I've been swooped a number of times by Magpies who haven't given any prior
auduble warning. The latest occasion was two days ago, and I particularly
remember being completely taken by surprise as I heard the wingbeats and
bill clacking around my head - until that point I wasn't even aware of a
Magpie in the vicinity.
Carol
Carol Probets
Katoomba NSW
P.S. Good luck to all the other Twitchathonners this weekend and may the
birds be abundant and the sponsorships plentiful!
At 9:39 AM +0000 23/10/03, 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 downóas 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
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