Posties delivering scare tactics to fight magpie

CAMBRIDGE - Postal workers are fighting back against a pesky magpie that has been dive-bombing them on cycle rounds.

The workers have taken to wearing plastic masks of monsters on the back of their helmets to scare off the bird in Cambridge's High St area.

One worker, Lisa Parnwell, gave up her cycle round last week after nearly being run over when the magpie harassed her into the path of an oncoming truck.

Her manager, Judy Formby, who took over the round to ensure the mail was delivered, said she bought some $4 plastic masks to help ward the bird off, and initially it appeared to have done the trick.

A trial run kept the bird away, but it has since grown bolder.

"It's hovering around all right. It took a bit of a flap at me [yesterday] morning but it didn't make contact. I'm crossing my fingers it stays that way."

Mrs Formby said the bird had dive-bombed workers up to 20 times on the run and she had tried various ideas to beat the problem.

"I've got everything from tying branches to my head, to putting up an aerial with a flag, to putting a bird on a stick on top of my helmet."