MAGPIE SECRETS REVEALED
My girl’s school project made international headlines
Waving goodbye to my daughter Emma, seven, after dropping her to school, I saw one of the dads running for the school building.
A magpie was divebombing his head. “Look out!” I yelled.
The dad managed to get inside but a moment later one of the male teachers was being swooped.
Emma and her friends had told me of a local magpie they’d dubbed Mr Swoopsalot. at must be him, I chuckled to myself.
It was September 2021, and as spring progressed, many became scared of Mr Swoopsalot, including my husband, Jamie, 46.
“Why didn’t you tell me how bad he was?” Jamie complained after being attacked twice in one day. “I didn’t even see him coming.”
“He’s never swooped me,” Emma responded.
The following year, Emma developed a keen interest in maths and was eager for new challenges.
I suggested she observe a few patterns she saw in everyday life.
“I’m going to write down who gets targeted by Mr Swoopsalot,” she decided.
Over the coming days, she took notes on the magpie’s victims, but it wasn’t until 2023, when she entered Year 3, that she found a use for her data.
Emma’s teacher had told her class about a statewide competition which required kids to solve an everyday problem using mathematics.
“Mr Swoopsalot likes attacking tall, solid men who are bald or have receding hairlines. Maybe all magpies are like this,” she proposed.
She decided to enter the competition with a survey testing her hypothesis.
Jamie and I helped her create a QR code which lead to a questionnaire.
It asked for the respondent’s history of being swooped, the details of their appearance, and their personal feelings about magpies.
We pinned the QR code up at the local park and over the next few weeks, Emma got 340 responses.
Then, someone posted it on an online forum.
By July, more than 31,000 people had completed the survey from across 70 countries!
“I don’t believe it!” Emma shrieked when she saw the responses.
As Emma didn’t know how to use Excel spreadsheets, she spent a week compiling the data using Lego.
“What’s the verdict?” Jamie asked.
“My hypothesis is correct,” Emma said. “Tall, bald men are most likely to be swooped!”
She also found that magpies swoop over the six weeks from September when their eggs are laid till the hatchlings emerge.
“The magpies are just looking after their babies,” she deduced.
Titled ‘Born to be Wild’, Emma’s ndings won the Year 3 individual prize in both the NSW Investigating with Mathematics competition and the National Mathematics Talent Quest.
After her research was published in the local paper, the story began appearing in international news outlets.
The attention Emma’s school project attracted has proved that, no matter what you look like, our fascination with magpies is universal.
‘I don’t believe it!’ Emma shrieked
Veronica has always enjoyed living an independent life, being in control and making her own decisions. Enjoying a wide range of hobbies, including knitting, crochet and painting, she began to notice that there were times she felt as if she was struggling to focus on the task in hand. ‘Forgetting names, events and where I had put things, was becoming more commonplace,’ adds Veronica. She felt that at times she was living in a fog. ‘I couldn’t accept that there wasn’t anything I could do to help myself. I had always had a good memory and a clear brain. I wanted to be able to carry on enjoying an active and busy life.’
NOTHING TO LOSE
‘ Then I saw an advert for Clear Brain™ in a magazine. I had nothing to lose, so I thought, why not give it a try? I have taken two tablets every day since November 2018; I am happy to say that I certainly feel as if my mental performance is functioning as normal now.’
Veronica now nds that she is now able to carry on doing what she previously did, like going to the shop’s without lists to remind her of what she needs and is con dent that nutrients, ginkgo biloba, nuts and Vitamins B in the formulation enhance her memory and cognitive function.
For Veronica, the biggest plus is that she is now able to enjoy all her hobbies once again, her knitting, crochet and painting are all keeping her busy, ‘I am enjoying my independence feeling relaxed and alert.
ank you, Clear Brain™.’