We all know spring is swooping season but in one Sydney suburb, two magpies have taken this to the next level.
At one end of Johnston Crescent in Lane Cove North, a suburb 11km northwest of Sydney’s CBD, is a warning sign, with a separate sign from residents, a QR code and an umbrella.
The two magpies are more than a menace. Last month alone, at least eight residents recorded their encounters with the birds on the community website, Magpie Alert, which documents attacks all over Australia, mapping hotspots.
“It hit me in the back of the head and I sort of was shocked – I looked at my hand and it was covered in blood,” Prue Sheehan told The Telegraph.
“I ended up needing to get a tetanus shot and antibiotics.”
Resident Todd Bachelder, who formed a community group to lobby Lane Cove Council to take action, said the birds have injured 20 to 25 people in the past two years.
Lane Cove Council had “hoped” that the 2021 season would improve, unfortunately, “the injuries are such that” the council had continued to liaise with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service about “options”.
Magpies are protected species, but unfortunately for these birds, their time has run out.
The council has now received approval for a “Licence to Harm” for both a male and female magpie in Johnston Crescent which is valid until 1 December, with a licensed animal control contractor has been hired to “carry out the cull”.
The perils of life in Australia.
