This week I read three separate news stories about wild birds sending people to the hospital. In one case a man died.
A 19-year-old man was distracted by a bird and crashed his car. When I read this headline I assumed it was a birder who got carried away, but it turns out the bird actually flew into his car! He suffered minor injuries.
In the U.K. a woman was attacked by a gull while taking a walk. She came away with three puncture wounds and required a tetanus shot.
Finally, a bird is being blamed for a fatal cycling accident that occurred last month. In Highland Park, Illinois, a man riding a bike was apparently dive-bombed by a Red-winged Blackbird. In trying to evade or ward off the bird, the man fell off the bike and hit his head. He was bought to the hospital where he remained unconscious until his death about two weeks later.
Someone ought to call the cops on these birds. Maybe this Blackbird can help.
