What, no 2017 Magpie thread yet?

[Patt0]

Thirty kilometre commute, one magpie and he is not even reliable. Saturday trundle down the park to turn the legs over, maybe 5km. Lost count after 8.

[outnabike]

A maggi gave me a talking to in the Dandenong park the other day.
Not attacking me but giving sharp snaps with its beak. So I turned around the mobius in it's holder filming rearwards, and did another run to get some picks. Early morning so a little bit lacking in daylight but let me introduce you to my friend.

SnapShot(138) by Paul Klat, on Flickr
The beaks napping go away...
SnapShot(134) by Paul Klat, on Flickr

SnapShot(135) by Paul Klat, on Flickr

[WyvernRH]

A maggi gave me a talking to in the Dandenong park the other day.
Not attacking me but giving sharp snaps with its beak. So I turned around the mobius in it's holder filming rearwards, and did another run to get some picks. Early morning so a little bit lacking in daylight but let me introduce you to my friend.
SnapShot(135) by Paul Klat, on Flickr

What you need there is a tail gunner

Richard

[cyclotaur]

Love those pics - they are great birds, protective and brave when you think about it.

[cyclotaur]

Thirty kilometre commute, one magpie and he is not even reliable. Saturday trundle down the park to turn the legs over, maybe 5km. Lost count after 8.

If you get out of the busier urban areas they are prolific and protective. I can't ride north or east from Balwyn and not be swooped several times per ride at the moment.

[Bunged Knee]

A maggi gave me a talking to in the Dandenong park the other day.
Not attacking me but giving sharp snaps with its beak. So I turned around the mobius in it's holder filming rearwards, and did another run to get some picks. Early morning so a little bit lacking in daylight but let me introduce you to my friend.
SnapShot(135) by Paul Klat, on Flickr

What you need there is a tail gunner

Richard

Watch out what you asked for, they might bring out the reinforcements of magpies with machine guns.

[Neddysmith]

Love those pics - they are great birds, protective and brave when you think about it.

Yeah i loved the pics too, but brave birds im not too sure, i got repeatedly swooped coming up Wellington Rd yesterday by a bird who was eyeballing me from the very top a tree until i had passed him, it was only then he commenced his swooping runs, hahaha

[djw47]

Love those pics - they are great birds, protective and brave when you think about it.

There's nothing brave about attacking from behind. They're cowards, pure and simple.

[Philistine]

There's nothing brave about attacking from behind. They're cowards, pure and simple.

Get A Grip. Sorry! My mistake! You've already got one.

We are talking about a 300 gram bird taking on 100 kg of bicycle plus rider. This would be equivalent to a human being attacking a 30 tonne Tyrannosaurus Rex.

If you should be unlucky enough to be bush whacked by a T-Rex on your daily commute, I don't think your fellow bloggers will judge you too harshly if you attack it from behind.

[cyclotaur]

Love those pics - they are great birds, protective and brave when you think about it.

There's nothing brave about attacking from behind. They're cowards, pure and simple.

Not cowards - just smart.
Unless you are surrounded by concentrated maggie territories they are a minor nuisance for a few months per year. And you get to know where they are so pretty easy to avoid if you want to go to the trouble.

Anyway, I take the view that they were here first so....good luck to 'em, I say.

[Nate]

Had the usual VERY aggressive butcher bird this morning.
had a couple of cracks even though i did my arm wavey thing (normally they dont get within 2m after i do that).

So will try an experiment...
Stopped & got off the bike & then followed him & started to stare him down today.
He was in small 3-4m trees so i followed him from tree to tree & he was going crazy yapping away. Some big staring down between us too.
Did a little branch shake - "just so he knows i can get to him", he was about 2-3m away - so nothing that would hurt the little guy.
Will try this a few times & see the effect.

Next option will be to grab a few worms from my worm farm & feed him up a little - see how he goes with that.

[Nate]

So will try an experiment...
Stopped & got off the bike & then followed him & started to stare him down today.
He was in small 3-4m trees so i followed him from tree to tree & he was going crazy yapping away. Some big staring down between us too.
Did a little branch shake - "just so he knows i can get to him", he was about 2-3m away - so nothing that would hurt the little guy.
Will try this a few times & see the effect.

