It is swooping season and Wildlife Victoria wants residents to be prepared for potential attacks.
Native birds such as Magpies tend to swoop at this time of the year to defend their young for the six – eight weeks between when they hatch and when they leave the nest.
Wildlife Victoria said all Victorian native wildlife is protected by law, and it is illegal to harass or harm native birds and other wildlife without authorisation.
According to Wildlife Victoria, swooping birds can be a frightening experience but not all birds swoop to protect their eggs and young during the breeding season.
Locals should not be concerned simply because there are magpies or other common swooping birds in the area, which Wildlife Victoria said does not mean an attack.
According to Wildlife Victoria the top ten tips to protect yourself against swooping birds is to know your local swooping hotspots, avoid the area, move quickly, cover your head draw eyes at the back of your head, do not harass wildlife, do not destroy nests, don’t feed swooping birds, travel in a group, notify others, swooping birds.
Some hot spots for the Hume and Whittlesea areas listed on the Wildlife Victoria’s online Victorian Swooping Bird Map, include along Craigieburn Road, by the St. Clair Reserve in Roxburgh Park, at Lyndarum Park in Epping, and by Plenty Road by Mernda.
