Within a block of the downtown Vancouver office where Jim O含羞草研究社橪eary used to work, multiple crow nests could be found in the leafy trees lining the streets.
含羞草研究社淛ust about every day someone would come in and say 含羞草研究社極h, I got attacked by a crow,含羞草研究社櫤卟菅芯可鐫 O含羞草研究社橪eary said.
He knew crows are smart 含羞草研究社� pointing to their use of tools and ability to remember physical traits 含羞草研究社� but the former Langara College GIS program instructor knew he could help people outwit the birds.
It含羞草研究社檚 what led to him creating , which allows people to log where crows attacked them and lets them leave a description of the incident.
Around 30 crow kerfuffles from in and around Victoria were cataloged on the interactive website this year 含羞草研究社� with several incident clusters tracked downtown. Accounts from those incidents described how crows dive-bombed, clawed and swooped at people.
The birds含羞草研究社� common tactic of attacking from behind makes it unsettling for people who have no way of preparing, O含羞草研究社橪eary said, adding he含羞草研究社檚 heard stories of talons getting caught in longer hair.
含羞草研究社淲hat the CrowTrax site has become, in a way it含羞草研究社檚 kind of therapy. People need to tell to tell their story,含羞草研究社� he said.
O含羞草研究社橪eary opens the website to submissions during nesting season every year, but he always gets emails by early spring urging the site to go live because people have gotten attacked and want to avoid cranky crow routes.
He hopes more users worldwide will flock to CrowTrax and he含羞草研究社檚 in the midst of implementing AI to filter out bogus entries, which will allow him to keep the site open to submissions year-round.
O含羞草研究社橪eary was surprised to hear of a crow attack downtown on Oct. 16 as he said it含羞草研究社檚 less common at this time of year. They含羞草研究社檙e not the only birds feeling feisty this fall as the Town of Sidney had to post an Oct. 12 notice about owls behaving aggressively around people at Reay Creek Park.
Nadia Xenakis, a BC SPCA wild animal welfare specialist, said it含羞草研究社檚 a strange time of year for owls to go after people, but noted wildlife will generally show aggression if they feel they含羞草研究社檙e threatened or provoked.
含羞草研究社淪o they could be defending their territory, their mate or their young,含羞草研究社� she said.
Some owls born in the spring may still be learning how to hunt and another possible explanation for the recent encounters is that people in the park may have been in between the birds and their prey at the time, Xenakis said.
She and O含羞草研究社橪eary said crow dive-bombings usually correlate with areas where they含羞草研究社檙e being reliably fed. That can also lead to more crows nesting in urban areas, Xenakis said.
含羞草研究社淎n easy way to circumvent that is to never feed wildlife,含羞草研究社� she said.
Both animal observers noted crows can remember certain traits 含羞草研究社� especially if they含羞草研究社檙e associated with people who antagonized or threatened them 含羞草研究社� so the birds may target other people with similar traits.
O含羞草研究社橪eary cited one study where a researcher dressed as a clown and bothered crows on a university campus. The researcher then returned in the clown costume a year later and 含羞草研究社渆verywhere he went the crows harassed him,含羞草研究社� O含羞草研究社橪eary said.
Xenakis said most issues with birds are seasonal or temporary as they look to protect their young, so it含羞草研究社檚 best to avoid problem areas if possible. If running a gauntlet known for angry birds can含羞草研究社檛 be avoided, it含羞草研究社檚 recommended people walk with an umbrella or cover their head.
Another issue is nesting animals are being forced closer to people as bird habitats are destroyed or encroached on.
含羞草研究社淲e need to have areas where they can exist and we can give them space so they don含羞草研究社檛 need to have these defensive behaviours,含羞草研究社� Xenakis said. 含羞草研究社淏ut we also shouldn含羞草研究社檛 be feeding them because that will draw them into these areas where we are then having conflict with them.含羞草研究社�
READ:
