A baby girl who was killed in a freak magpie swooping accident has been remembered by her grieving family as a ‘little ray of sunshine’.
Paramedics were called to Holland Park West in Brisbane’s southeast at 12.05pm on Sunday after five-month-old Mia was killed as her mother Simone sought to protect her from the aggressive bird.
Her mother ducked to avoid the magpie in Glindemann Park and tripped over with the baby her arms.
The youngster suffered head injuries in the fall and was taken to Queensland Children Hospital but later died.
The baby’s loved ones have since come together to help her mother and her father Jacob grieve and pay for the cost of Mia’s funeral.
In a touching online tribute to the youngster, her aunts told how Mia’s parents ‘constantly doted over her’ and ‘showered her with love’.
‘The joy Mia brought to all of our lives cannot be described in words, but is certainly felt in all of our hearts,’ the GoFundMe fundraiser reads.
The baby’s aunts told how her parents ‘constantly doted over her’ and ‘showered her with love’
Flowers are left at the scene after the five-month-old was killed in a freak magpie swooping accident on Sunday
Tributes left at the park where baby tragically passed away
A couple who had been at the park during the incident lay flowers at the scene in Holland Park West, Brisbane
The couple rushed to help the mother and daughter after the magpie swooped down on them are pictured at the scene on Tuesday
Mia’s mother ducked to avoid the magpie in Glindemann Park shortly after midday on Sunday and tripped over with baby Mia in her arms
The couple paid their respects as floral tributes to the five-month-old baby grew at the park
‘Jacob and Simone have not asked for anything but time – time to grieve the loss of their stunning little ray of sunshine.’
The fundraiser told how two of Mia’s aunts were desperately trying to get an exemption so they could enter Queensland and support the grieving parents.
‘Raising some money would not only help Jacob and Simone pay for the cost of Mia’s funeral, but would enable Jacob and Simone to take as much time away from work and the world as they need,’ the sisters wrote.
‘We ask you as their family, their friends, their acquaintances, or even strangers, to donate whatever you can to allow them to take as long as they need to grieve.
‘We love you both Jacob and Simone, and will forever love you Mia….Fly high baby girl.’
A witness to the horrific accident had earlier praised the baby girl’s ‘heroic’ father for calling triple-zero immediately and doing ‘everything he could’ to save his child’s life.
‘I’ve seen shock before but this was beyond anything I’d ever seen,’ the man told the Courier Mail.
A well-wisher pays tribute at the scene on Tuesday. Residents said the bird loiters around the Nursery Road side of the park – the same strip where the woman and baby were attacked on Sunday
Pictured is a pedestrian holding a stick on the road outside the south-east Brisbane park. Multiple warning signs around Glindemann Park urge residents to be wary of swooping magpies
A resident cycles through Glindemann Park with a camera attached to his helmet on Tuesday morning. Many locals say they have been left with bloody wounds after run-ins with the magpie
A flower is pictured left at the scene on Tuesday. A witness to the horrific accident had earlier praised the baby girl’s ‘heroic’ father for doing ‘everything he could’ to save his child’s life
City of Brisbane workers have taped off the park after the baby’s death. Pictured is a well-wisher after leaving flowers at the scene
A warning sign is pictured telling Glindemann Park users to ‘walk quickly through the area’ and to get off their bike and walk if they are cycling through the park
He praised the baby girl’s ‘heroic’ father for quickly calling Triple-0 while trying to do ‘everything he could’.
‘It’s sickening I suppose, seeing a family torn apart in one quick moment,’ his wife added.
On Monday meanwhile it emerged a concerned resident had issued an eerie warning urging others to be aware of an aggressive magpie terrorising a local park just days before the swooping incident.
The man sternly advised residents to avoid Glindemann Park after he was attacked multiple times.
Others too said they had been attacked and left bloodied by the wild bird.
Flowers are pictured at the scene on Tuesday morning. Mia’s mother ducked to avoid the magpie and tripped over with the baby her arms
Another resident said he reported the bird to the council about eight weeks ago after being swooped but the bird was not removed (pictured, a warning sign erected in the park )
It was one of many stories shared online in the wake of the infant’s death, with dozens of locals coming forward to share stories of being chased by the territorial magpie.
‘It is magpie season again [and] there’s a particularly aggressive one who nests every year in the large gum tree at the end of Glindemann Park,’ a man wrote in a local Facebook group on July 31.
‘[I] suggest [using] an alternative route or if you have to [use it] keep an eye out, and don’t turn your back on him – just walk calmly through, waving your hands above your head if you have to.
‘He’s given me a few nips over the years whilst doing bush care down here.’
Masked council workers put up a warning sign urging residents to be wary of nesting magpies on Tuesday
Pictured is a magpie in Glindemann Park on Tuesday. A man who lived in the area had warned other residents to avoid the park after he was attacked multiple times
Another magpie flies across the suburban Brisbane park on Tuesday morning. Brisbane City Council workers captured the bird that swooped on the mother and her baby at 3pm on Monday
The man said the bird loiters around the Nursery Road side of the park – the same strip where the woman and baby were attacked on Sunday.
Many locals said they had experienced similar run-ins with the feathered creature, which left some with bloody wounds.
One mother said her children were attacked by the same bird, and were wounded on their cheeks, very close to their eyes, despite wearing helmets.
‘That one has nipped my left ear the past two years and drew blood, right where the earlobe joins my face,’ another woman said.
‘I’ve spoken to others who have also been nipped on their left ear by this same bird.’
A child is lifted over the fencing at Glindemann Park on Tuesday morning. Locals have reported experiencing similar run-ins with the aggressive magpie
A man urged residents to steer clear of the park after he was repeatedly attacked by the magpie
‘He got me too. Luckily only got my sunnies,’ another replied.
One woman said the ‘very aggressive’ bird relentlessly swooped her as she walked 500 metres, while another said her father-in-law, who is on blood thinners, bled profusely after it cut his head.
Some claim they had previously reported it to the council, but no action was taken to relocate the animal until the little girl’s death.
Meanwhile, community members have offered their condolences to the grieving family in posts on social media.
‘So sorry for this family’s loss. Incredibly sad,’ one post read.
The mother was being swooped by the magpie in Glindemann Park (pictured) when she tripped while carrying her baby
The magpie (stock image) was captured by council workers and taken away in a cage – after numerous complaints from locals fell on deaf ears
‘This is just so sad. It makes me angry and incredibly devastated at the same time.
‘The poor mother (especially) and father would be suffering in unbearable and unbelievable grief,’ another wrote.
‘So very sad. Prayers and thoughts for the heartbroken family,’ a third said.
Two Brisbane City Council workers captured the magpie at 3pm on Monday and took it away in a cage, after taping off the park and erecting warning signs.
Swooping, which is only carried out by male magpies, is an uncommon trait among the species, with only around 10 per cent of the males using the technique to defend their nests.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner gave a press conference on the tragic death on Tuesday in which he said the Council was working with police to establish what happened.
‘This situation is probably impossible to have predicted, but we know that if we can do anything to prevent this situation from occurring again, we will do that,’ he said.
‘I want the family to know that our community is with them. We cannot even imagine the tragedy that they are going through at the moment and the way that they are feeling.’
City Standards are investigating the incident and police are preparing a report for the coroner.