Magpies!!!

[iwannabeabiker]

I raised this question on another thread but didn't get any replies, so I thought I'd give "MAGPIES" a thread of their own.

In New Zealand it's nesting time for magpies. I've been riding about 5 months now and last week I experienced my first magpie attack! It was pretty hairy to say the least and in hindsight I'm glad I wasn't doing 65kms per hour down hill. As a result I'm a little nervous going past the same spot which is a bummer as the circuit I do is just right for a lunchtime ride.

I've heard that drawing 2 eyes on the back of your helmet or fixing electrical ties to your helmet help, however this doesn't always stop them from buzzing around .

I'm interested if anyone else has any ideas to ward them off. A shot gun does spring to mind but I don't want to add weight when riding.

 

[BroDeal]

What is it with these Australian/New Zealand magpies? There are magpies where I live, and I have never been attacked. I have never heard of anyone here being attacked. Are aussie magpies different than the North American ones?

 

[iwannabeabiker]

What is it with these Australian/New Zealand magpies? There are magpies where I live, and I have never been attacked. I have never heard of anyone here being attacked. Are aussie magpies different than the North American ones?

Nice photo.. The 1 that attacked me must have been on drugs. Twice as big and quicker than Cavendish

It is interesting to know that N.A. maggies don't attack. Perhaps they are domesticated. Mind you, you've got bears and cougars to contend with...

 

[BroDeal]

I have never seen signs like this in the U.S.

I have also never seen anyone with cable ties or wires sticking out of their helmet.

I have to say the thought of being attacked by cute little magpies is pretty hilarious. When googling info about this I LOLed at statements like these:

"I haven’t been swooped yet this year, but I’ve seen people walking with sticks held above their heads, which is normally a good indicator to be wary."

I also found the concept of internet sites with maps that display recent magpie attack areas to be rather funny.

 

[Cartesian Centaur]

What is it with these Australian/New Zealand magpies? There are magpies where I live, and I have never been attacked. I have never heard of anyone here being attacked. Are aussie magpies different than the North American ones?

I was wondering this too...never heard of vicious magpie attacks in the UK. Buzzards, on the other hand...

 

[BroDeal]

I was wondering this too...never heard of vicious magpie attacks in the UK. Buzzards, on the other hand...

From my quick internet search I found that Australian magpies are not really magpies. They were named magpies because they are black and white and look similar to the birds in the Northern Hemisphere, but they are actually different. The Australian magpies are most closely related to something called a butcherbird, which sounds even more fearsome. Northern Hemisphere magpies are related to crows, jays, and ravens.

 

[rgmerk]

The Australian magpie is a totally different beast to the northern hemisphere version. As usual, the Wikipedia has the lowdown

They're perfectly innocuous 11 months of the year; indeed, they're quite pleasant to have around as they're pretty inquisitive and have a nice warble. But when they're nesting they're very aggressive in defending their nest, and they have a particular dislike of cyclists.

They always attack from behind, hence the eyes trick.

 

[Cartesian Centaur]

Good to know! With hindsight, I should really have been able to figure out they're not the same thing by, er, looking at the photo.

 

[Rupert]

Kias?

In New Zealand we encountered birds called Kias." They were black and white and very aggressive, going after shiny objects and such. Same?

 

[the vagabond]

1985 Magpie attacks South Island NZ

I rented a bike in Christchurch and began a circuit tour of the South Island, October 1985. My first attack was in the morning at a picnic table under some trees. Chalked that up to nesting as I have seen similar aggressive behavior in blue jays in the US.

A couple of days later, somewhere in the south central part of the South Island, on a tree-lined road, two magpies (or magpie-like birds) began an aerial assault. One would fly from the top of a tree on one side of the road, reach its lowest point as it buzzed my head (cap, no helmet), and about when he curved back up and landed in a tree across the road, another would come flying down. This went on for several miles, 15 or 20 assaults. There were a couple of times they even made light contact with my head. Big birds. I tried yelling and whacking them with my pump, but no success and they didn't seem to be easily intimidated. Eventually I think I just kind of got out of their terrritory.

Was quite amazing, and not pleasant. Told many people about it, but not recently. Never forget it.

 

[badboyberty]

I've heard that drawing 2 eyes on the back of your helmet or fixing electrical ties to your helmet help, however this doesn't always stop them from buzzing around .

I'm interested if anyone else has any ideas to ward them off. A shot gun does spring to mind but I don't want to add weight when riding.

