Magpies normally sleep during darkness, but if you're in an area with a lot of artificial light, they have been known to stay awake due to that light. It's possible that you got swooped on by a magpie if you're in a busy part of a city, but very unlikely if you're out in a remote area. Yep.
Magpies can swoop from July through to December (usually for about 8 weeks) during the spring while they build nests, lay and protect eggs and raise nestling and fledgling birds. Not all magpies will swoop but some will as a natural instinct to protect their territory (area around their nest) and their young.
Magpies love:
Open woodlands with tall trees but no understory. Big, old trees which give them somewhere safe to build their nests and sleep at night.
Magpie swooping season tends to occur between August and October each year, however, each magpie pair will only swoop for around six weeks.
When magpies swoop, they beat their wings, clack their beaks and occasionally peck or scratch. Accidents can occur because people, particularly children, panic. Remember, magpies are simply trying to protect their territory. Stay calm, protect your face and walk away quickly.
Make eye contact with the magpie.
Magpies usually swoop from behind, so they are much less likely to swoop if they are being watched directly. As you walk away, try to maintain eye contact by looking over your shoulder as often as you can.
Use Decoys And Reflective Objects
There's one thing magpies are really scared of – flashing lights. You can keep magpies at bay by placing any reflective object in your yard.
Statistics compiled by the community website Magpie Alert suggest that most swooping takes place between August and October. "When the fledglings are out of the nest, the nest defence activity decreases," Ratnayake says.
This is normal defensive behaviour as the bird is trying to protect their eggs or newly hatched young in their nest. It usually lasts about six weeks.
Magpies sing to reinforce their claim on their territory, mostly at dawn and dusk. But while we are all familiar with the magpie's melodious carolling, we are perhaps less familiar with their other calls.
Australian magpies are diurnal, however, sometimes they can also be heard calling at night. These birds nest and shelter in trees but forage mainly on the ground.
Unfortunately, some individual magpies perceive humans as a potential threat and accordingly, swoop down with a fast warning flight, occasionally making contact. Only a small number of Australian Magpies behave like this, and some of these aggressive magpies will only swoop on particular people.
Magpies tend to only swoop when their chicks have hatched up until they leave the nest and can swoop both pedestrians and cyclists who stray into their territory.
“Only 10 per cent of the male magpies actually swoop people and the research suggests it is actually a learned behaviour,” Dooley says. “These birds might have had a bad experience with humans in the past, and they remember that and swoop when humans come near their nest.”
In a series of experiments, British scientists debunked the common myth that magpies are inveterate trinket thieves. They found that far from being attracted to shiny objects, the black and white birds tended to avoid them.
Magpie swooping is generally a defensive action taken when someone unknown approaches who the magpie believes intends harm. It is not an arbitrary attack.
August to November is nesting season for magpies and occasionally male magpies become territorial to protect their young and may swoop if they think the nest or offspring are in danger. If you are swooped by a magpie, stay calm, do not run and avoid looking towards swooping birds.
Natural predators of magpies include various species of monitor lizard and the barking owl. Birds are often killed on roads or electrocuted by powerlines, or poisoned after killing and eating house sparrows or mice, rats or rabbits targeted with baiting. The Australian raven may take nestlings left unattended.
This may seem obvious, but we'll say it anyway: don't let your dog or cat attack Magpies. After escaping an attack, a Magpie will certainly see your pet as a threat. The result? The bird will be MUCH more likely to swoop.
They are scavengers and collect objects, with a weakness for shiny things. They are also seen as predators, eating other birds' eggs and their young, as well as plants. Magpies are sometimes blamed with the overall decline in songbird numbers.
Spring means that time of year when some magpies, who are protecting their young during mating season, will swoop people who come near their nests. Three years ago, a 76-year-old man riding his bike near Wollongong died when he crashed after a swooping attack.
Mr Dooley says the one “foolproof” way to make sure you're not swooped is by feeding magpies. “That's the way to a magpie's heart,” he said. “You don't want to give them junk food … fresh meat is the best or even dog biscuits, especially if they're soaked in a bit of water.”
However, as the well-known rhyme shows, it is generally only seeing a lone magpie that is supposed to bring bad luck. We're not entirely sure why this is but we do know that magpies often mate for life so seeing a single magpie may mean it has lost its mate and therefore the chance of it bringing bad luck is higher.