Swooping season on the wing

AS Spring sees a rise in temperatures, so too are the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning expecting a rise in swooping birds.

The Department is reminding Victorians to avoid swooping hotspots, cover your head with a hat or a helmet and to not harass or feed wildlife in the hopes of reducing swooping incidents.

Australian native birds tend to swoop humans to defend their young and DELWP have already received reports of birds such as magpies and masked lapwings swooping at locations around Victoria.

DELWP senior wildlife management officer Amanda Ashton said that swooping occurs every year during breeding season and is largely a defensive manoeuvre.

“For some species, this is carried out primarily by males, swooping birds account for less than 10 per cent of the population,” she said.

“Being swooped by a territorial bird is no fun, but this is just normal bird behaviour.

“The best way to avoid being swooped is to avoid the area but if you do end up where there is a swooping bird, try to protect your head and eyes and move quickly through the area without running.”

To report a swooping incident by any species of bird or mark its location on Victoria’s swooping bird map, you can visit delwp.vic.gov.au.