My second day in Australia I had one swoop me about 5 times and then finally peck or claw my scalp and it was a bloody mess. I went into the trailer I was staying in and the bird perched on a branch and evil eyed me for 30 minutes. Those birds are gangster.

Later I saw kids waiting for the school bus with ice cream boxes on their head with two dots drawn on the back. Definitely not a fashion thing.

The locals got I good laugh from me getting pecked because they all know the tricks after the first warning swoop.

The magpies near me never swoop me, I've somehow made friends with them. They used to swoop my dog, until they saw me and my dog outside together, now they leave her alone. I love them though, they're friendly to other birds (but they have no tolerance for bullies), and they'll even chase off invasive species (Indian Myna birds). They are certainly the dons of my garden.

Could just be that you were new to the area. I walk everywhere so the magpies see me all year round, and by the time it's swooping season they know I'm not a threat. I only get swooped when I take a different path to normal and come across an unfamiliar family.

Yeah. Schoolkids do the ice cream container helmet. In groups, one usually walks backwards... like a troop of little commandos.