Scared of swooping? Introducing Magpie Alert 2020

Australia’s favourite black and white bird is ready to rumble. Luckily, there’s a solution. 

Remember when you were in primary school and you had to don an (empty) ice cream container on your head if you wanted to tinkle during the dreaded swooping season? We do. As thrilling and terrifying as this was for kids who grew up in Australia, the dangers of magpie injuries can be quite brutal. Think eye injuries, open head wounds etc. And unless you live in the area there’s no way to know when and where you’ll be swooped.

As you can imagine the magpie dodge is quite entertaining. Every year around August, cyclists pimp their helmets out with cable ties and funny bits of plastic to ward of the swooping magpies. Many a video of magpies swooping stunned victims appear across Facebook and Instagram and we all think it’s super funny and we joke, till it happens to us. So, to avoid a serious head wound or becoming a viral sensation, wouldn’t it be good if there was a map which pinpointed where all the swooping zones are?

Well, we have some good news for you, friends, there is one.

Some legend has designed an interactive map called Magpie Alert 2020, that shows where ‘pies are swooping in the area.

Need to track those darn magpie swoops?  Explore our range of phones >

What’s Magpie Alert?

It’s a community app. So, if you’ve been unfortunate enough to have one of these sky pandas graze the top of your head, you can sign up to the website and quickly record where, when and how it happened.

On the flip side, if you’re thinking of going for a little morning cycle, you can check out the active zones before you pedal off. That way you can actively avoid the embarrassment and sheer terror of being swooped. You can also find posts from “swoop survivors”, how to “magpie-proof” and other quirky titbits on the blog.

Why do magpies swoop?

Well, when a daddy magpie and a mummy magpie love each other very much... Much like all species (humans included) magpies get it on in the springtime, resulting in many nests and many eggs. During this time, papa magpie gets quite protective of his babies. Sometimes, not all the time, (10% of the time) results in a bit of a cheeky swoop.

How can you use Magpie Alert?

Luckily, the website and interactive map are completely mobile friendly, so you can carry it on your phone wherever you go. Particularly handy for cyclists who seem to be on top of the magpie hitlist. The website is almost like a live feed, with the swooping counter (which stands at 2957) ticking away every minute, so grab yourself or your kids an Optus prepaid SIM to follow where the swooping hotspots are.

Check out Magpie Alert 2020 at https://www.magpiealert.com/ and stay stoic in the face of swooping

We’ve got you covered for all your magpie tracking needs, explore our swoop-saving prepaid plans.