Crow Attacks Tracked With New Online Map, Hundreds Documented So Far

VANCOUVER — People with ornithophobia have a new tool to fight their fear of birds — a map that tracks crow attacks.

 

Instructors at Langara College in Vancouver used open-source software to create the online map, which allows anyone with an Internet connection to pinpoint where they were attacked and add details, such as how aggressive the bird was.

 

Jim O'Leary teaches Geographic Information Systems at the college and says he and his colleague Rick Davidson wanted to show how the course content could be put to use.

 

O'Leary says he was inspired to start tracking crow attacks after witnessing several in downtown Vancouver last year and thinking that recording them could help better understand the problem.

 

The birds are particularly aggressive during the spring, when they are protecting their nests.

 

Hundreds of attacks have been documented on the map since it launched in April, including reports from Victoria and Antigonish, N.S.

 

O'Leary says he and his colleague didn't know how popular the map would become.

 

"I originally envisioned it as being the greater Vancouver area, but crow attacks seem to touch a nerve with people. It seems like many people have a crow story that they want to tell," he says. "I guess crows are aggressive everywhere."

 

Mapping the attacks helps establish where the most aggressive crows are and gives an idea of whether there are any patterns, O'Leary says.