I just learn where to expect them on my regular rides and sprint as fast as I can when I hear the "woosh woosh" of their wings. Works in a headwind but if they've got the wind behind them it's hard to get away. One thing I've noticed is around here they seem to hang around at the base of short sharp rises in the road, I'm wondering if it's a coincidence or are they deliberately trying to make this area a breeding ground for hill sprinters?

Anyway, lucky for me the magpie season started and finished early here this year so now I can go back to smirking at people with cable-ties and flags sticking out of their helmets.

 

[iwannabeabiker]

I rented a bike in Christchurch and began a circuit tour of the South Island, October 1985. My first attack was in the morning at a picnic table under some trees. Chalked that up to nesting as I have seen similar aggressive behavior in blue jays in the US.

A couple of days later, somewhere in the south central part of the South Island, on a tree-lined road, two magpies (or magpie-like birds) began an aerial assault. One would fly from the top of a tree on one side of the road, reach its lowest point as it buzzed my head (cap, no helmet), and about when he curved back up and landed in a tree across the road, another would come flying down. This went on for several miles, 15 or 20 assaults. There were a couple of times they even made light contact with my head. Big birds. I tried yelling and whacking them with my pump, but no success and they didn't seem to be easily intimidated. Eventually I think I just kind of got out of their terrritory.

Was quite amazing, and not pleasant. Told many people about it, but not recently. Never forget it.

All the talk about Ozzie maggies I was beginning to think no one had experienced them in N.Z. Thanks Vagabond, though sorry to hear about your experience. It's bloody scary when they attack, isn't it....

I'm English by birth and moved to N.Z. 20 years ago. I'm now in my mid forties. To my knowledge the magpies in England are no different [in appearance] than what they are in N.Z. So I wonder why they behave differently. We might need a bird specialist to answer this one.

 

[AllOut]

Good way to take care of them is to have one fly between your calf and the bike frame, get a whack by the rear spokes and hit the pavement. Difficult to pull off, but a true story

 

[Boeing]

I raised this question on another thread but didn't get any replies, so I thought I'd give "MAGPIES" a thread of their own.

In New Zealand it's nesting time for magpies. I've been riding about 5 months now and last week I experienced my first magpie attack! It was pretty hairy to say the least and in hindsight I'm glad I wasn't doing 65kms per hour down hill. As a result I'm a little nervous going past the same spot which is a bummer as the circuit I do is just right for a lunchtime ride.

I've heard that drawing 2 eyes on the back of your helmet or fixing electrical ties to your helmet help, however this doesn't always stop them from buzzing around .

I'm interested if anyone else has any ideas to ward them off. A shot gun does spring to mind but I don't want to add weight when riding.

I was jogging through a Sydney suburb visiting family. I had never been to OZ. Cut through a golf course and TAP on my head hurt like heck then there were a dozen or so birds freaking out and one just dive bombing me. Really scared the **** out of me. I ran throwing windmills to a fish and chips shop and no one could understand the american slang freaking out. I have never ****ed myself like i did that day.
I asked the same question and the owner said "Nout you can do lad"

those things are crazy

 

[kiwirider]

If they are a problem in that area, ring the pest control officer at your local regional council. They'll go out with a shotgun and take care of them - or at least the pest control officers in the regional council that I worked for a few years back used to do that. It may sound a bit drastic to some, but considering that magpies are a pest and are predatory on native birds, the "pesties" are actually both permitted and required to control them. Also, there was a case a few years back of a cyclist in Taupo who got attacked by a magpie and in the course of trying to fight it off, got flattened by a truck ... so it's hard to feel too much sympathy for the birds ...

Other than that - painting eyes is an old wives tale. Best advice is to try to ride with someone else - that way one of you can swing at the bird if the other is attacked. And the other thing is that the nesting season is usually relatively short ...

Oh, and Rupert - what you described is a magpie. Keas live in the mountains in the central South Island. They're primarily green, with red plumage under their wings. They're actually a parrot - and are a really cool and incredibly, incredibly intelligent bird. (By some reckonings they're the smartest animal you'll encounter - leaving chimps/apes, dolphins and a good many humans for dead.) They don't attack you - however they will open your hiking pack, try to steal your entire pack (seriously - they may be small, but they don't let that get in their way), pick the rubber out of your windscreen wipers and other such endearing habits! Beautiful and amazing birds ...

