When Birds Attack (moved from ATSNN)

Apparently Grackles, a kind of bird are attacking people in Houston, Texas. These large black birds are supposedly swooping from trees and such to attack various people outside the County Administrative building. So far numerous people have gotten several nasty peckings across their necks, faces and backs.



Wow, this is extremly odd. Sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, sort of like Birds. The article mentions that it may have had something to due with them protecting their offspring. However I find this unlikely seing as I've never heard of birds doing this before. First the exploding toads of Hamburg, now this. I wonder if these animals somehow sense something is coming. For some reason this reminds me of an anti-pigeon website.

Related News Links:
www.cnn.com
news.scotsman.com

[edit on 5/21/2005 by cyberdude78]

This is not so odd, really. I've seen reports like this before and according to the article the birds are protecting their young.

It appears that the birds are protecting their offspring. On Monday a young grackle had fallen out of its nest and adult birds attacked people who got too close, Jue said.

aolsvc.news.aol.com...

This happens all the time in Australia, particularly from magpie birds, which will swoop down and attack the back of your head when they have a nest with chicks nearby. Been swooped a couple of times before myself.



They will usually only attack from behind, so people paint large eyes on the back of their hats and bicycle helmets to deceive the birds.


Swooping birds

[edit on 2005/5/21 by wecomeinpeace]

Its not unusual. Birds attack fairly often, when I was a kid we had a crow that would attack anytime we rode our bikes passed his tree till he met with a tragic BB Gun accident (we think it was suicide)

Yes, this has happened to me before. Natural behavior at work. Stay away from the nesting areas and you do not get dive bombed.

About 10 years ago I was attacked by birds. Small ones but they reminded me of the movie which had creeped me out when I saw it. I was working in my garden and got dive bombed by the birds.

Turns out there was a bird house at the corner of the garden and it was the parents who were diving at me.

I just stayed out of that part of the garden until the little birds left the bird house.

It was scary because of that film.