'Still gets the heart going': What I learned from over 50,00 Australian Magpie swoopings

Sydney web developer Jon Clark admits that being swooped by a magpie "still gets the heart going" despite having logged tens of thousands of public encounters with defensive birds.

After an "absolutely terrifying" encounter with a swooping magpie in 2013, Clark decided to put his technical skills to use by creating the community-driven database, Magpie Alert. The website has since become the nation's pre-eminent go-to for up-to-date information on aggressive magpies.

"I was just out on my bicycle one Sunday afternoon, minding my own business in the spring, and this great big magpie decided to start snapping at my ear," he told SBS News. "It was the first time I'd ever experienced it, and gosh, it scared me senseless."

Discovering that the information for logging and tracking the locations of dangerous magpies was "pretty limited", Clark built his site, which he says "took off" in 2016. He has since been contacted by local councils and Australia Post branches who are interested in helping communities stay alert about magpies in the area.

Users can file a report on any aggressive magpie they have encountered, tagging the location of the bird, the type of attack, and the time of the incident. Others can corroborate this information and share updates on whether the bird is still active in the area.

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As a British person who migrated to Australia some 15 years ago, Clark said the prevailing impression of Australia is that "everything's out to kill you". Having become accustomed to the relative lack of danger presented by the fauna populating the suburbs of north-west Sydney, assault by magpie came as a surprise.

"I was like, 'God, we've got sharks, we've got jellyfish, we've got snakes, spiders, and even the garden birds are out to get you'."

Magpie Alert data shows that September is the peak of swooping season. The website receives some 4,000 to 6,000 submissions each year, with around 45,000 users logging on to read the latest updates.

While magpies swoop right across the country, the ACT has the highest rate of incidents, something Clark attributes to having a high number of cyclists.

Behavioural ecologist Darryl Jones, who has been studying magpies for more than 30 years, told SBS News that the birds are drawn to human-created environments and have become concentrated in places where they can be supported by the local ecosystem.

"In the suburbs, there's everything they need in a small area," Jones said. "They're just pulling grubs and worms out of the ground and all they need is a lawn that gets watered and mown all the time."

Only a small fraction of magpies swoop. Those that do are always male and will only do so when there are chicks in their nest.

Research conducted by Jones, professor emeritus at Griffith University, has shown that around 8 per cent of magpies will swoop — and only half of those will swoop pedestrians — while the vast majority only go for one or two people in their territory.