An Australian import with "attitude" has ruffled some feathers and prompted the Otago Central Rail Trail Trust to seek advice from its Australian counterpart on how to deal with it.
Marauding magpies were on the agenda at the trust's recent meeting and chairwoman Daphne Hull said "persistent and angry attacks" by the divebombing birds had scared cyclists on the trail.
She asked Railtrails Australia if they had any "tried and true" ways of discouraging the pesky birds, which get territorial during the spring nesting season.
"A strange request I know, but if we are able to prevent a happy rail trailer having to run for cover because of a black and white daredevil attacking from above, we will have done some good."
A wealth of information followed, including video clips of the various strategies being employed, but the consensus was there was no foolproof deterrent.
"They seem to have tried all the options and nothing stops the birds swooping, so I guess we have to put up with it. But if that's the only `nasty' that people might encounter along the rail trail, it's not so bad," Mrs Hull said.
Railtrails Australia vice-president Steven Kaye suggested cable-ties or pipe-cleaners attached to cycle helmets as a deterrent but said "swooping" was a common problem on Australian trails.
"Magpies can certainly be a danger at this time of year - look what happened to St Kilda in the AFL this year: mauled by the Collingwood Magpies, " he told Mrs Hull in an email.
Department of Conservation Central Otago manager Mike Tubbs said it received a few complaints every year about magpies.
"They can be a pain, but it is usually confined to the nesting season. At times, we destroy the odd one or two when they become a real nuisance, but that's the last resort."
Neville Grubb,of Alexandra, from rail trail business Trail Journeys, said aggressive magpies were not a major issue.
"I don't think they put people off doing the rail trail."
During a recent cycle race in Australia, he noticed the competitors wearing helmets with cable-ties attached -"they looked like porcupines".
The ties did not stop the magpies from swooping but apparently stopped them from contact with the helmet, he said.
An increasing number of Australians were using the rail trail and making inquiries about it, so some visitors from "across the ditch" were more welcome than others, Mrs Hull said.
The Australian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment launched a campaign called "The Swoop" in August this year to improve safety during the bird-swooping season.
On its website, it included a magpie map of swooping "hot spots" so people could avoid the worst areas.
