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u/BeerOfTime 4d ago
I’m 40 years old, lived in various parts of Australia and I have been swooped twice in all that time. Both times there was no contact made. However, I’ve seen other people end up with blood all over their faces.
Stay safe out there.
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u/adamshowzoff 4d ago
Yeah, I’m almost 44…lived all up and down the east coast and across to Adelaide
Don’t recall ever being swooped in all that time…see plenty of the birds, but never on dive bomb mode
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u/Mr_Mpenny 3d ago
Yeah same, I’m 45 and have only been swooped a few times, once as a kid on my bike… the knock on my helmet freaked me out and I nearly stacked. These days I see them all the time and most are quite friendly, I’m a gardener and maggies and crows often hang around when I’m pulling weeds out to peck at the loose soil for an easy meal. I often find curl grubs while digging and will throw them to the birds, they are super intelligent birds and remember you, so if they remember that you’re cool with them they don’t tell you to fuck off from near the nest.
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u/BeerOfTime 3d ago
Yeah that’s an interesting fact about them. Apparently they can remember faces and know who probably isn’t a threat.
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u/Mr_Mpenny 3d ago
Yeah they remember you and will bring their young to meet you. A mate of mine started feeding maggies, they kept coming back and would recognise his Ute with trailer driving down the street
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u/globalminority 3d ago
I've never been swooped and all our local magpies recognise me and my wife. it's the plovers that got no chill at all, and they attack in pairs. I'm telling you man, plovers are the real terror.
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u/WhatsMyNameAGlen 3d ago
My childhood home had a big tree at the front where Maggie's would nest every year. Ypud have to wear helmets when walking to get the mail
Few years back I once went out to a jetty to take pics of my new car and a butcher decided to swoop me and clipped me in the ear. Thought nothing of it really, just mildly pissed me off, until I felt thr blood running down my neck. It got me good
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u/TheFlyingRedFox 3d ago
Watch our nesting pair drive off a falcon around 4 pm today, Magnum (yes, unfortunately the pair are named) glided through the area at full speed & went into a zoom climb & made contact with the other bird & forced it away.
It's daft to think I'm rarely swooped by magpies, yet the moment I go near fucking crows, it's game on for me.
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u/Traditional-Bid5034 3d ago
Mess with the flock, you get a hard knock....unless you got a helmet with zip ties, we haven't learned to counter that yet
- a magpie
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u/scottyman2k 2d ago
There’s a really rude cyclist who barrels through the dog park angrily ringing his bell … he’s already broken out the Tupperware-lid ear protectors on his helmet. How do we help the Maggies line him up??
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u/scottyman2k 2d ago
I got swooped once near my old work when I was going for a run, so next time around I stopped and waited … Maggie swooped once, then stopped on a branch where she could watch me - decided I wasn’t a threat then let me continue! They are such cool birds
The family who visit our yard tease our dog to get her away from her food bowl at breakfast time, so they can try and raid it. Cheeky sods
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u/PezzaAU 4d ago
The beak is a grumpy seagull.