Cyclist endures 'extreme swooping' as Aussies warned season 'has begun'

Less than a week into spring and magpies are already out in full force, swooping unsuspecting Aussies as they try to protect their young during nesting season.

One of the first magpie-swooping victims of the spring was a cyclist from the Blue Mountains in NSW who captured the moment a magpie appeared to chase her down and repeatedly hit her helmet as she travelled along a trail.

"Oh my god this magpie is actually so funny... here he comes," she said online, winching every time the magpie flew down towards her. "What a little s**t."

After sharing the footage many were surprised at the "extreme swooping" she was subjected to, with one in awe that the magpie appeared to "circle back" and "chase her down". One woman simply said the magpie season "has begun!".

Swooping magpies continue to be online sensations

The territorial birds swoop between August and November in a bid to protect their eggs and young and the behaviour has offered its fair share of laughs, and terror, among Aussies.

Similar to the footage captured in the Blue Mountains, a woman was videoed hunched over as she zoomed down a road on an electric scooter desperately attempting to dodge a magpie in Western Australia last year. Another Aussie caught the moment a magpie's entire beak went into her eye as it swooped her during a walk, with the incident likened to a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's horror move The Birds.

Even 300 feet above the ground a hang glider couldn't escape magpies after it was 'attacked' by one last month.

• Molly the magpie development sparks excitement from fans – but there’s a catch

• Hang glider 'attacked' 300ft above the ground as magpie season begins

• Avoid being swooped by smart magpies: 'They know where you live'

How can you avoid being swooped?

Magpies are intelligent birds and are believed to recognise up to 100 faces and so, technically speaking, you can minimise your chance of being swooped by your local magpies if you familiarise yourself with them throughout the year.

This doesn't mean you need to engage with them, the opposite is advised by experts, however simply being out and about in your neighbourhood can help minimise your chance of being swooped, Birdlife Australia's Dr Holly Parsons told Yahoo News previously.

It is difficult for Aussies to stop magpies from swooping so the best thing to do during swooping season is to cover your face while outdoors by wearing sunglasses and a cap to minimise the chance of being harmed by the birds.

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