Swooping Magpies

[Fiona74]

I know it's magpie season, but I was just wondering for how much longer I can expect them to keep swooping us! We have a pair that hang around our house all year and obviously our house is in their territory, although the actual nest is not near the house.
My 4 y/o has been riding her bike on our driveway today and is getting swooped constantly, it doesn't bother her (she said, she understands they are only protecting their nest) and she is wearing a helmet. But this morning the adult brought the baby magpie onto our lawn to forage. Strange thing if he thinks we are such a threat. This is the first time I have seen the baby out and about, I wondered then if the baby is big enough to be out of the nest, why are we still getting swooped?

 

[nuthn2do]

Won't be long and they'll stop. Once the little ones are decent flyers they'll forget about humans

 

[Fiona74]

Ok, as I said they are here every year but have never swooped us before, they seem quite aggressive this year, they chased an indian mynah into our back glass doors, kookaburras across our lawn and were swooping a blue tongue lizard on the road, which I moved to a safer spot.

 

[euphorion]

be careful with the kiddies, just wearing a helmet isn't enough sometimes. a friend of mine was swooped a few years ago and damaged his left eye so badly he's partially blind...

 

[Jakee]

I keep getting swooped by magpies at my house... my strategy is to put my head down and run. :lol:

 

[Fiona74]

be careful with the kiddies, just wearing a helmet isn't enough sometimes. a friend of mine was swooped a few years ago and damaged his left eye so badly he's partially blind...

Yeah I'm worried about that too. My 4 y/o has just learnt to ride without training wheels and the novelty hasn't worn off for her yet and I have to be on magpie alert every time she is out there.

 

[Stitched]

I usually just cop it on the chin
Have you tried a bright coloured helmet? (wont look too pretty though!)
My sister had a bright pink helmet, and I had a black one when we were younger, I got swooped all the time, she was never swooped.
P.S. Dont paint the helmet if you're going to try this, the paint damages most helmet plastics

 

[Fiona74]

Well Stitched, interestingly she has a bright pink (Dora) helmet. This morning my dad, me and the 3 kids were all on the driveway and the magpie flew past the other two kids to get to her. I figured it might be that he doesn't like the helmet, or the bike, or her going around and around in circles.....
A few mins ago I saw the male maggie on the neighbours lawn with the baby and the female was on our lawn, so I got my daughter to go outside, put her helmet on and jump on the bike. No sooner had she started riding and the male flew straight over to her. The female didn't care.