Source : Perth Now news
When Jon Clark swapped his native Britain for a new life Down Under, he knew some of the threats posed by Aussie wildlife.
However, he never expected one of his biggest foes from the natural world would come in the shape of a dive-bombing black-and-white bird.
Now, he has revealed how a “frightening” encounter with a magpie inspired him to become the nation’s unofficial swooping season watchdog.
Mr Clark moved to Australia more than a decade ago and since 2013 has dedicated his spare time to running the website Magpie Alert.
The website provides a one-stop shop for any Aussie who might be concerned about attacks from above during magpie season.
It allows people to make a record of when they have been attacked, which it plots onto a map in real time so others know to steer clear.
It also contains a host of statistics about swoop attacks, tips on how to avoid them and comparisons with previous swooping seasons, and hundreds of victims contribute each year.
And Mr Clark has revealed the website’s origin story, which is not dissimilar to the moment a spider bite led to Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man.
“Back in 2013, I was riding my bike along the M7 in northwest Sydney on a Sunday and all of a sudden this great big black-and-white bird started to swoop at me,” he recalled.
“I thought ‘what the f**k”. I knew I had to turn back and it came at me again. It was frightening.”
As a newcomer to these shores, Mr Clark said he was unfamiliar with the swooping behaviour of the Aussie magpie, given the difference with the bird’s British cousin.
While also black and white, British magpies are better known for their fondness of shiny objects than territorial swooping.
But to Aussies, it is an all too familiar phenomenon.
“As a Brit coming over to Australia, I knew to be terrified of just about every creature you see – spiders, snakes and sharks,” he said.
“But I definitely didn’t expect the everyday garden birds to be out to kill you too.”
After Googling why his feathered foe had launched its attack, he soon became far more versed on magpie swooping season – and saw an opportunity to help others out.
In his professional life, Mr Clark had been working on web e-commerce which was using online maps and knew this could help swoop victims out too.
“I was talking to a lot of my friends and family about what happened and then had a eureka moment,” he said.
Since its launch, the website has seen hundreds of people each year report their swoops and has even earned a spot in Aussie popular culture.
“One of my family members back home is a massive fan of Neighbours and told me that Karl Kennedy was talking about the website on an episode one,” he added.
Magpie hacks
As magpie swooping season – which lasts throughout spring – unfolds, readers have been sharing their hacks on how to avoid falling victim to a swoop.
Adelaide man Mark Muscat, known as The Magpie Man, revealed last week how he had perfected mimicking the bird’s unmistakeable warble – and found it to be something of an invisibility cloak.
He claimed on one occasion a magpie stopped mid-swoop after he began singing to it.
“I have no idea what I said to it, but he just stopped in his tracks,” Mr Muscat said.
But others have turned to equally creative ways of discouraging an oncoming aerial assault.
Facebook user Trudi Fuss wrote: “Stick eyes on your helmet and wear an Afro wig. They don’t attack Afro hair as their feet can get caught in it, so they avoid it.”
Jan Wishart wrote: “Bird scare tape from Bunnings, several long pieces on my helmet. Not only reflects the sun, but crackles in the wind. Has stopped a magpie that had attacked me every year, even pierced my helmet.”
Others suggested making peace offerings to the magpies.
“Magpies don’t bite the hand that feeds them,” Andrew Smith wrote.
