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HEALTHYWILDLIFE

Guides Australian magpie

Swooping season in WA: August to October

Can you feed magpies?

No. Your magpie doesn’t need mince, and in WA feeding native wildlife without lawful authority is an offence. DBCA BC Act s 155

Australian magpie, Gymnorhina tibicen Facts checked 9 Oct 2026 15 sources

An Australian magpie walking on a sunny lawn, head down, listening
Australian magpie on a Perth lawn. Photo: (c) PampaSorro, CC BY, via iNaturalist, cropped.
Size
About 40 cm 36 to 44 cm long Australian Museum About 40 centimetres (36 to 44), longer than an A4 page (29.7 centimetres).
Out
By daycarolling before dawn in spring Stokes 1979 Holt 2006
Eats
Insects, grubs and spidershunted on foot, by ear DBCA Australian Museum
In WA
Protectedlike all native animals DBCA, and not on the threatened list DBCA, Jul 2026

If it’s in your yard

let it be. That magpie pacing your lawn is hunting, and doing fine on its own.

  1. Let it hunt. It’s eavesdropping on grubs and insects underground. Wild birds “do not need supplementary food to survive or to raise their young.” DBCA
  2. Put out water, not food. A fresh, full bird bath is DBCA’s pick, and bath time is worth watching. DBCA
  3. From August to October, give it room. It’s not personal: a nesting magpie usually defends about 100 m around its nest. Detour for a few weeks, or keep moving (don’t run) in a hat and sunglasses, or under an umbrella. On a bike, get off and walk. DBCA
  4. Don’t fight back. Thrown sticks or stones usually make magpies more defensive. DBCA
  5. Hurt, sick or on the ground? A young bird with feathers is often fine: leave it alone and watch from a distance. If it’s injured, ring the Wildcare Helpline on (08) 9474 9055. DBCA If it’s sick or dead, don’t touch it: ring the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888, as H5 bird flu has been found in WA. DPIRD

When do magpies start

swooping? In WA, from August. Magpies nest and swoop August to October, and each bird’s blitz usually lasts just a few weeks. DBCA

Swooping, WA DBCA fact sheet

Nesting, WA DBCA news page, 2023

Swooping and breeding, nationally BirdLife Australia, 2026

Shaded: the months each source gives. Hatched: in south-east Queensland and northern NSW, swooping records usually start in July and August (BirdLife Australia).
100 m
Roughly the no-go zone around a nesting magpie, says DBCA. DBCA
A few weeks
How long each magpie swoops, says DBCA. Allow six to eight weeks, until the chicks fly. DBCA
The eye
Strikes are rare. When one does injure someone, the eye cops it most often. DBCA

Should you feed magpies

or leave them to it? Leave them to it. They’re very good at being magpies.

Do

  • Keep fresh water in a bird bath. DBCA
  • Let magpies comb your lawn for grubs. DBCA
  • In swooping season, skip the bird’s patch for a few weeks. DBCA
  • Wear a hat and sunglasses, or carry an umbrella. DBCA
  • Watch the bird, and move on smartly. DBCA
  • On a bike, wear a helmet, get off and walk. DBCA

Don’t

  • Feed them anything: not bread, mince, cheese or seed. BC Act s 155
  • Throw sticks or stones, or pick a fight. DBCA
  • Run, or crouch and stop, when one swoops. DBCA
  • Remove a nest or a bird. It’s illegal without a permit, and another bird often moves in. DBCA
  • Keep a hurt bird without expert advice. DBCA

Can you feed magpies bread

mince or cheese? No, none of them. Here’s what people ask most, answered up front.

Is it illegal to feed magpies in Western Australia?

Yes, unless you have lawful authority. Section 155 of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 says: “A person must not feed fauna unless the person has lawful authority to feed it.” The maximum fine is $20,000, and an infringement notice for an individual’s first offence is $400. DBCA says the same in plain English. BC Act s 155 BC Regs Sch 9 DBCA

Our reading of the Act, not legal advice.

What happens if you feed magpies?

They don’t need it, and it can do harm. DBCA: “Wild birds do not need supplementary food to survive or to raise their young.” DBCA BirdLife Australia says raw meat and mince can leave young birds short of calcium, with brittle bones and beaks. BirdLife

Why do magpies swoop?

To protect their nest and chicks. Magpies swoop only while nesting and raising young, from August to October in WA, and usually defend about 100 m around the nest. DBCA

When do magpies stop swooping?

Once the chicks can fly. DBCA says each bird generally swoops for only a few weeks, and to allow six to eight weeks in all. DBCA Nationally, BirdLife Australia puts the breeding season at about August to November. BirdLife

Sources, checked 9 October 2026

  1. Magpies: swooping and safety issues DBCA fact sheet (web page updated 1 Mar 2024)
  2. DBCA news page on magpies preparing to swoop dated 6 June 2023: magpies nest from August to December
  3. Wildcare Helpline DBCA: don’t feed wild birds; fresh water in a bird bath; baby birds; the helpline number; H5 bird flu notice
  4. Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (WA), s 155 as at 25 Sep 2025
  5. Biodiversity Conservation Regulations 2018 (WA), Schedule 9 infringement amounts (reg 165 doubles them for a repeat offence), as at 31 Mar 2025
  6. Threatened and Priority Fauna List, July 2026 DBCA: the Australian magpie is not listed
  7. BirdLife Australia news article on magpie swooping season dated 1 Sep 2026: breeding about August to November; swooping records usually start in July and August in south-east Queensland and northern NSW; each bird swoops for “a month or so”, mostly within 50 m of the nest for people on foot and 100 m for cyclists
  8. Supporting wildlife in urban areas DBCA: “Feeding wildlife is illegal without an authority”
  9. Living with native wildlife DBCA: all native fauna is protected under State and Commonwealth law
  10. Australian magpie Australian Museum, updated 12 Jul 2024: 36 to 44 cm; walks the ground searching for insects and their larvae
  11. Stokes 1979, roosting and awakening of inland birds Corella 3(4), inland NSW: magpies left their roost at dawn and came back about 20 minutes before dark
  12. Holt 2006, pre-dawn singing of the Australian magpie Corella 30, north Brisbane: spring song started, and almost always ended, before dawn
  13. A guide to feeding wild birds in Australia BirdLife Australia (no date shown): raw meat and mince can cause calcium deficiencies in young birds
  14. How to avoid being swooped by a magpie NSW National Parks, updated 29 Jul 2026: magpies are highly territorial for only 4 to 6 weeks of the breeding season
  15. H5 bird flu in Western Australia DPIRD, updated 9 Oct 2026: don’t touch sick or dead wild birds; report them on 1800 675 888

Where agencies’ figures differ, we give DBCA’s for WA, and the others are in the notes above.

Counting birds with the kids? See the Aussie Bird Count with kids, 19 to 25 October 2026.