Rebellious Birds Are Now Stealing Anti-Bird Spikes and Making Nests With Them

If you’ve ever walked around in a city, you’ve probably seen anti-bird spikes covering statues, balconies, and sometimes even trees. While these mechanisms are intended to deter winged creatures from perching in these places, it seems like some magpies and crows have figured out a way to use them to their benefit. A group of Dutch researchers found that certain birds were using these spikes to construct nests.

“For the first few minutes, I just stared at it—this strange, beautiful, weird nest,” biologist Auke-Florian Hiemstra explains. He and other scientists observed several nests in Rotterdam and Antwerp that feature strips of spikes. Not only that, they discovered that magpies were even lining the tops of their nests with spikes to create a wall against predators.

Birds using manmade objects to construct nests is not a new phenomenon; however, researchers were surprised to learn that birds were tearing the plastic spikes off of buildings to bring back to their homes. Usually, thorny branches would act as protection for their eggs, but they’ve clearly learned that anti-bird spikes work just as well or even better to fortify their abodes.

“It’s actually like a joke,” Hiemstra adds. “Even for me as a nest researcher, these are the craziest bird nests I’ve ever seen.” He’s not far off. Each of these guarded nests looks like something from the future. They also serve as a poignant reminder of the adaptability and resilience of nature.