Next option will be to grab a few worms from my worm farm & feed him up a little - see how he goes with that.

2 days & nothing!
so far seems to "work"... data is low...

[fat and old]

The little terrorist on Purves Rd behind Arthurs Seat was active this morning. Sucks riding uphill having nowhere to go

[JPB]

Is the one on Old Windsor Rd near the Glenwood overbridge still active?
I have seen anything on the magpie website in the last week or so.

[singlespeedscott]

Got hit twice on the Eastern Service rd at Burpengary this morning. The one on the corner with Uhlmann rd is alwaysy there but the one down near Brisbane RV's is a first for me. This is the first time this season. I guess it's because the sun is coming up earlier now.

[CaffeineAU]

Is the one on Old Windsor Rd near the Glenwood overbridge still active?
I have seen anything on the magpie website in the last week or so.

I've heard from a number of workmates that he hasn't attacked them in the last few days

[antigee]

sort of missed some of my regular magpie "friends" this year - assume others wore them out! but got a first but not sure how to spell it a Myna on a slow uphill and nearly home - very aggressive and more in your face than a Magpie but obviously smaller - must only pick on cyclists as I regularly walk the same route without incident

[fishwop]

Love those pics - they are great birds, protective and brave when you think about it.

...but stupid, to think that a cyclist or pedestrian anchored to the ground could be a threat to their nest.

[Arbuckle23]

Got a Noisy Miner on my daily ride route deciding to have a go now. Doesn't hit you in the back of the head like the Magpies on my weekend route, but swoops making a lot of racket.

Found myself yelling at him he needs to harden up and have a go like a Maggie

[robbo mcs]

Got swooped by a big crow the other day. Looked much bigger than a magpie when I looked over my shoulder. Didn't touch me, just made a lot of noise

[g-boaf]

Got a Noisy Miner on my daily ride route deciding to have a go now. Doesn't hit you in the back of the head like the Magpies on my weekend route, but swoops making a lot of racket.

Found myself yelling at him he needs to harden up and have a go like a Maggie

Have them in my area too. They are usually all bluff, lots of noise and a single swoop and that's about it. But the local ones leave me alone completely.

I've never had trouble with crows.

[Philistine]

There are two places on one of my regular routes where I have been getting swooped. The swoops are fairly desultory affairs - a bit of squawking appearing to come from some distance away followed by a pass from behind close enough for me to feel the shock wave, but no actual contact. The last time was Tuesday (3rd).

I traveled the same route on Thursday, but in the reverse direction (clockwise instead of anticlockwise) and I was left alone. I have noticed before that some magpies will swoop you when you are going in one direction and ignore you when you are going the other way, and so I thought nothing of it. M7 cycleway users will no doubt recall the homicidal maniac that used to hang around the chook farm, terrorizing cyclists heading north and contemptuously dismissing cyclists heading south.

I went the same route today, in the "swooping direction" (yeah, I know I'm boring) and I was left alone. Does this mean magpie season is now over?

[CaffeineAU]

Is the one on Old Windsor Rd near the Glenwood overbridge still active?
I have seen anything on the magpie website in the last week or so.

I've heard from a number of workmates that he hasn't attacked them in the last few days

I spoke too soon; he had another 3 goes at me today. Nothing as aggressive as before though.

[JPB]

Is the one on Old Windsor Rd near the Glenwood overbridge still active?
I have seen anything on the magpie website in the last week or so.

I've heard from a number of workmates that he hasn't attacked them in the last few days

I spoke too soon; he had another 3 goes at me today. Nothing as aggressive as before though.

I havent been past there for a few weeks now but with any luck I can head out of Glenwood that way this Thursday and see what happens.

[CaffeineAU]

I've heard from a number of workmates that he hasn't attacked them in the last few days

I spoke too soon; he had another 3 goes at me today. Nothing as aggressive as before though.

I havent been past there for a few weeks now but with any luck I can head out of Glenwood that way this Thursday and see what happens.

I'm in Glenwood too, it's the only magpie I've encountered in the area.