Discussion: magpie attacks Sydney map

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/m...

For Sydney people wanting to avoid the swoop or inform others of a swoop site.

You guys just have to have the dangerous versions of everything, don't you?

It's no fun otherwise.

Yep. Nothing like a bit of sudden and unexpected motivation. Besides, the anticipation would be more excruciating than the actual.

A Newcastle Herald photographer captured the actual ( I suspect he rode along this section of Lambton Road a few times to get the best shot)

Lambton Road

more of the attack

A 12-year-old Ipswich boy died in August last year after running into the path of a car while fleeing a magpie.

Hunt down the car I say.

In spring 1985 Canberra hosted the World Cup in athletics (a competition otherwise notable for being one of the most drug-riddled in athletics history - two of the East German world records set there still stand). The stadium is next to bushland and there is a large nearby magpie population, which took great delight in swooping the pole-vaulters at the top of their trajectory.

I'm guessing no records were set in the pole vault at that World Cup event? Would have been more like a limbo contest I suspect.

A compassionate take on magpies in today's Sydney paper:
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/that-swo...
I'm not endeared to anything about this bird except its song, mind you.

Some good tips down the bottom of the article...

Ewan's playing cricket tomorrow where I had my magpie incident yesterday morning. It will be interesting to see who is more scared; the magpie or a bunch of 10 year olds!

You like the song of a Magpie?

Aaah...
Aaahhh...
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

WTF? They're crowsaustralian ravens.

Magpies have an awesome song voice.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh....

Remember the Australian School Orienteering Championships in Western Australia on the steep farmland at Evedon Ridge where it rained and rained and rained? Young Chris Ardley hadn't come back from his course and ultimately it turned out he was cowering in fear in some boulders not far from the finish while a magpie did what it naturally does in springtime! (I think Fletch might have found him / saved him).
Chris was participating in Junior Boys and I'd forgotten that he actually finished.

I do remember that one - he actually blew his whistle, and a whole bunch of us went pelting across the paddock thinking he'd broken his leg in a wombat hole or something. Got over to him and there's a magpie sitting in the nearest tree trying to look innocent. :)

Got swooped a few times at MTBO today, which didn't impress me very much. Needed a symbol on the map to indicate that the nice, fast flat route might cost you your ear.

There's something you don't see every day - Julian Dent in the bottom half of the field in an Oz orienteering results list.

I got swooped once by one magpie at MTBO today, then by another magpie about a dozen or more times when I went out control collecting. Must have toughened up now that I didn't have my helmet on. Tried to get me again when I got back to my car but I fooled him by hiding in the car. He just sat there on a branch waiting for me to reemerge so I drove off instead.

i understand now tRicky the Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh is actually you running away from the magpie.

There was a very persistent couple on the west side of the creek. They stayed with me for about 100m while I was riding up to the start. But I didn't see them at all when I went for 8. They must have been exhausted after attempting to scare Juffy away.

No they just moved to the quarry in the middle of the map to wait for the long course people to come through again.

I hit a magpie riding to work a few weeks ago - it launched about 5 metres in front of me on the bike path and never got quite as much altitude as I thought it would (ie more than my helmet height). It made quite a different noise to the noise when they get you from behind... more of a cartoon whump.

Today it was a cocky, but he was a better flier and we missed each other.

Is a cartoon whump anything like a bunyip?

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- WHUMP ! -
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bunyip (or maybe Sean the Sheep)

Needs more <code> tags. :)