Be prepared, not scared

Spring means blossom, flowering plants and more sunshine however, it also means native birds such as magpies and masked lapwings may begin swooping during their breeding season – but there are steps we can take to remain safe at this time.

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) Senior Wildlife Projects Officer, Belinda Cant, said some native birds swoop to defend their eggs and young for the six to eight weeks until they leave the nest.

“Swooping can catch us by surprise, but it is normal behaviour for some territorial birds,” Ms Cant said.

“Swooping is basically a scare tactic to warn people and animals not to come near their nesting young. Birds may swoop people or animals, so be mindful of your dogs too.”

Ms Cant said not all birds swoop to protect their eggs and young during the breeding season.

“So don’t be concerned simply because there are magpies or other common swooping birds in the area.

“During this time of year less than 10 per cent of birds from just a few species will swoop and even fewer make contact.”

If you are worried about being swooped, you can do a few things to protect yourself.

Tips to avoid being swooped:

• Know your local swooping hotspots
• Avoid the area if possible
• Move quickly, but do not run
• Cover your head with a hat, helmet or umbrella, but don’t wave it around
• Do not harass or feed birds

To plan your route around known swooping hotspots or to report a swooping incident on Victoria’s interactive swooping bird map, please visit www.wildlife.vic.gov.au and search swooping-birds.

All Victorian native wildlife is protected by law, and it is illegal to harass or harm native birds and other wildlife without authorisation.