A Woonona woman has raised safety concerns about a swooping peewee, after she was dive-bombed and injured while eating at Bulli Beach Cafe.
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Carolyn Hadley said she was eating brunch in the outdoor area of the cafe on April 9 when she was attacked.
"We'd finished our meal and we were finishing out drinks, and out of the blue I had a knock to the side of my head," she said.
"Immediately I could feel this stinging pain to my eyeball and put my head in my hands. My right eye was blurry, and I couldn't see properly. I was very shocked and scared - nothing was helping."
Ms Hadley, who was due to travel to Canberra to compete in a half-marathon the next day, said she had to cancel her plans and attend doctor and optometrist appointments, where she was diagnosed with a linear scratch across her eyeball.
On the day that Carolyn was swooped we actually did have all the blinds down in the outdoor area, but he still popped in there and got her unfortunately.
While the injury is healing and her sight will be undamaged, Ms Hadley said she had safety concerns for other cafe patrons and believed the cafe should put measures in place to protect them.
"I advised the staff of the cafe and was told that yes they knew of the territorial behaviour of this bird, but were not able to do anything about it as the council would not act on this protected species," she said.
"They said the bird was "annoying" and that they had given it a pet name.
"I am most concerned that the Bulli Beach Cafe alfresco area is not a safe place to dine for adults let alone for the babies and children that frequently attend this cafe."
Ms Hadley said she had asked the cafe to reimburse her $271 for the cost of the missed marathon and accommodation, but that they had declined to do so.
Cafe owner Lana Bloom said she was sympathetic to Ms Hadley, and said the cafe had put up signs and contacted the council and National Parks and Wildlife Services about the bird since the incident.
However, she said her business was in a difficult situation as it was partially outdoors and in a natural setting surrounded by wildlife.
She said the bird which had swooped on Ms Hadley was a peewee or Magpie Lark, which had been nesting in a nearby pine tree for a couple of weeks.
"I'm pretty concerned about it, because I did speak with Carolyn and she's sustained an eye injury," Ms Bloom said.
"She's the first and only injury we've had, but we've reported it to council, national parks and WIRES and there's signage put up on the headland to tell people about the bird."
She said wildlife officers told her it was likely a territorial male bird.
"National Parks have granted a permit for his removal from the headland, but it's not as simple as it sounds," she said.
"You can't just catch the bird and relocate him, because that would be really stressful - and we were told that it would be worse to do that than to euthanise it.
"So it would be the situation where the bird would be euthanised and that's something we don't want to have to do.
"He is just a bird protecting his little nest - so we are looking into our options and weighing up the safety risks."
Ms Hadley said she did not want to see the bird killed, but suggested the cafe should consider closing its outdoor area while the bird was a problem.
However, Ms Bloom said the cafe's options were limited.
"We've tried all different kinds of bird management over the past 10 years, with consideration that we're in a beach side location," she said.
"On the day that Carolyn was swooped we actually did have all the blinds down in the outdoor area, but he still popped in there and got her unfortunately."
"He's just a cranky little bird, I guess, and he must be protecting his nest. It's a wild animal, and we're hoping it was an isolated incident."
"I didn't want to be put in a situation where the bird has to be put down, but if I comes to that, our permit is valid for 30 days."
Wollongong City Council said it had provided "bird swooping" signs to café staff so patrons could be alerted to the bird and its behaviour.
"This is consistent with council's approach to managing magpies during their nesting periods," a spokesperson said.
"When magpies are either identified by Council parks staff, or reported to our Customer Service team as showing this behaviour in public spaces, we will put signage in place to warn community members.
"In some instances an aggressive bird can be relocated by a person who holds an approved licence, and permission to take this step must be sought from the National Parks and Wildlife Service."
Wollongong council's recommended steps if you are faced with a swooping bird:
- Avoiding the area - If you've been swooped choose a different path for a few weeks.
- Keeping an eye on the bird - Most magpies usually swoop from behind and are much less likely to target you if they think they're being watched. Try drawing eyes on the back of a helmet or hat or hold a long stick in the area to deter swooping.
- Keeping calm - Do not run away but walk away from the magpie. You can protect your head and eyes by putting your folded arms above your head.
- Getting off your bike - Walk your bike out of a nesting territory. Keep wearing your helmet to protect your head.
- Never harassing or provoke a nesting bird - Magpies have great memories and harassing a magpie can make you a bigger target in future. Do not throw anything at a bird or nest, never climb a tree or try to remove eggs or chicks.
- Teaching children what to do - It's important kids learn to protect their face. Teaching kids about birds and what they can do to avoid being swooped will help keep them calm if they are targeted."