Swooping Magpie Stories and Reviews

Your stories, tips and reviews published here!

38 Results

Afro & cable-tie combo wins out!

By

Day 1 of our stay in the Hunter Valley, went out for a ride but was cut short when just outside of the resort I was aggressively swooped by a magpie several times....

Zipties rock!

By

Was swooped twice this morning at a known magpie hotspot in St. Lucia, Brisbane, but the zipties on my helmet prevented it from making contact.

I have footage from the GoPro on my helmet, if there\'s somewhere I can post it.

So far 100% success but plastic spikes.

By

Me and my kids love Aug/Sept time for riding our bikes because of the temperature.

We often can't because of magpies swooping. We are riding bikes and waving a stick is dangerous. I have read of kids getting run over because of this in their panic.

Also kids losing eye site from maggies. ...

Scatter dry cat or dog food can help

By

If you frequent an area where you get swooped take a handful of small dog or cat biscuits and scatter them as you go past. If the magpies recognise you as a food source you will not be treated as a threat. ...

Little to No Swooping on Main Roads?

By

Main Roads. Noisy, Bright and vehicles travelling at speed, probably not the best conditions for a bird or magpie, let alone a person to live. In my findings in cycling around suburban streets and main roads, I get swooped countless times within only 1 suburban block whereas I can ride kilometres on a main road and no swoops or even a trace of a bird in sight....

A Prevention Measure that Works for Me!

By

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....

Make Friends is easier than Fighting

By

About a decade ago I witnessed a magpie in our street swooping kids on bikes heading to school.

I encouraged the folk in the homes near mine to feed the little peckers the occasional titbit....

Easy magpie proofing. :)

By

As a 50's kid in Toowoomba, every September I was relentlessly pecked, knocked over and pinned down by protective maggies. Until by accident I found by holding a golf club well above my head, the cranky birds would not approach. Viola !!! :-) ...

Unconventional - but it works so far!

By

Having to run the gauntlet of 2 magpies on my morning commute from Gladesville to North Ryde I was interested in a colleague's suggestion that I try attaching a wig to my helmet - something she had seen a guy do on YouTube. ...

And the winner is...

By

So which SYDNEY Magpie will win this year?

Two categories - most swoops, and most injuries. I'm putting my money on the magpie near Percival Road Stanmore for most attacks...

Tail Light vs Magpie

By

Has anyone had experience or heard of magpies being deterred from swooping by a flashing tail light on a helmet?

Cycling Safety Tip: Cable ties versus helmet eyes!

By

After fifty odd years of cycling for both leisure and commuting I can say that cable ties only serve to make you look like a porcupine and do not prevent swooping, only contact. Beak snaps are still prevalent and dangerously distracting....

38 Results

Articles

Add your own stories.

Sign up to add your own stories and tips to MagpieAlert.

Sign Up

Copyright © 2023 Magpie Alert! All rights reserved.
Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy