Two summers ago, a patient gazing out of his hospital window in Belgium spotted an abandoned magpie’s nest made of plastic and wire in a tree. Coincidentally, he had just read an article about a Dutch biologist who studies bird nests constructed from discarded materials. Intrigued, he sent an email, leading to a visit from the biologist, Auke-Florian Hiemstra, who climbed aboard a cherry picker to examine the nest up close.
Upon closer inspection from an aerial perspective, Hiemstra discovered that the wires embedded in the plastic were actually anti-bird spikes, totaling at least 1,500. These spikes were initially installed by the hospital to deter landings on its roof, but some had gone missing near the nest. Only remnants of glue remained, suggesting that someone—or rather, some bird—had removed them. Hiemstra has encountered unusual items in bird nests before, such as condoms, face masks, paper packages for cocaine, and pieces of windshield wipers. However, a nest made of anti-bird spikes was truly bizarre. He jokingly remarked, “It sounds like basically a joke.”
Interestingly, the magpie nest’s spikes were positioned outward, as if to ward off other birds. This raised the question of whether the magpies repurposed our anti-bird defenses for their own protection. In urban environments, thorny branches that magpies typically use for defense are scarce. Therefore, anti-bird spikes serve as a viable alternative. Hiemstra, a Ph.D. candidate at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands, speculated that our attempts to keep pesky birds away inadvertently provided a novel defense strategy for one species.
Excited by his discovery, Hiemstra shared it with his biologist peers. Soon after, a tree-maintenance worker contacted one of them, reporting another nest made of anti-bird spikes built by crows near Leiden, in Rotterdam. Unlike the magpie nest, the spikes in this nest faced inward, implying that the crows likely didn’t use them defensively. Similar nests with spikes were subsequently found in Glasgow, Scotland, and Enschede, the Netherlands. Hiemstra commented, “More and more kept popping up,” suggesting that wherever anti-bird spikes and crows or magpies coexist, more nests made with these spikes may be waiting to be discovered. Initially perceived as an oddity, this discovery turned out to be more common than expected, as scientists recently started paying attention to it.
Bird nests containing artificial materials are not uncommon. Hiemstra’s interest in this phenomenon was sparked when he observed a coot carrying a piece of plastic to its nest. According to ornithologist Tim Birkhead, who authored a book on magpies, metal wire nests made by these birds have been seen in Sheffield, England. A recent review on why some birds utilize “anthropogenic materials” revealed that trash has been found in the nests of 176 different species across every continent except Antarctica. Mark Mainwaring, an ornithologist at Bangor University in Wales and co-author of the review, expressed surprise at the extensive use of man-made materials by birds. He added that birds are adaptable and wouldn’t travel long distances if suitable materials were readily available nearby. These nests filled with artificial materials serve as a reminder of how extensively humans have transformed bird habitats by clearing native plants, scattering plastic waste, and installing hostile spikes.
Though scientists had previously been unaware of birds’ interactions with objects intended to repel them, Hiemstra’s findings shed light on this phenomenon. He initially found little information in published literature but discovered numerous viral videos and articles on the internet celebrating birds’ victories. For instance, cockatoos have been observed removing spikes from buildings, peregrine falcons impale their prey on spikes for later consumption, and the “Parkdale Pigeon” gained folk-hero status for defiantly building a nest atop anti-bird spikes in Australia. Rather than being deterred by these spikes, birds have repurposed, reused, and resisted them. Hiemstra pondered the possibility of using stronger glue to secure the spikes but hesitated to provide humanity with ideas. He stated, “I’m definitely cheering for the birds.”
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