If you're out and about, it's the time of the year to look out. Magpie swooping season is upon us and the dive-bombing has begun in Canberra, with pedestrians, cyclists and even buses in the birds' sights.
Since swooping season began in late July, ACT residents have reported 59 magpie swooping attacks on the Magpie Alert website. There is no particular hotspot, with incidents reported right across Canberra.
Nearly all the encounters did not result in injury, but in two of the most recent reports, both made on Thursday, cyclists reported being hurt by swooping birds.
A man said a magpie that swooped repeatedly and aimed below his helmet in Josephson Street, Belconnen, had left him with a bleeding gash near his ear. In the other report, a woman described a bird that injured her on a cycle path on Muriel Stewart Circuit in Bonner as "relentless".
Cyclists are particularly susceptible to magpie attacks, according to Associate Professor Philip Gibbons, from the Australian National University's Fenner School of Environment and Society.
"Magpies tend to go for faster objects a little bit more, so you're more likely to be swooped if you're going through their territory on your bike," he said.
"It's important to slow down or get off and walk. If you panic, you're likely to hit something or turn into an oncoming car, and then it could get really serious.
"A mate of mine drives a bus and he's seen magpies chasing his bus, so they can get pretty mad."
Male magpies swoop to defend their eggs or fledgling young, with attacks starting as early as July and continuing until December in Canberra. Swooping tends to peak in spring, when most baby magpies hatch.
"Only 10 to 20 per cent of the males will swoop," Associate Professor Gibbons said.
"We're lucky because magpies are pretty much across all our suburbs, so if they all swooped, we'd be in a fair bit of trouble.
"They make a big contribution to life in Canberra because they've got such a beautiful call, so I think we've just got to learn to tolerate them for a few months of the year while they go bananas."
He said people should avoid areas where they knew there was an aggressive magpie. If they had to travel through those areas, carrying an umbrella or holding your hands above your head to act as a shield was recommended. Non-shiny bike helmets were also less likely to attract magpies' attention.
Some researchers have suggested feeding magpies mince meat could stop them swooping because they would stop associating humans with danger.
But ACT Parks and Conservation Service acting area manager of urban reserves Mark Sweaney said rangers did not encourage that.
"There's nothing we can feed them that's as healthy as their natural diet," he said.
"Even if they are suburban magpies, the majority of their diet is going to be made up by wild foods, which are a lot more nutritious than anything we can feed them."
Mr Sweaney said the most important thing to do in a magpie attack was to try and stay calm and to shield your eyes and head, but keep moving because the birds would not swoop more than a few hundred metres from their nests.
Particularly aggressive magpies or those that threaten children can be reported to Access Canberra on 13 22 81. Rangers will assess those birds and they may be removed.
