If you thought the Hitchcock classic “Birds” was nothing more than light feather fiction, think again.
People in Metro Vancouver are watching their backs these days thanks to a murder of particularly aggressive crows who have taken to dive-bombing unsuspecting pedestrians who pass too close to their nests.
“Crows invariably attack you from behind, so there you are walking down the street, being a good citizen and all of a sudden wham! You get whacked on the back of the head,” reports one local.
Thanks to a slew of these brazen daylight attacks by the winged perils, two Langara College instructors have created a new online tool to keep people safe and aware of prime nesting spots, reports CTV Vancouver’s St. John Alexander.
CrowTrax is an interactive map plotting out hundreds of points around the city where victims have reported attacks that include head peckings, hair pulling and attempted clawings.
Most of the victims never saw their attackers coming, but most report hearing a shrill and distinctive caw before the incident. By the time help arrived, the birds had often fled the scene.
“He tried to grab my hair, I say ‘what the hell you do to me’ [sic],” says one woman on the receiving end of a vicious peck.
“One of them followed me three blocks,” reports another terrorized pedestrian.
April to July is nesting season for crows, who are protective of their homes and, according to the CrowTrax map, appear to be most territorial in the west-end neighbourhoods of Vancouver.
That could be due to the narrower streets and greater number of trees that bring people closer to their nests, speculate locals. Plus, there are plenty of choice restaurants in the area whose garbage bins are ripe for the picking by the beady-eyed black birds.
There is safety in numbers too. One nest can have multiple guardians with aunts, uncles and cousins, along with mom and dad all working together to keep threats to the fledglings away as the chicks take their first tentative flaps into the world.
Tips for staying out of harm’s flight path include walking under an open umbrella in rain or shine, wearing a hat and keeping alert of your surroundings.
Plus, if you can, try not to let the crows get a glimpse of you – they have exceptional eye sight and remember faces.
“Just run. Just run,” advises one street-savvy crow dodger.
