An old gang is back on the Border this spring, known for targeting people on the street with unrelenting, aggressive behaviour from the sky.
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The streets are currently being ruled by magpies.
The swoop reporting website, www.magpiealert.com, already has 23 instances of magpie swooping registered over the past three weeks across Albury, Wodonga, Wangaratta and Beechworth.
Two of those reports have come from Albury's Mitchell Street, which is notorious for attacks from a gang of about three magpies.
Families headed to Albury Tennis Club on the street have been mostly spared, but cyclists and mothers with young children in prams have not been so lucky.
The magpies are unrelenting, swooping multiple times all the way down the street.
One person reporting being injured on Wednesday, saying "I was swooped three times, the first was mild but the last two were very aggressive, beak hitting the head drawing blood!".
In another case, a cyclist was injured riding on High and Church streets in Beechworth when a magpie swooped down from a large tree and struck the cylist with force, before moving on to a nearby pedestrian.
Magpies have also been spotted on Cadel and East streets in East Albury, Thurgoona Drive and the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail in Wangaratta.
Magpies might have a reputation for wanting to start a fight, but Wodonga's Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) senior biodiversity officer, Glen Johnson, has urged walkers and cyclists not to hit back.
He said many magpies will leave people alone until they are taunted by children.
"They'll really exacerbate a situation... They stir up the magpie and it becomes a serial offender in that case," Mr Johnson said.
"We certainly don't want people chucking things at them or waving sticks at them."
He said it is usually the male magpies that get aggressive when the female is feeding the young.
"I've noticed birds have been nesting for about two weeks now," he said.
The main advice from DELWP is to keep away from known magpie areas, but for the brave, looking the bird in the eye could cause them to baulk from an attack.
"It might be a bit of a game to them," Mr Johnson said.
Other tips include wearing a hat or carrying a stick or umbrella above your head and dismounting a bike when walking past magpies.
Mr Johnson said the Border usually has to put up with magpies until mid-October, unless breeding has been unsuccessful and they try a second time.
DELWP also has its own magpie map that can be viewed at www.delwp.vic.gov.au/swoop.
