A Prevention Measure that Works for Me!

A Prevention Measure that Works for Me!

I've read many suggestions on how to protect a cyclist's head from swooping bird strikes like putting sunglasses on the back of the helmet to look like eyes and attaching electrical cable ties to the top of the helmet.

I've been running the gauntlet with a magpie lark on a local street for about 5 years. Cable ties have kept me free of injury but I still get startled from time to time when 'bombed'!

I recently purchased a relatively expensive Black Diamond headtorch for bushwalking. Apart from white LEDs, the lamp has twin red LEDs that are reasonably powerful. It seemed to me that twin red LEDs might look like eyes to a swooping bird. The first swooping event for 2016 occurred on 1Sep. Since then I have had the headtorch on the back of the helmet. Watching my shadow on the ground I can see the bird coming in for a swoop but it breaks off (most times without a squawk) many metres from my head.

At last I seem to have an infallible solution, at least for my local magpie lark.

There is one minor drawback with this solution. The lamp is a high powered unit with 4 AAA batteries therefore its mass is higher than base model headtorches. The mass modestly disturb the 'balance' of the helmet on my head.

September 18th, 2016 By Tesa

1 Comment

teddy326
Good idea.

I found a couple of headtorches on ebay with flashing red SOS mode.

LED Hands Free Headlamp Headlight Flashlight With Flashing Red Emergency Lights
September 18th, 2019

Index

All Stories Safety Tips Reviews Other

3d printed bike helmet bird spikes 40yrs of being Attacked Enough is Enough! A Prevention Measure that Works for Me! A study on the efficacy of helmet adornments in repelling magpies. Absolutely terrified this year Afro & cable-tie combo wins out! And the winner is... Attacked by two magpies simultaneously, and the steel cable tie road test Attacks and councils Battle of Bulcock Battling the birdie on Cuthberts Rd, Alfredton, Victoria... and getting some great footage in the process! :-) Best defence against magpies. Cable Ties Rock! Could this be a solution? Cycle story: I faced off against the evil M7 cycle path magpie and won! CYCLING SAFETY Cycling Safety Tip: Cable ties versus helmet eyes! Did my cable tied cycling helmet work? Ditch the CABLETIES!!! Do Maggies swoop at sunset or at night? Do Magpies Swoop In The Rain? Does darkness / night time riding decrease swooping risk?? Easy magpie proofing. :) Flags deterant Helmet mods to deter the aerial foe How to stay one step ahead of a potential bird attack Little to No Swooping on Main Roads? Look after your self Make Friends is easier than Fighting Man Attacked By Magpie (While Cycling) Need some advise PieProof Helmet Product Roadtest and Review Scatter dry cat or dog food can help So far 100% success but plastic spikes. Tail Light vs Magpie They are not your enemy - really This year's helmet config Try tying a strip of cloth to your helmet to keep them at bay Unconventional - but it works so far! Using an Umbrella Yeppoon Cycling Tips And Tricks Zipties rock!

Sign up!

Sign up to add your own stories and tips! It's FREE and it's easy, get started today!

Sign up to add Stories!