babies.

 

[Tigers!]

We have a family group of magpies who live in our street, and they know us and don't swoop us. They're very intelligent, and tend to only attack strangers, and people with wheels (wheels are clearly against natural law).

We occasionally put food out for them, which helps a lot in keeping on their good side.

For about 8 years my father used to feed magpies every sat. morning, starting with a pair. Eventually he got the male to feed from his hand. When they left the house about 8 magpies would be being fed.
For about 3 years after they would still come every sat. morning until they seemed to realise my father was not there any more. Always amazing how they knew which day was sat. They never came on another day.

 

[spikepipsqueak]

Hope you're healing, Tigers! Good work on the ride.

Magpies hold grudges against specific individuals. I knew a woman who had to keep a bike helmet handy for the run to and from her car. None of her neighbours had any trouble, but the whole family of Maggies disapproved of this woman with extreme prejudice.

My Maggies and I live in a state of mutual suspicion. I don't feed them but they will take food out of my hand whether I like it or not.

 

[steve_bank]

Over here it is crows. A few yearss ago we had crows dive bombing us on our roof deck.

 

[spikepipsqueak]

If they get too comfortable with you they think they can take liberties.

Seagulls are the same. They know you won't hurt them, and they recognise the wrappers of yummy, yummy chips. Opportunists. Grrrrr

 

[Elixir]

Over here it is crows. A few yearss ago we had crows dive bombing us on our roof deck.

For the last several days we have had literally hundreds of crows convening in a field and its adjacent trees by the river. It’s nuts. They cover the field and the trees, coming in two or ten at a time, then they all disappear later in the day. Weird.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

If they get too comfortable with you they think they can take liberties.

Seagulls are the same. They know you won't hurt them, and they recognise the wrappers of yummy, yummy chips. Opportunists. Grrrrr

At least some of the squirrels on our local mountain understand that backpacks might contain yum and those who carry them aren't very dangerous. I've never had one approach boldly like seagulls can but they'll sneak in if they can. They most definitely do not react to us like they would to a predator.

 

[steve_bank]

It is hard to draw a wild crow in close to you with food. Toss out food and there is a distance they will no cross. They edge in sideways keeping an eye on you.


When I was in a nursing ho0ne there was a pond on the puberty with ducks.

Ducks used to humans will tug on your pants squaking for food.

Seagulls would show up and hang out until somebody fed the ducks. Some came close, others would not.

There was video of a crow excrement done by I think Univ Of Washington.

It appeared that if one crow disliked a particular human it could be passed on to other crows and across generation. A long time bird watcher told me a crow flock will sometimes force out a particular crow.