A 10 News First presenter was swooped by a bird no less than nine times while recording a television segment, and honestly the dedication to the job is unreal.
Journalist Ursula Heger was talking to the camera when a bird, possibly a noisy miner bird based on my excellent ID skills, swooped her again and again.
The journalist attempted to remain professional, but the relentless bird showed no signs of letting up before Heger finally burst out laughing.
“That’s the funniest fucking thing,” a person behind the camera could be heard saying.
“One of the most ridiculous moments of my life,” replied Heger.
Commenters were quick to point out the professionalism of the reporter as well as the determination of the bird.
“Birds in Australia are just on another level,” one person wrote.
“I don’t know how she kept reading, I would’ve run away after the first swoop,” said another.
It’s a big nope from me, made worse by the fact it’s not even swooping season. I thought we were safe until spring!
According to Wildlife Victoria, birds swoop to protect their nests and thousands of people report being swooped every year. It’s not just miners you need to watch out for either, but wattlebirds, butcher birds and, of course, the dreaded magpie. These beasts can give you more than a slight scratch, with one magpie even reportedly blinding a Melbourne man in one eye last year.
To help you prepare, Wildlife Victoria has put together a bird swooping map with all known locations across Vic (sorry if you live elsewhere).
However, just about the whole of Melbourne is a hazard, which makes sense when there are more than 2000 attacks in Victoria each year alone.
Ultimately, the top tip to avoid being swooped might be to simply stay at home. Or, if you can’t do that, genuine expert advice is to stick some googly eyes on the back of your head – apparently birds won’t swoop if they think they’re being watched.
Unlike magpies, miners breed all year round, so keep your head down and just hope you don’t get singled out.
