Birds cause problem in front of restaurant

Sandy Bressner –  sbressner@kcchronicle.com Red-winged Blackbirds have reportedly been attacking pedestrians along the Fox River outside Andre's Restaurant in downtown Batavia. A sign on the door of the restaurant warns patrons of the possible danger.

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BATAVIA – Macarena Hermosilla is glad she was carrying a roll of wrapping paper as she walked into work Sunday morning at Andres’ Restaurant in Batavia. She needed it to shoo away a red-winged blackbird that dive bombed her head.

“Literally you are walking and they dive at you,” said Hermosilla, who is the daughter of Andres’ Restaurant owners Horacio and Alejandra Andres.

Red-winged blackbirds have been spotted in trees and vegetation in front of Andres’ Restaurant and Eclectibles, which is located beneath the restaurant.

The building also is located near the Fox River Trail and the Fox River.

To make customers aware of the problem, Hermosilla posted a sign in the restaurant’s front door – “Beware of Diving Birds.”

“This is our third summer, and we’ve never had anything like it,” she said.

There is a reason for their behavior, said Pam Otto, manager of nature programs and interpretive services for the St. Charles Park District.

“One male red-winged blackbird often has several female mates,” Otto said. “It is his job to protect each of the nests and his investment in the gene pool.”

However, she said, the birds are not trying to harm anyone.

“He just wants to make sure that the area is clear,” Otto said. “They are trying to get anything viewed as an intrusion on their territory to move along.”

Otto said the problem should go away before the end of the summer. She has heard of other areas of the county reporting problems with red-winged blackbirds.

“It seems like it happens every year at the end of June and the beginning of July,” Otto said.

Eclectibles owner Judy Treend said the birds recently swooped down on her dog, Archie.

“We just kind of keep an eye out for them,” Treend said.

The store opened in May after being located in North Aurora for six years.

“I didn’t know red-winged blackbirds were like that,” Treend said.

She has come up with her own name for the birds that sums up her feelings for them.

“I call them the dirty little birdie,” Treend said.