‘Like a jet fighter’: Australians warned as magpie swooping attacks surge nationwide

They’re BACK!!!! Forget kerb appeal — Aussie neighbourhoods now come with a hostile air force. And it was a high pitched scream that alerted me, followed by a single word: run! Then I saw it – a council sign that reads less like advice and more like survival instructions for anyone brave enough to check the letterbox. “Native birds nesting and swooping,” it says, before rolling out a list of precautions that would not look out of place on a Smarttraveller.gov.au high risk country alert. It read: – seek an alternative route – protect your eyes and face by wearing a hat and sunglasses or carrying an unbrella – bike riders please dismount and walk – walk quickly through the area but don’t run – remain calm; injuries occur when people panic or run from a swooping bird – don’t wave your arms, yell or throw objects at the bird; this will likely make the bird more aggressive. At that point, you’re not reading local signage. You’re reading a property disclosure for a war zone with established trees. Suburban airstrikes are back Magpie Alert! – created by Sydney web developer Jon Clark following his own encounter with a magpie in 2013 – has logged a fresh wave of reports from Australians in...