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Magpies @#@#!$ahhhh
Hi All,
can anyone suggest something/anything to deter magpies from swooping me.
Did a 30km commute this morning and got swooped on 4 separate occasions. one of the times was down a hill at 60km/h with a trail of cars behind me (must of been very ammusing for them).
Anyway any tips?
Don
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Come on Don, you can go faster than that downhill
Being a pommie I wouldn't know, but haven't I heard the old aussie trick is to put an ice-cream tub on your head?
Zip ties
Long zip ties sticking out the top of your helmet. Traveling at speed they wobble about and put the bird off. At slower speeds, like when climbing it doesn't work so well.
Rob - unfortunately magpies are bl00dy fast and no chance of outrunning one even down a big hill. i dont think an ice-cream tub on my head would be the best fashion statement, with my leg warmers and ear warmers i already look bad enough.
Flynny - i have heard of the zip tie thing but wasnt sure if it would work. i will try find some long ones and stick them on tonight and see how i go tomorrow.
It's not just the ice-cream container you need to draws eyes on the back so the Magpie thinks you are looking at it.
If you combine the lot - ice-cream container with fake eyes, zip tie hair, (maybe even a little propellor for extra protection), leg warmers and ear warmers, then I reckon the Magpie's won't come anywhere near you.
If you know any teachers I'm sure they can help...
Otherwise if you have a set of AYUP's they might look sufficiently like a set of eyes to put birds off if you flip them backwards? Or maybe a set of cheap glasses/sunglasses on the back?
if you buy a whiggles crocodile hat and wear it back to front, the eyes from the croc look up at magpies as you ride along.
but i guess it doesn't solve the problem of looking like a tool. I guess the zip ties are the less toolish things to wear.
I say bring a shotgun with you. or strap a little scare crow to your handlebars...
You could strap an Elmo to your back like that chick at races (the one sprinting with Cupcake here):
The Magpie is only protecting its territory so either try and be-friend the bird or ride somewhere else.
Magpies are meat eaters and in my experience can't resist a little sausage meat. If you don't have time to stop and hand feed them, toss your sausage as you ride past them, this should distract them.
"A sausage" is the correct term
not "your sausage"
i would not recomend that
could be alot more dangerous the having a pecked head
Kurt
Lives at Wentworth Falls, I pick up a long whippy stick before coming into her territory then ride like a demented lunatic yelling and waving the stick over my head trying to kill the damn thing, it hasn't worked. Another thing I try is to attempt to grab the Bar Stared while it's driving it's beak into my neck/helmet or when it's trying to rip my ear off, also unsuccessful. Call me paranoid but it would have to be a health risk carrying the blood of several or more cyclists a day on it's beak/claws.
It's the only time I've ever wanted to be in America so I could pull out my Gloc and give it a lead pill.
John.
Oh yeah, it's never drawn blood while doing the stick thing, hope this helps but I think it's me that needs help!
I thought the one at Frenchs Forest hanging off my helmet was bad...
Friend of mine rekons he got a claw stuck in his head once, wasn't wearing a helmet so serves him right. Still, sounds a bit far fetched, but you never know.
I think the one at Wenty hangs onto the helmet while going for the side of neck and ear.
is to get my good friend Evan to ride at the back, so hopefully the maggie will get him instead, hay what are friends for
For a bit of active entertainment I've have a friend whose brother used to have a bit of fun with a bat (as a kid, he's now a rapper and you can buy his albums in HMV!) but I reckon a tennis racket would be better...
ok so i tried the cable tie on the helmet trick. Didnt really seem to work that well. Magpies still swooped me, maybe the cable ties stopped them from getting too close and actually hitting me so that is good i guess, will give it more of a chance but will probably just end up altering my commute to go around the hot spots, there is a hundred different ways i can go so will change accordingly.
Don
in my experince, with magpies and butcher birds, as mentionend they swoop because your near their nest, and you really cant prevent that, as their defending their young.. the only thing i know that turns them around, is waving a stick or something at them, then they turn back if they think their gonna get hit..failing that a flame thrower should do the job nicely
or perhaps cut down all the trees their considering nesting in? i hear bulldozers are quite effective 
Stick on eyes used to make soft toys can be bought at many home crafty type shops - never used them myself but heard back in kiwiland that stuck on your helmet they can be effective at deterring hte little buggers.
Clearly pointing a helmetcam backwards doesn't work:
http://www.vorb.org.nz/video-view-76436.html
looks exactly like what was happening to me 4 or 5 times a day. I have kind of solved my problem now, basically changed my commute totally to bypass all nasty trees, much more peaceful now.
Don