OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, WALKING AROUND CAMPUS, YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED SMALL BLACKBIRDS WITH RED AND YELLOW FEATHERS. MANY STUDENTS HAVE BECOME ACUTELY AWARE OF THESE BIRDS, EVEN CREATING MEMES ABOUT THEM. SO I TEXTED MY BIRD EXPERT FRIEND AND ASKED HIM WHAT TYPE OF BIRDS THEY WERE. HIS RESPONSE? “AMELIA, RUN.”
WHAT ARE THESE BIRDS? AND WHY HAVE THEY SUDDENLY APPEARED ALL ACROSS CAMPUS? STUDENTS SHARE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND CURIOSITY ABOUT THESE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS.
PETER SPOERRI, A SENIOR AT NORTHWESTERN, HAS BEEN AN AMATEUR BIRD ENTHUSIAST SINCE HE WAS 12. SPOERRI GREW UP IN LONDON, AND WHEN HE CAME TO NORTHWESTERN IN 2020, THE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS IMMEDIATELY SPARKED HIS INTEREST.
[PS] It was my freshman year because we don’t have Red-Winged blackbirds back home. So it was really exciting to see a new bird. And then, all of a sudden, it was the bird that you see everywhere, which was so weird because in the previous months that was not the case.
A RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD IS A SMALL BIRD, AND THE MALES TYPICALLY HAVE RED WINGS WITH A YELLOW STRIPE. AT NORTHWESTERN, THEY TYPICALLY APPEAR IN THE SPRING MONTHS. SPOERRI SAYS THAT ALTHOUGH THEY LOOK PRETTY WHEN NESTING, THEY BECOME AGGRESSIVE.
[PS] They nest around early May or late April, and they start getting really aggressive because they’re as territorial as they come. So they spend all day just shouting at anyone who walks past, and now and again dive bombing.
WHAT IS DIVE-BOMBING? SPOERRI SAYS IT IS HOW MALE RED-WINGED BIRDS PROTECT THEIR NESTs DURING THE SEASON.
[PS] If you’re getting close to their nest, they’ll kind of swoop at you. And most of the time, they won’t actually hit you or anything. It’s just like their intimidation tactic. They start by spreading out their wings and shouting at you. Then, they’ll swoop at the top of your head. They want to let you know that they’re there and make sure you’re walking away.
HE ALSO SAYS THAT HE HAS BEEN VICTIM TO THE WRATH OF THE BIRDS WHEN WALKING ON CAMPUS AND WARNS STUDENTS NOT TO INTERACT WITH THEM.
[PS] They’ve come at me before. I used to walk under one of their nests on the way to North Campus or something like that. And so there used to be one that would just like to dive in me pretty regularly outside Kellogg.
[PS] Be very careful. It’s very easy to stress these birds out, and they do kind of jump out at you sometimes. Eye contact actually helps with the birds; they won’t really come after you that much if you make eye contact.
ANNA KOVACS, A SOPHOMORE AT NU, SAYS SHE HAS NEVER BEEN A VICTIM OF THE BIRDS. SHE FIRST SAW THEM IN THE SPRING OF LAST YEAR.
[AK] Last year, I noticed that they make nests along the bottom edge of one of the Benin buildings. But I guess I didn’t notice them flying around campus that much until this spring.
[AK] Then, I started noticing that they were everywhere. But they’re really pretty, like the little red feather. It catches your eye.
SPOERRI SAYS THE NESTS ARE DISCRETE ON CAMPUS AND ARE HIDDEN UNLESS YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THEM.
[PS] Sometimes they’re on the ground because they like the kind of wreaths around mini Lake Michigan. But then some of them [nests] will be in things like lampposts.
THESE DAYS, SPOERRI SAYS HE RECEIVES WEEKLY TEXTS FROM FRIENDS ASKING FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BIRDS.
[PS] I love it when people send me pictures of birds and then ask me what it is. And I think the last five or six of them [texts] have just been male Red-Winged Blackbirds.
EVEN THOUGH SPOERRI WARNS PEOPLE TO STAY AWAY FROM THE BIRDS, HE WANTS YOU TO APPRECIATE THE BEAUTY OF THE SPECIES.
[PS] They’re a really unique thing about this campus. Even though they sometimes get in your way and shout at you, they’re really just gorgeous. And it’s something that’s so unique about the Lakefill and where our campus is.
GO OUT AND BIRDWATCH, BUT BEWARE DON’T GET TOO CLOSE!
FOR WNUR NEWS, I’M AMELIA DONHAUSER.
