Most of the time I like them but I think that they need to gain a better understanding of personal boundaries.
It’s that time of the year when enemy number one for every cyclist is the humble magpie. There are a couple of spots on our regular Saturday ride where local maggies decide that they should swoop our group. In both instances the offending bird tends to attack the riders at the front of the group. It must figure that that’s the head of the huge monster it considers to be a threat.
If you’re new to the idea of swooping magpies, it’s what these birds do to supposedly protect their nests during the breeding season. They will sit high in their tree until they see you and then they’ll fly towards you at a rapid pace. They use their sharp beaks to do whatever damage they can as they swoop at you as many times as they can until you leave the area.
A six year old girl south of Perth recently lost sight in one of her eyes after a magpie attacked her.
Swooping magpies are yet another good case for head protection while riding. I’d rather not have a sharp magpie beak gouging out pieces of scalp so I’m glad I wear a helmet and sunglasses while riding..
On the positive side, magpies can be a great incentive for improved sprinting. It’s amazing how quickly you can ride when a maggie is heading your way.
I know that birds need to protect their nests and their young. I’m very protective of my family too. I just wish the magpies would understand that cycling past at 35 kilometres an hour does not mean that I’m about to stop, get of my bike, climb their tree and harm their family.
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It sure scares me each time that I get swooped. The swoosh of feathers, the loud click/clunk of them shutting their beaks, their screeching. Actually writing it doesn’t make it sound that scary, but it does quicken the old ticker for sure.
You just took me back to my childhood days and getting swooped in the backyard everyday. At least I was close to their nests and not riding past at 35km an hour. a nice racer like your would have been handy then!
Apparently if you put some cable ties on your helmet and let them waft in the wind it puts them off.
My brother nearly got pecked when he was six. He was running around an athletics track and every time he passed a group of trees, a magpie would swoop. It missed his eye by centimetres.
Btw, this post sounds very familiar……have I read it before? 😉
It reminds me of when I was a kid and there was one tree you walked about an extra couple of hundred metres around just to get to school without being swooped. Although there was a really young kitten being attacked and I just couldn’t go past. Amazingly the maggies let me get it. How in the world was a shaky little kitten gonna get up there (it was a BIG tree) and get her eggs/hatchlings?!