Magpie Swooping

Spring is lovely in Canberra. The blossoms along the lake are always pretty and the smell of the gumtrees and the chirp of the cicadas reminds you that summer is approaching.

The only blight on the calendar is Spring  also heralds the start of 'swooping season'.

Magpies are members of the crow family, but the Australian magpie is a unique subspecies not related to the magpie found in the UK and across Asia. The Australian bird is a lot more robust with a big beak and generally quite a bit larger. Throughout most of the year they keep themselves to themselves. They are clearly smart birds but also fairly unobtrusive.

When they nest in Spring though they show their true colours!. For some reason (I'm not sure whether anyone has adequately explained it!) they hate people walking near their nests. Specifically they hate cyclists. 

I ride my bike to work and the other day was attacked. You don't realise it at first (they tend to come at you from behind) but I was suddenly aware of a flapping/pecking sound on my bike helmet. They dive you a few times before you move/ride out of their area and to be honest although it's funny, it's also fairly scary. 

I found there was a good resource to log any attacks - magpie alerts so I dutifully logged my attack.

What's remarkable about the site is the sheer number of incidents (the bird is a protected species so no revenge is permitted!) Many of the sites injure the victim and people have told me stories of ears and necks being pecked and blood being drawn. This year sadly a man even died after he veered off the path in the park he was riding on and sustained serious head injuries.

The birds typically have two young (so you usually have to be alert for at least six weeks) but I'm always grateful when the hatchlings are flying and the swooping stops!