Dive-bombed or not, Vancouverites are still pro-crow, researchers say

Along her journey towards understanding Vancouver's crows, psychology professor Suzanne MacDonald says she made a friend.

It's a crow that brings her gifts after she set up a bird feeder at her home in the neighbourhood of Kitsilano. 

Once, it was a barnacle-covered shell, which MacDonald treasures. Other times, it was "bits of garbage" that MacDonald doesn't fancy much, though she "appreciates the sentiment." 

"I think he definitely recognizes me. When other people go out on my patio, he doesn't come to them. He knows me," said MacDonald. 

Vancouver has long had a love-hate relationship with its crows, whose dive-bombing attacks on pedestrians are a sure sign of springtime in the city.

But a new survey co-authored by MacDonald suggests that, on the human side at least, it's mostly love.

"I think that many people feel a deep connection to crows because they seem to see the world the way humans do: they are intelligent, excellent problem solvers, they recognize individual humans, and they are highly social, culturally complex beings," said MacDonald, a psychology professor at York University, who divides her time between Toronto and Vancouver.

MacDonald and Laura Adams, who teaches psychology at Langara College, teamed up to survey hundreds of people in B.C.'s Lower Mainland to examine their relationship with crows.

They said 67 per cent of people had positive feelings about crows, compared to only five per cent with negative feelings, in findings released this month that the researchers hope will inform an academic publication later.

As for the crows, many make their feelings known during the spring nesting season, when the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C. says "overprotective" parent birds swoop on anyone who gets too close to a nest.

It's a common experience across Vancouver — an online crowdsourced map of crow attacks in Vancouver is dotted with red crow symbols marking swooping sites gathered over several years.

But Adams said most people felt "very positive" about crows, even if they had been dive-bombed.

"We were really hoping to compare the types of people who loved crows and the types of people who had very negative opinions on crows because talking to the general public, people seem to be in both camps," said Adams. 

But it turns out most respondents were crow fans.

"We found that 64 per cent of people said that they'd been dive-bombed by a crow. So, when you put that in the context of 67 per cent of people feeling very positive about crows, that means there are a lot of people who've been dive-bombed but still love crows," said Adams, "We found that really interesting."

Many of the 468 survey respondents shared stories about their unique relationships with the birds. 

"I think one of the interesting parts is just how much people wanted to talk about crows for no reward at all," said Adams.

Vancouver has even had its own celebrity crow, named Canuck, that was well known for riding the SkyTrain, stealing a knife from a crime scene in 2016, and forging an unlikely friendship with a mail carrier.

Adams said the survey found 53 per cent of people felt crows were a symbol of Vancouver.

Wildlife photographer Liron Gertsman has been fascinated with crows since he was five, and that obsession turned into a documentary, filmed with friend Jack Bailey.

Their 10-minute production, "The Commute," captures the story of a massive murder of crows — up to 10,000 birds strong — that congregates at Still Creek in Burnaby at night. The huge flock is a familiar sight in Metro Vancouver skies, particularly in winter months.

Gertsman called it an "incredible phenomenon."

"They're just so smart," he said, as he described the challenge of locating the birds, only to turn up for more filming and "they'd be nowhere to be seen."

"So, they were playing games with us a little bit. They were taking us on a not a wild-goose chase, but a wild-crow chase around the city," he said.

Gertsman said that during filming he and Bailey were pooped on "all the time," but it didn't dampen their enthusiasm for their subjects and their "beautiful daily commute."

He's still watching crows during the current nesting season. "There's a crow nest that is just barely visible outside my window, tucked into the tree, which is fun to watch," Gertsman said. 

"I think it's a lovely thing to be able to look outside your window in the morning and see a crow because it represents that little bit of nature that is able to exist within even a pretty big city."

The Wildlife Rescue Association said nesting season lasts from April to July, meaning "anxious bird parents are out in full force" to protect their young.

The association said it's seeing a spike in reports of fledgling crows on the ground, and there are 11 injured and orphaned crows in Wildlife Rescue’s care.

The organization's co-executive director, Linda Bakker, said it's common to find young crows on the ground in late spring as they learn to fly. Not all need help, but if a grounded bird looks like it's in trouble, people should can take a photo and contact Wildlife Rescue, she said.

She said the group often gets calls from people asking how to deal with crow attacks. But she said that when it happened to her, she wasn't worried. 

"I was excited when it happened. I was like, oh, there's a crow, and he's protecting his nest. That's great. I will stay out of your way," said Bakker. 

MacDonald said it's important for people to understand how we live with other species, particularly in an urban environment where many animals have been pushed out. 

"But some of them, like crows, actually thrive with us, and that makes them very special," she said.

MacDonald says daily encounters with crows should be seen as a reminder that "if we live in a city that has no wildlife, then we live in a dead city."

"We want to live in a very vibrant city where nature is at our front door and our back door and everywhere, and crows remind us that is the case in the Lower Mainland."

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck