Hang glider 'attacked' 300ft above the ground as magpie season begins

Neil tried talking to the magpie while gliding through the air before the bird attacked him about half a dozen times.

Left: Neil Evans hang gliding above the coast. Right: The magpie, circled, can be seen approaching the hang glider.
Veteran hang glider Neil Evans, 50, was attacked by a magpie while he was 300 feet above the earth. Source: @flyingredback166

Spring, winter, autumn and summer – forget them. In Australia there’s only one season that matters and that’s magpie season.

And a veteran hang glider was surprised to learn it’s that time again while he was soaring 300 feet (91 metres) above the Blue Mountains. Neil Evans has shared video with Yahoo News of his encounter last Friday.

“Hello maggie," he says before a territorial male flies directly towards him.

Reflecting on that moment this afternoon, Neil recalled the first thing he heard was the bird warbling. “Then he flew up and then attacked me. He kept going until I was out of his area — probably half a dozen times,” he said.

Related: How to avoid being swooped by smart magpies

Luckily the magpie was more interested in striking the wings than Neil, and after he left its territory the bird left him alone. Male magpies only attack to defend their chicks in August and October, and as a father himself he can't help but respect them.

“They just go to the glider and I think it shows a lot of heart,” he said.

“I love nature, and they’re a beautiful bird — most of the year they’re really friendly. But they just have a job to do right now.

“I actually talked to the magpie. That’s what I do when they come at me, sometimes I whistle a bit.”

Neil has now uploaded the footage to TikTok with a thumping Fat Boy Slim soundtrack, exciting hang-gliding enthusiasts around the world and clocking up over 40,000 views.

Seeing birds in the sky is more exciting than watching them from the ground. It’s not just magpies Neil encounters, he also sometimes gets to engage with Australia’s largest bird of prey the wedge-tailed eagle.

“When I get into a thermal with a wedge-tail it just looks straight through you. It’s incredible, it just makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up,” Neil said.

“Because they have efficient wings they’ll come right up to you, then they’ll fly off and go: He’s no dramas.”

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