If a magpie tries to swoop you, bend your elbow and bring your forearm close to your head to protect your face. Once your eyes are covered, look down and walk away calmly. Cyclists should also dismount their bikes and proceed on foot through a magpie's attack zone.
Remember, magpies are simply trying to protect their territory. Stay calm, protect your face and walk away quickly. A magpie may become aggressive towards people because it has been harassed in the past.
Keep Calm. The worst thing to do during a magpie attack is to yell and flail. Stay calm and walk quickly away from the attacking bird – do not run. Try to keep your eyes on the magpie – they will generally attack from behind, so knowing where the bird will be puts you at an advantage.
founder Jon Clark also recommends keeping calm in the face of magpie mobbing: “Try and keep eye contact with the birds, that works more often than not—especially if you're walking or running,” he says, “If one swoops and you turn and look at it, keep your eye on it and edge out of its territory.
Magpies swoop in spring
During this time, they will defend their nests and chicks, but also defend their surrounding territory. Male adults are using their body language – beak clapping, whooshing above your head and screeching – to warn you to keep away from their eggs or newly-hatched chicks.
As mentioned, magpie swooping season occurs during a magpie's mating period, which tends to fall between August and October each year. While it can seem like it drags on forever when you're dreading your commute and trying your best to avoid feathered projectiles, a magpie will usually only swoop for around six weeks.
According to another a study published in the journal Animal Behaviour, ravens which include crows, jays and magpies, have the ability to 'hold grudges' for up to two years.
Magpies are 'like dogs'
"They will form very long friendships, like dogs," she said. "They will introduce their young [to you] and they will be the most charming birds. "Even during the breeding season you can come close to them because they know you'll do no harm."
Magpies don't seem to notice the eyes, and may attack from the side instead, and don't seem overly bothered by the appearance of cable ties. The only real benefit either strategy offers is some sort of head protection for when a magpie does swoop.
– Wearing a hat and sunglasses or just holding something like a school bag above your head. – Some magpies only attack bike riders and will swoop on them even if they are outside the defence zone. If you get off your bike and walk, the magpie should leave you alone.
Taking a piece of mince or taking a wide berth around the magpies nest may eventually convince the nervous magpie that he does not need to deter this individual anymore because she or he poses little or no risk, and who knows, may even become a friend in future.
September is peak magpie swooping season. However, the birds typically nest from July to December and have been known to swoop then too. Magpies tend to swoop for about six weeks as their mate incubates eggs and while the chicks are very young.
Wear a hat or carry a stick or umbrella above your head. Cyclists should wear a helmet, dismount and walk through the area. Birds may be less likely to swoop if they think you are watching them.
Cheese, mince and ham, in small quantities, are appreciated by the birds. Magpies learn the faces of humans they see regularly and stop swooping those they know.
Deterrents for magpies
Half-full plastic bottles or CDs hung up in trees to scare the predators away. Magpies don't like the way light reflects from the surface. GuardnEyes scarecrow balloon, available from Dazer UK.
A key reason why friendships with magpies are possible is that we now know that magpies are able to recognise and remember individual human faces for many years.
If a magpie has ever swooped on you, you might find this next part hard to believe. It turns out magpies can and do, form friendships with humans – and not just when they want food.
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.
Australian magpies breed from late July to December, which means that swooping season stretches across half the year. But it peaks when magpie chicks hatch in September and early October. “Despite all the hysteria around psycho magpies, it is just the male defending the chicks in the nest …
If you feel like the magpie that swoops during the spring hates you, chances are it probably does. Or at least, it's personal. Research has found magpies are able to use facial recognition to determine who they target.
Young magpies will often move in groups of up to 50 birds called 'tribes', but the Macquarie Dictionary also lists the collective noun for magpies as "tidings".
If the bird was familiar with you being in its territory and viewed you as a food source and not a threat, the likelihood of the magpie swooping you would be reduced, Dr Jones said. “Only feed the birds if they are the ones next to where you live,” he said.
The Australian magpie is one of the cleverest birds on earth. It has a beautiful song of extraordinary complexity. It can recognize and remember up to 30 different human faces. But Australians know magpies best for their penchant for mischief.