Bird attack leaves girl, 12, fighting to save her sight: ‘Straight to the eye’
Magpie swooping season normally runs from August to October, though it can extend to November in some areas. Rose Makin – stock.adobe.com
A 12-year-old schoolgirl from Western Australia has suffered a severe eye injury after being swooped by a magpie on her way home from school, an accident that will require up to 18 months of surgeries.
Nicole Baldwin, a single mother from Leschenault, said her daughter Sam was crossing a school oval in Australind to meet her brother when the attack occurred.
“It was just a routine afternoon,” Baldwin told news.com.au. “She called me about five minutes before I arrived and said, ‘Mum, I’ve been swooped, it’s got me in the eye.’ She was crying and very upset.”
Baldwin instructed Sam to stay with a nearby family friend until she could reach her.
“When I got there, I could immediately see it was serious,” she said. “It looked like there was a tear or flap across her eye. I couldn’t tell the full extent until we got to emergency.”
Sam was rushed to Busselton Hospital within the hour for emergency surgery. Baldwin recalled the grim prognosis:
“The surgeon told me there was probably no chance of her getting any sight back in that eye. He said she’d need at least seven or eight surgeries over the next 15 to 18 months.”
Just days later, Sam’s condition worsened. Her lens began to swell from the impact of the bird’s beak, requiring further surgery at Perth Children’s Hospital. Doctors now need to wait for the swelling to subside before determining the damage to the back of her eye.
Despite the trauma, Baldwin said Sam has remained brave. “She’s doing pretty well emotionally, but she doesn’t yet understand how long this will last. She’s in a lot of pain, very sensitive to light, and refuses to remove her eye patch or go outside.”
Sam has been unable to return to school, spending most of her time resting at home. Baldwin said the accident has dramatically disrupted the family’s life.
“It’s quite hard because I’m on my own with three kids and I work full-time. I’ve had to take leave without pay to be with her, which is a big financial struggle. I’m two hours from home, paying for petrol, hospital stays, and medication—it all adds up very quickly.”
A close friend has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs, which Baldwin described as an emotional relief. “It’s really hard to accept help. I cried when I saw it. It’s a lifeline for us because I’m not getting paid right now.”
Baldwin, who has always warned her children about swooping magpies, said she still struggles to understand how it happened. “I always tell the kids not to look up if they hear wings nearby, but Sam didn’t. She was looking down, and it still came straight for her, hitting her front-on in the eye.”
She hopes their story raises awareness among other parents. “Make your kids wear sunglasses and hats, walk in groups, and stay vigilant,” she urged.
Magpie swooping season usually runs from August to October, sometimes extending into November. According to Magpie Alert, a community tracking site, there have been 4,658 attacks this year, 557 of which resulted in injuries.
Dr. Meg Edwards, a wildlife science lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland, said urban areas see more attacks because there are more birds and people. “Magpies swoop anything they perceive as a threat. Parks, footpaths, and bike paths are more exposed,” she explained.
Edwards advised avoiding areas where magpies are nesting, maintaining their habitat, and staying calm while walking. “The bigger and scarier we appear, the more threatening we seem to magpies, increasing the likelihood of an attack,” she said.
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