Magpies swoop in spring During this time, they will defend their nests and chicks, but also defend their surrounding territory. Male adults are using their body language – beak clapping, whooshing above your head and screeching – to warn you to keep away from their eggs or newly-hatched chicks.
Picking up a fledglin bird (a young bird that has just left the nest) could be seen by the parent bird as threatening its young and it may trigger swooping behaviour. Sometimes the colour of people's clothes, a noise they make or the speed they are travelling at, triggers a magpie to swoop.
The simple answer is that the birds are protecting their young from things they perceive as a threat.
Instead, it is widely believed that they swoop purely to protect their young. Although they may not be enraged by certain colours, magpies that swoop tend to target specific types of people. For instance, some magpies will only swoop cyclists, while others will target pedestrians.
If a magpie has ever swooped on you, you might find this next part hard to believe. It turns out magpies can and do, form friendships with humans – and not just when they want food.
Mr Dooley says the one “foolproof” way to make sure you're not swooped is by feeding magpies. “That's the way to a magpie's heart,” he said. “You don't want to give them junk food … fresh meat is the best or even dog biscuits, especially if they're soaked in a bit of water.”
Magpies love:
Open woodlands with tall trees but no understory. Big, old trees which give them somewhere safe to build their nests and sleep at night. Hunting and eating insects. Mimicking other birds' calls, car alarms, dogs barking, phones ringing and even human voices.
But a magpie "will only swoop when he doesn't know somebody", said Gisela Kaplan, emeritus professor in animal behaviour at the University of New England and author of Bird Minds.
Whether you agree with feeding wild birds or not but the fact is the people who feed people in their backward never get swooped by magpie's or it's extremely rare.” “The best nutritional thing for a Magpie is cat or dog biscuits, they are not very harmful for the magpies.”
founder Jon Clark also recommends keeping calm in the face of magpie mobbing: “Try and keep eye contact with the birds, that works more often than not—especially if you're walking or running,” he says, “If one swoops and you turn and look at it, keep your eye on it and edge out of its territory.
Hold a bag above your head, or use an umbrella. Walk in groups rather than alone. Don't run. Don't fight back, this will only make the Magpie more defensive.
Natural predators of magpies include various species of monitor lizard and the barking owl. Birds are often killed on roads or electrocuted by powerlines, or poisoned after killing and eating house sparrows or mice, rats or rabbits targeted with baiting.
Overview. Magpies can swoop from July through to December (usually for about 8 weeks) during the spring while they build nests, lay and protect eggs and raise nestling and fledgling birds. Not all magpies will swoop but some will as a natural instinct to protect their territory (area around their nest) and their young.
A key reason why friendships with magpies are possible is that we now know that magpies are able to recognise and remember individual human faces for many years.
Magpies can remember faces and hold grudges. Researchers in Brisbane, Australia have found that magpies will remember facial features and target those individuals. The research involved an individual in a mask, coming close enough to nests to make the magpies feel threatened.
Like dogs, magpies seem to sense fear and will capitalise on it by pressing an attack. In a strike attack, a magpie swoops, hovers momentarily and then strikes. The fluttering of wings as the bird hovers is usually sufficient warning for adults and older children to duck their heads and avoid the attack.
Some believe flashing lights scare them off, while others swear a zany wig, sticking eyes to the back of your head or opening an umbrella is the way to go. You could even attach a flag to your bike that is higher than your head.
And throughout the rest of the world magpies are not always seen as so unlucky: China – a singing magpie will bring good fortune and is a symbol of happiness and good luck. Korea – magpies deliver good news and invite good people into your life.
Statistics compiled by the community website Magpie Alert suggest that most swooping takes place between August and October. "When the fledglings are out of the nest, the nest defence activity decreases," Ratnayake says.
If a magpie tries to swoop you, bend your elbow and bring your forearm close to your head to protect your face. Once your eyes are covered, look down and walk away calmly. Cyclists should also dismount their bikes and proceed on foot through a magpie's attack zone.
Taking a piece of mince or taking a wide berth around the magpies nest may eventually convince the nervous magpie that he does not need to deter this individual anymore because she or he poses little or no risk, and who knows, may even become a friend in future.
And since magpies can live between 25 and 30 years and are territorial, they can develop lifelong friendships with humans. This bond can extend to trusting certain people around their offspring.