Nancy Davidson, a Wilmette resident and commenter on Weber\u2019s post, said she was hit twice by red-winged blackbirds just within the past month. She was doing her regular exercise routine, walking up Sheridan Road when she was dive-bombed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was completely surprised, as the bird came out of nowhere,\u201d said Davidson. \u201cIt flew into my head and was successful in getting rid of me, as I got out of there immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was not aware of the species prior to this year,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Marketing and Communications Manager for the Wilmette Park District JP McNamara told Pioneer Press that the species is common in Illinois during spring and summer early nesting season, with male red-wing blackbirds becoming territorial and aggressive in protecting their nests from any perceived threats.<\/p>\n
![\"With](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/PPN-L-WTK-BIRD-SHERIDAN-GILLSON.jpg\")
With Baha’i Temple in the background, a black bird perches on a street sign on Sheridan Road in Wilmette, near Gillson Park. In this area, red-winged blackbirds have been dive-bombing pedestrians who, knowingly or not, walk too close to their nests during nesting season. (Pam DeFiglio\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the behavior can be startling, it is generally intended to deter potential predators (rather) than cause injury,\u201d McNamara wrote in an email.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are aware of public discussion regarding red-winged blackbird activity this season. Actual physical contact is uncommon, and the behavior typically subsides once the nesting season ends and young birds leave the nest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Experts say the dive-bombing, while it can be alarming to passers by, is a natural and normal part of the species breeding season. Bridget Kiernan, a horticulturist and bird walk leader at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, said the Garden has observed an increase in aggressive behavior from male red-winged blackbirds in recent weeks, but emphasized it is normal this time of year across the Chicagoland area.<\/p>\n
\u201cI often say on bird walks I lead at the Garden, \u2018red-winged blackbirds are good at what they do,\u2019\u201d said Kiernan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe behavioral trait of male red-winged blackbirds to defend their territory and protect their offspring, at times aggressively, has allowed the species to become so successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Red-winged blackbirds often nest near water, wetlands, retention ponds, roadside ditches, golf courses and urban lagoons, she added. The dive bombing, Kiernan said, happens more frequently in June after the chicks have hatched and by sometime in July, the likelihood decreases with the breeding season complete for the year.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/PPN-L-WTK-SHERIDAN-ROAD-BIRDS.jpg\")
A woman walks down Sheridan Road in Wilmette. Red-winged blackbirds have been dive-bombing pedestrians in this area and others who, likely unknowingly, walk too close to their nests during nesting season in June and July. (Pam DeFiglio\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
Chicago resident Leah Pietrusiak experienced a dive-bombing incident herself recently near the Humboldt Park Boat House, close to a lagoon, where red-wing blackbirds sometimes nest. Afterwards, she shared to social media a post which received responses from others who\u2019d had similar experiences.<\/p>\n
Pietrusiak grew up in Oak Park and was first dive-bombed by\u00a0 birds 20 years ago when she was riding her bike along Grand Avenue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took a walk really early one day, around seven or eight in the morning, and just out of nowhere he nailed my head and I was like \u2018oh no, it just happened again,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cI felt it for like two, three hours afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike her first encounter where the bird lingered, Pietrusiak said this red-wing blackbird in Humboldt Park only dive-bombed once, which she saw as more of an initial warning. Now, she said when she takes a walk around the park, she plans to be more cautious of the species during nesting season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not gonna be walking in the park without a hat in the summer,\u201d said Pietrusiak.<\/p>\n
Despite the seasonal nature of the species\u2019 attacks, Weber said she believes more could be done by local officials to prevent the building of nests in public spaces and public buildings before the birds start laying eggs.<\/p>\n
Once red-winged blackbirds lay eggs for the season and have chicks, it is illegal to remove the nests, according to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918<\/a> and the Illinois Wildlife Code. So early intervention is the only way to prevent the nests.<\/p>\n In the meantime, however, there are precautions residents can take to protect themselves in the event of a dive-bombing incident. Kiernan recommends wearing a wide-brimmed hat during nesting season, while also protecting the head and neck if the bird starts dive-bombing. She also encourages residents to familiarize themselves with red-wing blackbirds\u2019 high-pitched, repetitive warning calls.<\/p>\n \u201cRed-winged blackbirds are very vocal and give off warning calls when they sense there is any danger,\u201d said Kiernan. \u201cWith this knowledge, residents can anticipate entering the bird\u2019s nesting territory and choose to give the birds space or walk in a different direction.\u201d<\/p>\n A National Park Service audio of the birds\u2019 sounds can be found here<\/a> or at nps.gov\/yell\/learn\/photosmultimedia\/sounds-redwingedblackbird.htm<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On most days, Teri Weber enjoys going for walks on Sheridan Road in Winnetka, glimpsing Lake Michigan in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":934374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[12320,960,5404,14681,11612,14687,9287,13381,5386,1818,4010,14695,728,14697,14699,10886,14714,23499,14719],"class_list":["post-934373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-buffalo-grove","tag-chicago","tag-cook-county","tag-deerfield","tag-evanston","tag-glencoe","tag-glenview","tag-highland-park","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-lake-county","tag-lincolnwood","tag-local-news","tag-morton-grove","tag-niles","tag-northbrook","tag-skokie","tag-wilmette","tag-winnetka"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116918614483227964","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=934373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/934374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=934373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=934373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=934373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}