LINCOLN PARK — Hey, "nature's a--holes:" Joggers and pedestrians hate you right back.
Thursday's story about red-winged blackbirds defending their nests against anyone nearby elicited a series of responses on social media.
"The bird that nightmares are made of," Sarah McCarthy of suburban Naperville said in a tweet, so it's not just a Chicago problem.
The bird that nightmares are made of.
— Sarah McCarthy (@Sarah_JMcCarthy) June 22, 2017
Still, the birds have proven to be a nuisance in the more marshy areas along the Chicago lakefront, like the Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo, Downtown in Grant Park and at Indian Boundary Park in Rogers Park.
One local birder has called the species "nature's a--holes," comparing nesting pairs to a bickering New Jersey couple.
"People from New Jersey are the worst," one respondent said on Neighborhood Square.
Others, however, were more tolerant.
"Just protecting their fledglings," one person said on Neighborhood Square.
"What beautiful birds," added another. "Areas where they are nesting should be blocked off. To call anything in nature an a--hole, you do not love nature."
"Calling them a--holes ... so stupid. They're just aggressively protecting their young," wrote Helen Issep of Roscoe Village.
"They have the most beautiful bird-call sounds," Christopher Leon Gray posted on the DNAinfo Chicago Facebook page. He called them "nature's synthesizers," adding, "So they're likely constantly annoyed to hear most of humanity's whiny ... voices cutting through their eardrums."
"My absolute most favorite bird!" Arica Browne added. "They are territorial and aggressive, but they're so beautiful and have a really pretty bird call."
The zoo's Urban Wildlife Institute came to the birds' defense on Twitter, tweeting: "They are protective parents. This behavior discourages predators (e.g. hawks) from taking their chicks."
RWBB are not "natures a--holes", they are protective parents. This behavior discourages predators (e.g., hawks) from taking their chicks. https://t.co/EZFnvMou0T
— Urban Wildlife Inst. (@LPZ_UWI) June 22, 2017
One person compared the birds' behavior to robins protecting their young as they learn to fly after flopping out of the nest, saying, "I was exiting my backyard through a small pathway when I noticed a large robin (I think!) about 20 feet ahead of me. I was taken aback when it didn't fly away as I approached. I stopped to look at it and within 10 seconds the bird flew towards me! I was so freaked out, but I guess there were some babies or something nearby. I didn't check, I just left out another entrance! I do not think they're a--holes, though, they're just protecting their young. Nothing a--hole about that!"
Others, however, insisted red-winged blackbirds were territorial in a way robins are not and are not to be tangled with.
One woman said she'd been attacked twice jogging in Evergreen Park. "It's the creepiest feeling ever," she added. "It landed right on my head. They usually put a sign out that says aggressive birds, but it's hard to avoid the area when jogging."
"I've had to change my route," tweeted jogger John Hudson.
I've had to change my route / Runners Beware: Red-Winged Blackbirds, 'Nature's A--holes,' Are At It Again https://t.co/ii28WDtn1D
— John Hudson (@johnphudson) June 22, 2017
"Can confirm," tweeted Matt Johnson. "Have been dive-bombed by red-winged blackbirds."
"They stare me down as I run along the boardwalk," jogger Robin Fine wrote on the DNAinfo Lincoln Park Facebook page. "I will not let them win!"
"At Indian Boundary Park, even when you are on the footpath around the lagoon, they attack, and not just once," wrote Pat Friedlander. "They are frightening!"
"My husband was attacked by an infamous red-winged blackbird that had set up its nest inside a junkyard on Grand," one woman wrote on Neighborhood Square. "As with other cyclists, when he rode down the street that's alongside the yard, the bird flew at him, pecking on his bike helmet."
"I was attacked by one on the running/bike path at North Avenue Beach," wrote another respondent. "Landed on my head twice. Little scary for me — funny as [heck] for those who witnessed it."
"One mugged me near North Pond," responded one reader on Neighborhood Square, "but I still have my phone."
