Crow attacks happening ‘later in the season than usual’
Posted June 4, 2018 11:59 am.
Last Updated June 4, 2018 12:06 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – You never forget your first time getting swooped by a crow, and it’s an experience plenty of us are having these days as the birds defend their fledglings, most of which are still in their nests.
Langara instructor Jim O’Leary — the co-creator of a website called Crowtrax which monitors aggressive crows — says these swooping incidents appear to be happening later this year for some reason.
“Usually, by this time, the crow attacks are winding down. But just in the past week, wow, it has really spiked. And that’s probably why you’re calling me because people are talking about crows. Right now they are fierce.”
And while it may feel like you’re under attack, Dr. Sarah Dubois with the SPCA says it’s probably nothing you’ve done. In most cases, they’re just trying to scare you away from their young.
“These animals are not out to get you, they are just trying to let you know that this is their area, that their young are in this area and they’re trying to protect it, just like they would try to scare off another animal,” she tells NEWS 1130. “And a lot of the time we don’t quite understand because it’s a large crow on the ground, it doesn’t really look like a baby because it’s fully feathered and it’s about the same size as the adult, but in fact, crow fledglings are quite large.”
Animal cruelty laws prevent you from interfering with crows but you can remove their nests once the birds have abandoned them.
