Re: dealing with magpies

On Mon, 7 Apr 2008 16:35:23 -0700 (PDT), ross_w <rwonderley@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

This is pretty much a question for Australian readers, unless there
are other countries with birds that get aggressive during nesting
season.

My problem is that my route to work takes me past a magpie nesting
tree. Last September these magpies attacked me every time I went past
this tree, and I have the dents in my helmet to show for it. they tend
to fly up and attack from behind your head with their beaks.

Going down the hill is OK because I am gone before they notice I'm
there.

Coming back, I'm climbing in low range and it is more difficult to
escape.

Does anyone have ways that they discourage these attacks? I have heard
of painting large eyes on the back of the helmet and using a
visibility pennant higher than your head (they attack they highest
point apparently. Do any of these work?

Right now the birds are not nesting, but once winter is over they'll
be back, and I want to be ready for them...

Oh and magpies are protected in NSW, so solutions involving the death
or injury of the birds are probably not legal.

Dear Ross,

Yes, a feather or two sticking up from a helmet and eyes painted on
the back are common defenses.

You could also try to think of another route for your return.

Or hope that the birds don't show up this year.

This wiki entry mentions two other solutions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Magpie#Swooping

The hand-feeding approach would be more fun than getting them declared
a nuisance and relocated or destroyed.

But if the birds are attacking bicyclists, then someone's going to end
up hurt, either from a beak in the eye or a crash.

A beak or claw with a half-pound of angry bird behind it can do a lot
of damage if you turn your head to see what's coming. Show the local
authorities the dents in your helmet and remind them that you were
riding a bike at the time.

Before West Nile fever wiped them out along the Arkansas River, the
magpies around here could be a bit territorial. A pair nesting in my
backyard killed garter snakes on the walk and harried the basset
hound, neither of which were any threat to the nest.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: dealing with magpies
    ... My problem is that my route to work takes me past a magpie nesting ... to fly up and attack from behind your head with their beaks. ... Right now the birds are not nesting, but once winter is over they'll ... Oh and magpies are protected in NSW, ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • dealing with magpies
    ... My problem is that my route to work takes me past a magpie nesting ... to fly up and attack from behind your head with their beaks. ... Right now the birds are not nesting, but once winter is over they'll ... Oh and magpies are protected in NSW, ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • Re: dealing with magpies
    ... My problem is that my route to work takes me past a magpie nesting ... to fly up and attack from behind your head with their beaks. ... Right now the birds are not nesting, but once winter is over they'll ... Oh and magpies are protected in NSW, ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • Re: dealing with magpies
    ... during nesting season. ... Last September these magpies attacked me every ... attack they highest point apparently. ... the death or injury of the birds are probably not legal. ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • Re: dealing with magpies
    ... My problem is that my route to work takes me past a magpie nesting ... Right now the birds are not nesting, but once winter is over they'll ... Oh and magpies are protected in NSW, ... One day I remembered the crow ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
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