In this episode, The Daily reports on red-winged blackbirds, a territorial species that nests along Lake Michigan’s shoreline and is known for attacking passersby.
JONAH ROSENBERG: Picture yourself just running, like maybe listening to music. You’re not really paying attention, you’re just looking and then all of a sudden you like feel this like aggressive, like these aggressive claws on your head. Like, it’s not like it really hurts necessarily, but it’s so jarring.
LILY OGBURN: That was rising Weinberg junior Jonah Rosenberg, who has been attacked several times by red-winged blackbirds. These birds are known to divebomb passersby during the spring each year.
[BIRDS SINGING]
[music]
LILY OGBURN: From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Lily Ogburn. This is What’s New At NU, a podcast about everything from mainstage NU issues and events to those hidden in the nooks and crannies of campus.
A black bird with an orangey-red wing, fittingly called the red-winged blackbird, nests across Northwestern’s campus and Evanston. But most students know the bird not by its name, but by the species’ behavior.
Rosenberg, a frequent runner, said he avoids running in certain areas because of the birds.
JONAH ROSENBERG: I really…I hate these birds…
LILY OGBURN: Rosenberg isn’t the only student who’s experienced the fury of the red-winged blackbird — in fact, he’s one of many. Former Daily staffer Nicole Markus, who recently graduated, and rising Weinberg senior Ryan Luedtke shared similar experiences.
NICOLE MARKUS: I was walking to kind of in front of Bienen where the back of the Wirtz building is.
RYAN LUEDTKE: I’m walking out of Bienen, and all of a sudden a bonk, something hits me in the head.
NICOLE MARKUS: All of a sudden, I hear a large screech and something hits me really hard from behind my head, and I just screamed and looked behind me and saw like flapping wings coming at me again.
RYAN LUEDTKE: I was so confused, and then I saw this little bird just flooding, fluttering around me, and it had it, it had attacked me.
LILY OGBURN: Rosenberg, Markus and Luedtke all fear the red-winged blackbird. But some don’t view the bird as a menace at all.
Meet John Bates, the curator of birds at the Field Museum and an Evanston resident. He, too, has been dive-bombed, but he has a different outlook on the experience.
JOHN BATES: Personally, I consider it an honor.
LILY OGBURN: Bates said that red-winged blackbirds are simply acting out of protection for their nests when they attack humans.
JOHN BATES: What they do is they defend the area right around the nest, and that means that when nests are built in hedge rows along pathways, people often get dive-bombed.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
LILY OGBURN: He explained that in some ways, red-winged blackbirds also do people a service.
JOHN BATES: What red-winged blackbirds do in the breeding season is they eat an awful lot of insects and they’re feeding insects to their young. So they’re certainly controlling some of the insect populations along the lakefront.
LILY OGBURN: Currently, the University has signs posted in areas on campus where the birds are nesting, warning people of the defensive species.
Bates said that while NU could remove hedges near pathways where the birds nest, he believes the signs are the most effective way to protect both the pedestrians and the birds. However, the signs aren’t foolproof.
JONAH ROSENBERG: I don’t know what more they can do. The signs are nice, I guess, but like you, you still have to go to the places that you need to go.
NICOLE MARKUS: This is happening like all across Lake Michigan, so like other states, they have the same problem with this species of bird. So I’m not really sure what Northwestern could do.
LILY OGBURN: Ultimately, the students and Bates resoundingly agreed that everyone should be vigilant.
RYAN LUEDTKE: Just stay safe out there. Watch out. Don’t, don’t steal from their nests.
NICOLE MARKUS: I can only imagine, in their position, I would also be an anxious mother.
LILY OGBURN: Bates echoed Markus’ empathy for the red-winged blackbird.
JOHN BATES: Birds are just out there to make a living just like everything else. If they weren’t there, I think the world would be a less wonderful place.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[music]
LILY OGBURN: From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Lily Ogburn.
Thanks for listening to another episode of What’s New at NU. This episode was reported and produced by Lily Ogburn.
The Audio Editor is Isabella Jacob. The Multimedia Managing Editor is Sarah Serota. The Editor in Chief is David Samson.
Our theme music is “He’s Gonna Come and Get You Baby” by Xennial used under a 4.0 International License.
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— Clark Street Beach Bird Sanctuary offers migrating birds a temporary home
— Evanston volunteers advocate for bird safety amid Northwestern’s new construction plans
— Red-winged blackbirds frighten walkers on the Lakefill