 

[BroDeal]

I would like to visit Australia but when I read stories like the one below, I wonder if I am tough enough.

http://www.finda.com.au/story/2008/09/12/magpie-attack-adds-to-lismore-mans-woes/

 

[iwannabeabiker]

I was jogging through a Sydney suburb visiting family. I had never been to OZ. Cut through a golf course and TAP on my head hurt like heck then there were a dozen or so birds freaking out and one just dive bombing me. Really scared the **** out of me. I ran throwing windmills to a fish and chips shop and no one could understand the american slang freaking out. I have never ****ed myself like i did that day.
I asked the same question and the owner said "Nout you can do lad"

those things are crazy

Boeing, that is straight out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie! I don't think I'd ever leave the house again.

Jump in your 747, find a flock and suck em through the jet intakes!!!

 

[Rupert]

Keas

Oh, and Rupert - what you described is a magpie. Keas live in the mountains in the central South Island. They're primarily green, with red plumage under their wings.

Thanks for that - you're right - my memory is bad. Meant to look up my old photos but hadn't done it yet... We saw Keas in the Milford Sound area, I forgot their color (colour!).

 

[Bag_O_Wallet]

Thankfully I've never encountered one of those big, nasty things. I've been buzzed a few times here in Canada by much smaller birds, and by the time I realize what the faint fluttering noise is, I'm pretty much out of their territory.

 

[SpannerBender]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z34CWfYM5vY

 

[Tugboat]

Oh, and Rupert - what you described is a magpie. Keas live in the mountains in the central South Island. They're primarily green, with red plumage under their wings. They're actually a parrot - and are a really cool and incredibly, incredibly intelligent bird. (By some reckonings they're the smartest animal you'll encounter - leaving chimps/apes, dolphins and a good many humans for dead.) They don't attack you - however they will open your hiking pack, try to steal your entire pack (seriously - they may be small, but they don't let that get in their way), pick the rubber out of your windscreen wipers and other such endearing habits! Beautiful and amazing birds ...

Supposedly Keas have problem solving skills equivalent to that of a 7 year old child. There was documentary that had them figuring out how to get food some complex contraption in a matter of seconds. After one unsuccessful try, they'd basically look at the thing for a bit and then get all the steps required, in sequence, to be successful second time around. Chimps at a similar level couldn't figure out the problem after an hour and just got frustrated and angry.

http://www.newzealandatoz.com/index.php?pageid=163 - some of the Kea stories here are hilarious.

 

[kiwirider]

Supposedly Keas have problem solving skills equivalent to that of a 7 year old child. There was documentary that had them figuring out how to get food some complex contraption in a matter of seconds. After one unsuccessful try, they'd basically look at the thing for a bit and then get all the steps required, in sequence, to be successful second time around. Chimps at a similar level couldn't figure out the problem after an hour and just got frustrated and angry.

http://www.newzealandatoz.com/index.php?pageid=163 - some of the Kea stories here are hilarious.

My favourite Kea story is from a friend who was over-nighting in a hut up on a mountain. A Kea decided it'd be great fun to slide down the roof - which made a hell of a racket and kept the guys awake. They started bashing the underside of the roof with their ice axes. This didn't stop the Kea - it just started hanging upside down off the edge of the roof every second slide to see where the noise came from.

The guys didn't bang the roof when the bird was looking in, so this must've got to the Kea. It took off and came back about five or ten minutes later - with another Kea. Both birds slid down the roof a few times and then the first one took up it's position hanging upside down from the roof looking into the hut. The other one kept sliding - the theory being that it was doing so in the hope of getting the guys to bang on the roof so that the first bird could see where the noise was coming from ...

Now, if that ain't smart ... I really don't know what is!

 

[usedtobefast]

My favourite Kea story is from a friend who was over-nighting in a hut up on a mountain. A Kea decided it'd be great fun to slide down the roof - which made a hell of a racket and kept the guys awake. They started bashing the underside of the roof with their ice axes. This didn't stop the Kea - it just started hanging upside down off the edge of the roof every second slide to see where the noise came from.

The guys didn't bang the roof when the bird was looking in, so this must've got to the Kea. It took off and came back about five or ten minutes later - with another Kea. Both birds slid down the roof a few times and then the first one took up it's position hanging upside down from the roof looking into the hut. The other one kept sliding - the theory being that it was doing so in the hope of getting the guys to bang on the roof so that the first bird could see where the noise was coming from ...

Now, if that ain't smart ... I really don't know what is!

that is a great, great story. there used to be a phrase "don't be a bird brain." you could do a lot worse...