Oliver: Sun City path walkers on high alert

If you find yourself walking along the path around Wildflower Lake in Sun City Huntley, you’d better watch your head.

There’s been a rash of attacks in recent weeks by an offender who is gaining a reputation in the community.

“Did you get attacked today?” has become the standard greeting among folks there.

The M.O. of this miscreant goes something like this: As pedestrians walk along, this “clever little booger,” as one resident described him, swoops in from behind, dive-bombing his unsuspecting victims.

A “notorious blackbird” is on the prowl, camping out where the bike path veers off from the walking path.

“He sits up in a little tree and squawks as you go by,” resident John Silva told me. “He’ll fly behind and dive-bomb you.”

Word around Sun City is that the attacks haven’t resulted in serious injuries, though one man is said to have been pecked on the head, resulting in some bleeding. Another suffered a scratch under one eye, Silva said.

The residents I talked to said they hadn’t seen anything like this before, though there are hundreds of blackbirds in the marsh area.

Resident Sandy Magana is among those who have had run-ins with the bird.

“You get a loud, hard thump on the top of your head,” which she said she assumes is from the bird’s wings. “You better wear a hat or hoodie.”

Sun City Huntley apparently is not alone.

A blackbird has been harassing pedestrians in San Francisco, drawing crowds and sparking YouTube videos. The BBC even sent a video crew to catch the little guy, nicknamed “Swoops,” in action.

McHenry County Audubon Society President Randy Schietzelt shed some light on what’s going on.

The red-winged blackbird, the male in particular, goes a little nuts in defending its territory during the breeding season.

Chances are good that there’s a nest near that scrawny little tree where the Sun City blackbird perches. But don’t expect to see the female, Schietzelt said, because she’s staying with the young.

The males attack anything that comes into their territory, be it human, hawk or great blue heron.

Around August, blackbirds often congregate by the hundreds. Shades of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.” But don’t be alarmed, Schietzelt said; they aren’t aggressive then. Breeding season is over.

In the meantime, Sun City residents are coming up with their own ways to deal with the little menace.

Some wear hats. Others bring along a walking stick or pick up a reed along the way.

“One fellow said he’d bring a tennis racket,” Silva said.

That might be a little drastic. A blackbird’s gotta do what a blackbird’s gotta do.

“I’m on the bird’s side,” Magana said. “I just don’t want him landing on my head.”

• Joan Oliver is a community editor for the Northwest Herald. She can be reached at 815-526-4552 or by e-mail at joliver@nwherald.com.