Do birds scare you?
While small songbirds might not frighten you, seeing birds of prey descend from the sky in your direction might alarm you.
According to the National Eagle Center, bald eagles can dive at a jaw-dropping speed of 100 km/hr. Thankfully, the regal raptors don't generally attack humans. Owls, on the other hand, have been known to occasionally target people. In 2019, a Coquitlam woman was attacked several times by an aggressive owl.
And while they seem less intimidating than birds of prey, one of Vancouver's most common birds have been known to dive up a storm during their nesting season: crows.
Crow "dive-bombing season" takes place from late spring until early summer. During nesting season, eggs and young chicks are food for predators, a threat that is amplified when fledgling birds begin to leave the nest.
But what about other birds?
Humans aren't the only target of springtime bombing attacks. In fact, corvids will defend their young from a range of possible predators, including other birds.
Eagles may seem like a superior contender, but crows will gang up on the larger birds to defend their territories and young chicks, explains Nature-Mentor.com. They socialize in large groups and are rarely alone: "their strength comes from numbers."
A video circulating on social media shows a few crows "dive-bombing" a lone eagle. The large raptor seems to duck down each time one of the dark birds swoops above its head.
The video was recorded in Maple Ridge at the Golden Ears connector, explains Redditor Barrax24.
With files from Colin Dacre / Castanet.
