How to deal with swooping Maggies

If unprepared

1.   Stop and dismount from your bike
2.   Remove your helmet
3.   Walk your bike 200-300m until you are out of the Magpie’s territory

With preparation

Cable Ties – Tying cable ties to your helmet will mean you look a little stupid but it is believed that the Magpie won’t come so close and won’t make contact with your helmet

Irri Tape – Tying strips of tape used to scare birds away from crops kept my Magpie at bay – watched but did not attack.

Magpie Mythbusting

MYTH:   Eyes or circles stuck on the back of the bike helmet - BUSTED 

MYTH:   Magpie won’t attack if you stay still – BUSTED

MYTH:   Cable Ties sticking up from the helmet will scare the Magpie – UNPROVEN

Testing our local Magpie

I spent a few hours to see what my local nesting Magpie would swoop at.  My Magpie loves helmets – any colour, especially those with circles on the back (we heard a rumour that a magpies wouldn’t swoop a helmet with  eyes on it).  Even standing still with the helmet on is considered a threat and will result in a swoop. Running with a helmet on will result in an attack while running or even cycling with no helmet was ignored.

The Problem

Magpies are territorial and when they are nesting (August / September / October) they defend their nest.
For some reason they consider cyclists to be a threat. It appears that they don't like cyclists helmets and will swoop to frighten the cyclist (often very effectively).
They seem to prefer to attack from behind and will swoop and then withdraw often making contact with the helmet.
This does not hurt but can scare cyclists who are not expecting the attack