A blackbird in San Francisco’s financial district has been divebombing random pedestrians. Apparently he’s a proud papa who is defending a nest.
There is even a blog about him, in which he is affectionately nicknamed “Swoops.”
I find it hilarious that crowds are gathering to watch unknowing pedestrians get attacked by a bird.
Any SF Dopers out there who have been hit by Swoops?
That’s weird. I got attacked by a bird of some kind not far from San Francisco’s financial district 10 or 12 years ago. It was in one of those little green spaces near the Embarcadero though, not on Sacramento. I think it might have been here or maybe here.
I assumed it was defending a nest. And I don’t know what kind of bird it was, I didn’t actually see it. Obviously not the same bird though. Right? Birds don’t live that long, do they?
Back when we lived there, my wife used to get divebombed by a nesting blackbird on her way to work in the China Basin building. The bird would attack as she walked under a tree right along Berry Street. She has a small bald spot on the back of her head, (which she’s rather sensitive about), and we determined that the bird considered her head some sort of large-eyed blackbird.
I would have given anything for a video of her running along in her work suit and heels screaming while a bird pecked at the back of her head.
When I worked at UCSF, I used to get attacked by a blackbird that had nested next to the parking structure, whenever I walked to or from my car. The end of nesting season was quite a relief.
Heh - some crazy bird dive-bombed me a couple years ago, when I was working in that part of the city. Could it have been Swoops? I feel like I may have had a brush (well, peck) with greatness!
I haven’t been hit by Swoops, but I have been hit by at least two other attack birds in San Francisco. When I worked at City Hall, there was one at U.N. Plaza who used to divebomb me, and about a year ago there was a particularly aggressive one along my route to the grocery store. Is this a particularly San Franciscan phenomenon, or are there divebombing birds in other cities?
Looking at the blog, it appears that I am in close proximity to Swoops almost every day. I wonder if the fact that I am invariably wearing a hat when I go outside has protected me. Has Swoops been known to attack people with hats?
I don’t think so. According to the blog, he likes to target bald men more than any other kind of person!
Male Brewer’s Blackbirds are notoriously aggressive around nesting time and adaptable cusses that they are, they nest all over San Francisco. I haven’t been hit by Swoops, but I’ve been zinged a few times over the years by what are no doubt his second cousins.
Have to say, even when I was the target I found it entertaining :p.
Never go out on a marsh with large groups of nesting blackbirds. They will all attack you. We had a group of six eventually chase off the Eagle last week. I really like blackbirds, for one reason that they keep the hawks away from the area and the song birds can hang out. All the songbirds disappear with hawks in the area.
It is funny to watch somebody else get harassed by a bird. It only becomes bad when it’s you or if say an invalid get’s attacked.
All the better for conducting his aerial damage assessment surveys – whether he’s succeeded in drawing blood, and how profusely.
With apologies to Lennon/McCartney for fair use of their song…
Blackbird strafing in the broad daylight
Take this for a hint and take a hike!
All this time
He is only waiting for his hatchlings to arrive.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take heed of his cries and learn to flee!
All this time
We are only waiting for San Fran’s streets to be free.
Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the Castro’s night.
Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of a quiet night.
Blackbird guarding his territ’try
Let’s respect his space and let 'im be.
All his life
He was only waiting to raise hatchlings with his wife,
He was only waiting to raise hatchlings with his wife,
He was only waiting to raise hatchlings with his wife.
The whole dive-bombing behavior always struck me as weird. We used to have Barn Swallows that would attack the cat in a big circle pattern, with each one diving down in turn. It may have been evolutionarily effective against chipmunks trying to steal eggs or something, but was pretty stupid now a days.
Our old mouser would run away for about 5 seconds, then suddenly remember she was a cat and they were birds. She would crouch down, and puff up her tail like she was scared. But the whole time she was waiting for one to over-commit on the feint, and suddenly Sprooooinng-- big puff of feathers.
I was playing golf. On the 18th hole ,I hit a tee shot and was waiting for players to get off the green. I saw a red bird come out of a tree about 30 yards away. I thought it was weird that he dropped down and started going a couple feet off the ground. Then I noticed it was coming straight at me. I bent over at the waist with my head down toward the ground. As he went through the spot I was ,his wings hit my back. He was really going fast too. I hit my shot quickly and took off.
This is hardly unique to blackbirds. Here in downtown Austin, during nesting season each year, I regularly see mockingbirds who’ll dive bomb people, dogs or cats who walk by.
Most of the time, they don’t seem to be making a genuine attack- rather, they seem to be harassing passersby in hopes that the passersby will chase them, and thereby end up far away from the tree where their nest is
Back in the early 80’s I was “attacked” (divebombed) by a nesting sagehen in the Sierra Nevadas. Maybe a half-pound bird, not much really. Untill it smacks you square in the back, at full speed.
I told my friends about the “savage attack bird” and they all resoundly rebuked me and made sport of my tale. “HAW HAW HAW” like a Chick tract, they taunted…
Until I took a friend up in to the hills, and down that same fire-road. I turned my head (we were on a motorcycle, me driving) and yelled, “Right about here is where that bird was!”, and just then, I took a massive chest-shot to the back, with a huge “Uggh!” of air leaving the lungs of my passenger.
That son-of-a-bitch flew down and square *NAILED HIM *in the back!
My good name was restored shortly after…
We have to endure the divebombing magpies here every year in September in spring.
I’ve seen robins exhibiting this same behavior. The difference is that robins don’t usually nest where there’s so much pedestrian traffic.
Robins don’t group en mass to attack though.
One of these days, someone carrying a tennis racket will walk down that street…
I used to enjoy (in a sadistic way, I guess) watching the mockingbirds going after my cat for innocently walking across our back yard. 
Heh…my thoughts exactly. The whole time I was watching it, I kept thinking “ok, there’s got to be a guy with a tennis racket coming along sooner or later…”