G'day John,
Some maggies have battle cries while others don't.
Why would you want to slow down? Maggies tend to swoop from behind, so
the slower you go, the longer you are in their territory and the more
you get swooped. The important thing when you get swooped is to
concentrate on your riding and not to be distracted by the sweet
nothings and love taps coming from the traditional owner. If you are
wearing sunglasses and a helmet with a legionnaires cover, there is
limited scope for maggie to do you any serious damage, particularly if
you are motoring along [its relative / closing speed is reduced, so it
can't hit you hard if it has to work to keep up with you].
Regards, Laurie.
On Thursday, October 23, 2003, at 07:39 PM, John Leonard wrote:
I have been swooped on my way to work for the last month or so (this
is while cycling), and this prompts me to an observation.
Each time I have entered the territory of the swooping magpie I have
heard the angry 'Yeow Yeow' call before it has attacked. This hasn't
always helped me to predict which direction the bird was going to come
from, but I have never been swooped without hearing that call in the
preceding few seconds.
In the experience of birding-aus members, do magpies always give
audible warning before swooping? If so, it might be a useful thing to
include in public information about magpie attacks, as even a second's
warning allows one to crouch lower, or, for a cyclist, to slow down?as
it is those keyed in to the call are at a distinct advantage. Public
information in the ACT, at any rate, is pretty hopeless; the standard
notice refers to a "Swooping Bird", without even getting specific!
John Leonard
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
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