Spring has arrived and so too have reports of magpies swooping.
September is the height of the “swooping season”, although the birds nest from July to December and can swoop during those months too.
Some unsuspecting residents have already reported being swooped in various locations across the city.
Some of the swooping hotspots to be alert around over the coming months include Melbourne Road, Donelly Avenue, Jason Circuit, Rosanna Court, Eleanore Court, as well as our parks including Sumsion Gardens and Bill Black Park Playground.
Stay tuned and come back to this page as we add more locations to the list in the coming weeks.
Native birds can swoop in urban and rural areas, in parks and gardens, along bike tracks and in schoolyards, or anywhere that birds are nesting.
While swooping birds can be alarming, not all birds display this behaviour.
There are several bird species that can become aggressive when nesting or protecting their young, but magpies and plovers are the most common.
Below are some tips to help you protect yourself against swooping birds.
To stay safe:
• Know your local swooping hotspots and avoid the area
• Move quickly but do not run
• Wear protective head and eye coverings
• Don’t harass birds — this can make swooping worse
• Don’t feed the birds and do not destroy their nests.
To help you, we've put together a map (below) of the known hotspots for swooping magpies, plovers and even snakes.
Know of any other hotspots? Let us know, phone Wodonga Council on (02) 6022 9300 or leave us a message on Facebook.