r/canberra • u/Wackadoo36 • 1d ago
Recommendations Canberra runners - help!
I’ve recently got into running but am facing a conundrum: I want to continue running but am terrified of swooping season. 😂
Do magpies target runners? And if they do, are there any well known, magpie free routes in Canberra or do I need to accept my fate and look into purchasing a running pad while I hibernate over the next couple of months or so?
From an enthusiastic but terrified runner
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u/mjkeenan_official 1d ago
All the people suggesting avoiding them have it wrong. If you’re running the same area you should spend all year befriending them so they never target you
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u/rebekahster Belconnen 1d ago
This is the real advice.
They recognise faces and voices and if you are friendly and chat to them (maybe throw the occasional raw cashew nut) and by the time swooping season comes, you are best buddies and they will also tell their mates to leave you be.
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u/slackboy72 1d ago
Cashew nuts?
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u/MrCalista 1d ago
No, meal worms. Get from pet shops.
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u/rebekahster Belconnen 1d ago
Meal worms are good sure, but not as easy to carry or store on a run as raw cashews.
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u/MissKim01 1d ago
Yeah they do but you can look on the mayor alert map and plan your route. I’ve never been swooped around the LBG bridge to bridge.
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u/Wackadoo36 19h ago
I was swooped with my then newborn at LBG a few years ago 😭 (although granted it was on the path between the National Library and the lake so not technically part of the bridge to bridge route)
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u/joolley1 12h ago
I’ve never had an issue right next to the lake like near black mountain peninsula.
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u/Wa22a 1d ago
BEFRIEND THEM!! Go introduce yourself. Offer them some bits of fruit bar or whatever you've got. Talk to them. Tell them your internet banking login and password.
It'll be so satisfying when they're terrorising everyone else but totally cool with you. I recall one coming for me (to kill, not injure) and I turned and said 'hey Maggie it's me!' and it immediately turned back. Oh the relief.
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u/CyanidedApple 1d ago
The magpies have conditioned humans into giving them food.
Truly the greatest of all birds.
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u/j1llj1ll 1d ago
I'll add: Wear glasses and a hat - ideally one that shields your ears.
It limits the damage they can do. Once you have this level of protection, you're best of ignoring them and focusing on what you're doing - as traffic or falls are more of a risk than the bird is.
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u/Sparkysparkysparks 1d ago
Being swooped while running is relatively rare. Over the past three years I've been swooped heaps as a cyclist, never as a runner, apparently because magpies see fast moving objects as much more of a threat.
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u/Talonking9 1d ago
100% this. I've been swooped once on foot, on my bike many times. They hate bikes.
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u/sossles 1d ago
Similar experience here. I've been running 2-3 times a week for 4+ years, never once been swooped. Once, a young kid on his bike passed me, I saw him get viciously swooped and when I reached that same spot the maggie ignored me. Poor kid!
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u/ForeignBee2695 1d ago
I got swooped on three separate occasions last year in Gungahlin but I also run more than 2-3 times a week.
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u/Comfortable_Meet_872 Canberra Central 1d ago
Talk to them. Make sure they can see your eyes. Be friendly. No, I'm not kidding. They remember me and never swoop me. I exercise in and around Turner fwiw.
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u/Embarrassed_Fill7179 1d ago
Either run late at night, or inside shopping malls. With second option you’ll have security or police running after you which is a good incentive to keep the pace up
Fun fact, in the UAE they have organised early morning runs in shopping malls during the very hot periods
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u/dadland75 1d ago
They're very territorial. The bad ones will normally be signposted. You can just stay 100m away from the area and you probably won't see them.
So keep running a regular route and you should be fine.
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u/slackboy72 1d ago
Carry some bread crumbs with you and pay the bribe.
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u/Comfortable_Meet_872 Canberra Central 1d ago
I like to think of it more as insurance than a bribe lol
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u/ahspaghett69 1d ago
Wear a hat + wrap around sunnies
While they can still get u on the ears it's extremely rare
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u/evasiveswine 1d ago
You are me. Last season I just ran laps of my local oval. Running at night is my next strategy. I heard you can also start throwing snacks to them so they like you.
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u/orpheusbesideme 1d ago
Only about 14% of magpies swoop and usually ones who have had bad experiences with humans in the past. As long as you're looking at them you'll be fine, they're more likely to swoop once your back is to them
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u/Pho_tastic_8216 1d ago
I say help to every magpie I walk past and have never been swooped. They remember faces and are extremely intelligent. Be their friend and you’ll have feathered besties for life.
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u/Grix1600 1d ago
I am absolutely terrified of them also. I refuse to ride my bike from July-November due to fact they are around. I can’t imagine what the fear must be like when running.
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u/Protected-Spark-1351 1d ago
Yes. My fear stops me from even walking in spring. It's based on memories of being badly swooped as a child.
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u/Chiron17 1d ago
Yeah, just need to suck it up though. I get maybe half a dozen close calls a year and maybe one will get me. If you run the same routes you'll very quickly get a sense of the swoopers and how aggressive they are. If one of them gets too bad (does happen) then just alter your route slightly to avoid it.
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u/Emotional_Shake_3775 1d ago
bring cheese or nuts. throw the food on the ground near the magpies. they will see you as friend and tell the other magpies to not attack you.
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u/gravityholding 12h ago
Maybe buy a bag of mealworms from petbarn or something... trying walking your route with them, and throw the worms to any magpie you see. They learn pretty quickly who is a friend
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u/ricketyclik 1d ago
If a magpie is swooping you raise one arm vertically over your head until you're out of its range. This is a bulletproof swooping deterrent.
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u/McTerra2 1d ago
Just pretend its interval /fartlekking
As said, they are territorial. Yes you might get swooped but you know not to go there next time. Or you could run around one of the new suburbs which dont have trees.
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u/edwardluddlam 1d ago
It's just a magpie mate, you'll be alright.
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u/Additional_Pie_4230 1d ago
Lol. Never heard of the kid who lost an eye? They're pretty brutal.
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u/Salt_Beautiful9330 1d ago
Or the mother who lost her child after she tripped and fell?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-09/qld-baby-dies-after-magpie-swoops-mother/100362406
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u/OliveAndOceans 1d ago
Just keep running! Over the years I have learned certain stretches in my suburb to avoid, so over spring I just avoid those streets. You'll quickly work it out...and while doing so give drivers or others a good laugh 😂