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Posted by Rob on 12:22:36 04/20/11
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -- Customers of a Hallandale Beach bank are ducking for cover after several birds protecting their nests have been diving at people's heads.
Just before the City National Bank off East Hallandale Beach Boulevard closes for the day, at a time when foot traffic is at its highest, they attack.
"I'm in shock. I'm in total shock," said Abby Ortiz, who was out of breath and shaking after running to her car.
Like a well-organized street gang, the flock of angry birds has claimed the bank's parking lot.
"I just got attacked by birds and didn't even know what to do," said Ortiz, whose bird encounter was caught on Local 10's cameras.
One bird hit Ortiz in the head while four others swarmed around her.
Those who frequent the area have come to recognize one chatty mockingbird as the lookout and a grackle as the leader of the aggressive flock. When their call goes out, people who have seen them in action recommend that you duck.
"What the (expletive) is wrong with these birds?" said bank customer Jamar Adams, who was returning to his car from the bank's ATM.
The situation calls to mind Alfred Hitchcock's classic film "The Birds," in which thousands of birds wreak havoc on a small town. But as visitors to the Hallandale Beach bank know all too well, sometimes life imitates art.
"They must be protecting something," Adams said from the safety of his car.
"If you look over there, you'll see all the pieces torn up," said bank manager and bird enthusiast Armen Lovenvirth.
Lovenvirth explained that the the birds are indeed protecting something: their babies. Every year, spring grackles and mockingbirds nest in the rafters of the bank.
"In the last three or four years, this has become the spot for nesting," Lovenvirth said.
There's nothing Lovenvirth would or could do to get rid of the birds. The grackle is federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
"We simply have to live with them. We will be living with them, it seems, for many years to come," Lovenvirth said.
While visitors have clearly been shaken up, there have been no reports of injuries. Lovenvirth said the birds should become less aggressive in the coming weeks as their babies mature. In the meantime, he hopes their attacks don't chase away too much business.
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