It’s likely to happen some day soon. It always does during Spring. I’ll be cycling to work or home from work and I’ll be attacked. It happens every year and the attacker is a particularly vicious magpie on my commute.
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.
The particular magpie I do battle with each year is rather cunning in that he only attacks from behind. He’s a stealth magpie. I don’t even see him until I feel his full force slamming into the back of my head. One minute I’ll be happily cycling along and the next, trying to put my head back on my shoulders.
A lot has been said about various ways to avoid magpie attacks but as this video shows, they don’t generally work.
You can see a lot more about research on magpie injuries by checking out this Flinders University Research. The research is a little old but it gives you an idea of the danger.
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 off my bike, climb their tree and harm their family.
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