How to keep your kids safe this Magpie season.
Safety tips you need to know.
By Michelle Connolly
September 16 2019
Springtime in Australia, the flowers are out, the weather is getting warmer, life couldn’t be any sweeter right? Wrong, here comes the dreaded magpie season!
Walking home from school was always like the Hunger Games where I grew up. If you weren’t treading on bindis, running from wasps, finding a Huntsman spider in the letterbox or being dive-bombed by a magpie then it just wouldn’t have been a standard day in suburban Australia.
Like so many Australian’s I do not feel that I am alone in my absolute phobia of birds, but mainly magpies. I recently read on Magpie Alert that magpie’s know everyone in their neighbourhood, so they would remember where you live, your routine and when to attack!
To lessen the chance of you and your children from being attacked this Magpie season, here are the top 12 tips from Magpie Alert to stay safe and avoid being attacked.
1 Keep alert and pay attention for any magpie nesting sites.
2 Travel in groups where possible as the birds often target individuals.
3 Keep an ear open for their distinctive calls.
4 Wear sun glasses and with a hat to protect your head and eyes, and carry an umbrella.
5 If a magpie swoops while you are cycling, it will probably stop swooping if you get off your bike and walk.
6 If you spot a magpie nesting site then stay well clear and even plan alternative routes.
7 Do not provoke the magpies, they are very territorial and will protect their nests.
8 Try making friends with the magpies by feeding them with raw mince, slithers of steak and some readers have suggested cat food works too.
9 It is important to try to stay calm, if you panic and flap then this is more likely to appear as aggressive behaviour and provoke a further attack.
10 Try to protect your eyes with your hands, those large beaks are very sharp and eye injuries have been previously recorded.
11 Magpies seem to have very good memories and have attacked the same people over subsequent seasons and others they just leave alone. If it's attacked you before probably a good idea to use an alternative route next season!
12 Face the magpie they tend to attack from behind so facing them should avert an attack.
