If you\u2019re a cyclist, you\u2019re not imagining it \u2013 the magpies really are after you.<\/p>\n
Statistics for the Australian magpies\u2019 2025 breeding season show almost two in three swooping attacks are on cyclists. And the best thing to do?<\/p>\n
Slow down. Get off the bike and walk, even. Step away from the nest, if you can tell where it is.<\/p>\n
The magpie swooping season lasts about six weeks in the spring. Magpies are smart, social and occasionally savage. They are very protective of their nests and see passing humans as threats. Fast-moving cyclists pose a particular danger in the eyes of the magpies.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring this time, they will defend their nests and chicks, but also defend their surrounding territory,\u201d the Australian Museum\u2019s website says.<\/p>\n
\u201cMale adults are using their body language \u2013 beak clapping, whooshing above your head and screeching \u2013 to warn you to keep away from their eggs or newly hatched chicks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n That \u201cbeak clapping\u201d can draw blood, especially from tender human ears.<\/p>\n BirdLife Australia\u2019s Sean Dooley says the speed of a bike is a major factor in their swooping. His theory is that it freaks the magpie out more.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething more dangerous is likely to be moving fast,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there\u2019s a predator coming, it\u2019s not going to saunter in. A currawong, an eagle, they\u2019re going to rush in really quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n Not all magpies are aggressive, but those that are can also remember and continue to target the same people<\/a>. But that facial recognition ability means they can also develop lifelong friendships with humans<\/a>.<\/p>\n A swiftly approaching cyclist also means the magpie has less time to decide whether the human is friend or foe, Dooley says, so it has to react. Addionally, helmets and sunglasses can render the human indistinguishable from others.<\/p>\n According to Magpie Alert<\/a>, a community website set up by avid cyclist Jon Clarke, 63.9% of the 3,431 attacks reported so far this season have been on people riding bikes.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Most of the rest were swoops on people walking or running, including with dogs and prams.<\/p>\n The number of attacks is slightly up on the six-year average, and 11.3% or 389 resulted in injury.<\/p>\n And this year, there have been two reports of swooping from Tasmania, where, along with the Northern Territory and Western Australia, attacks are exceedingly rare<\/a>, at least compared to the other states.<\/p>\n Dooley says that may be because there are subspecies of magpies, and that magpies are not evenly distributed across the country \u2013 there are none in Darwin, for example.<\/p>\n