Spring is a wonderful time of the year, what with the blooming flowers, the bees, and well, it just about seems as if everything’s coming to life after the winter chill. Even magpies, all the way from the depths of hell itself. And while the mention of Satan’s season may bring forth a looming sense of dread, safety measures can help survive the angry bird’s rage. Here’s how to protect yourself from swooping magpies this spring.
First things first, let’s just appreciate that a Brisbane study has found only nine per cent of magpies are aggressive and swoop people.
Though this is a pretty small number in the grand scheme of things, tell that to the people who have no choice but to battle through a territorial magpie’s nesting area.
According to the Queensland Government’s Department of Environment and Science, magpies will usually only attack within their ‘defence zone’, which is the area within 110 – 150m of their eggs and babies.
It’s usually male magpies doing the swooping, anytime between July and November each year to protect their newly hatched chicks.
Now if you’re in the middle of one of these magpie war zones, we feel for you, we know your pain.
Avoiding ‘defence zones’ altogether is obviously the best case scenario, but if you can’t, there are some safety measures you can take to stay safe from swooping magpies, such as wearing a broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses to protect your face from a swooping. Watching magpies constantly when walking through ‘defence zones’ has also proved effective.
“I’ve got my eye on you, Barry.”
If a magpie nest becomes a real threat to human safety, you can also contact your local council to see if they will remove the nest. But here’s hoping it doesn’t have to come to this.
To see the Queensland Government’s full magpie safety guide, click here.