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Magpies at Mt Annan
Just checked out Mt Annan for the first time and thought it was a pretty cool track minus the 2 stupid magpies halfway thru the intermediate loop. I'm not from Australia and have never heard of these dang birds so I was very surprised and didn't know what was going on. Almost had a heart attack the first time they swooped as they surprised the hell out of me.
They for sure pissed me off and I didn't know what to do so I just started yelling at them and waving my arms, throwing rocks/sticks at them, etc. but it didn't seem to do much. I did 2 laps and was scared the second time around as I didn't know if maybe they rounded up their friends and 20 of them would start attacking me!
So when I got home I googled them and found out what they were and why they swoop at bikes. Stupid birds. It didn't help that I was on a mountain unicycle trying to avoid them. Made the track that much more difficult especially since it was the part where all the rock gardens are. Won't be going back anytime soon until the "Magpie Season" is over. You've been warned!
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thanks for the warning Uni but most of us aussies have been getting swooped by maggies since we were little kids, it would seem wierd if we weren't battleing the local black and whites
They're quite smart and are able to recognise individual cyclists. If you feed them they will realise you're not a threat but a friend.
Then, next time you go through with a bunch of your two-wheeled mates (ie, us
) they'll go the bike riders and leave you alone. 
I have a couple of friends who've befriended a few maggies in their area with food and they no longer get swooped. It's classic threat to the nest behaviour. If you can teach them you're not a threat most are supposed to leave you alone.
Magpies near schools are supposed to be the most aggressive and dangerous... wear protective glasses!
the usual suspects have also returned to the area bwtn the Loftus Oval carpark and the railway lines. Damn scary hearing a magpie come up behind you.
I think its mainly about territory while nesting. If you live in their territory, they seem to leave you alone. They define the territory, not you.
Doesn't seem to matter whether you feed them or not, though it certainly doesn't do any harm (depending on what you feed them!).
If you're passing through their territory, look out.
Saw a few cyclists this week with the "multiple zip ties sticking up from the helmet" look - extremely daggy, but effective apparently.
Would be a good idea on a uni-cycle - wouldn't make you look much stranger, and wind resistance isn't a problem....
got swooped at the Dam on Sat. morning-not a smart Maggie cannot even hit my helmet!.Did not get swooped at Loftus at the RNP yesterday though?
ha ha, i got hit last week on penshurst st whilloughby/ chatswood, it got my cadance up like nothing else
for the cable ties too come out again , will be over when I get back on the bike
I was at Mt Annan for a quick lap on saturday with a mate , he was first and got buzzed once to my seven swoops .....squark squark click click scares the crap out of you if you arent expecting it ......
Give it a month or so and it will be brown and black snakes scaring the crap out of me here ........
the people on the front gates or a garden maintenance guy that goes around the park ?
Can't remember where I saw this, I thought it was here somewhere, but found it on the tube anyway.
Personally I've found if you have anything with wheels, i.e. bike, pram etc, they are more likely to attack. But then in the same areas I've been attacked by the same maggie just walking by myself. Only once (with pram) did the maggie attack and scratch the top of my head so it bled.
http://youtu.be/9wHreVKgOT4
I have heard of horror stories where the maggies have had a go at peoples eyes but don't know if it's fact or fiction......
one magpie is statistically insignificant.
Of course, but fun that someones 'tubed it all the same....
some Magpies are so dumb they cannot hit you while others I think are psycho and relish in giving pain and panic!!
No I didn't tell anyone...didn't know if they could do anything about it....
Sometimes the magpies just swoop & click their beak at you, other times they definitely try to attack your head. As for them going for the eyes. . . . perhaps?
I once had one knock my sunglasses off my face whilst walking & left a bleeding cut about 1cm from the corner of my eye - very close call!
But there's not much that can be done about them, since they're a native species they're protected, despite the potential harm they can cause - like snakes, too.
The best thing is to avoid the area for a month or so if you can.
The one around the corner in Pine St, Manly certainly avoids the helmet and goes for flesh. He drew blood again the other day so I've given up and changed my route to work to go straight up Sydney road.
Is anyone game to test the you-tube hypothesis that removing your helmet will stop them? not me
I would have a electric current on the top off my helmet to give a shock the same as we get from them
I took the girls there for a quick lunch and what was crossing the road right next to the visitors centre but a beautiful little black Snake
the place was b4 all them houses went in next to the Gardens , I worked around that area over 14 years ago just when it was still farmland