It's crow season in Seattle...

[beez]

AND I JUST GOT ATTACKED AGAIN!! This time it yanked my glasses off my face!!! MY FACE!!

Two weeks ago another crow dive bombed me and chased me for two blocks. It is TERRIFYING.

Lessons learned:

- Late May - Late June = fledgling season, and crow mothers are no different from mothers anywhere and will attack any perceived threat to their babies. Any perceived threat like walking under a nest you don't know is there. Walk somewhere else for the month.

- Crows remember up to 200 discrete faces and also talk to each other. Don't piss off crows.

- They like to nest in big, tall trees.

- If you hear warning caws (I did NOT get a warning just now) then GTFO. Just do it.

I like to walk and my walk to my chiropractor's office is usually quite pleasant but I think I will take the bus home BECAUSE SCARY BIRDS SWOOPING AT YOU FROM THE SKY AND FROM BEHIND IS FUCKING TERRIFYING!

I dealt with this as a kid in Oklahoma. Kite hawks, anyone? My friends and I took to walking to each other's houses in the summertime with bike helmets on. One day a bunch of high schoolers in an open jeep drove up and started making fun of us for walking with helmets on....guess who got swooped?!

Lesson. Don't fuck with birds.

[Colored Guy]

My sister had birds grabbing at her hair many years back when she was little, not crows but my mom felt that they were looking for nest materials. She was terrified of birds for years after that.

Check out this link. There is a tab for the full-version that aired on PBS, it goes into the face recognition thing.

A Murder of Crows ~ Crow Facts | Nature | PBS

[beez]

@Colored Guy thanks for the link! Great info.

Here's a crow-sourced (har har) attack map in Seattle: http://seati.ms/1uiBybb

[Fala]

I got attacked by a goose once, that was terrifying. Can't imagine what a crow's attack is like!!! Yipes!

[Pugilist]

This is bananas!

[MadeIndelible]

Now getting attacked by black birds as a kid doesn't seem as bad.

[polliwog]

I've had a seagull steal a sandwich out of my hand in mid-flight and been pursued by a herd of wild turkeys. Birds can be assholes.

Still, I love crows:

[Lance]

This is how I'll think of Seattle now.

But I still love the weather there. Vitamin D deprivation and pasty skin and all.

[Colored Guy]

@Colored Guy thanks for the link! Great info.

Here's a crow-sourced (har har) attack map in Seattle: ‘Tis the season for crow attacks; help us map them | The Today File | Seattle Times

A crow attack map.. whoa....

I'm close to the ocean and we have loads of crows around all year, I've never seen anything like that though. They must nest elsewhere. I did see other birds chasing crows before, they're notorious for grabbing baby birds from nests.

Rob

[beez]

@Lance that is how Seattle FEELS to me right now!

@Colored Guy it's nuts. I feel like Seattle may have more aggressive crows than in other locales? Also because I've only been swooped by hawks before, so...

@MadeIndelible now you know it's not a curse, you were just near some babies! Hahaha

@polliwog @Fala I have a friend who has been attacked by swans on 3 (THREE!) different occasions!! Wtf.

It's amazing the bird stories that come out.

[Fala]

It was my fault, I got between momma and her goslings... Just like you and the crows!

They don't do that in NYC, at least not to my knowledge. Though I do get dive-bombed by starlings and pigeons every so often.

[Graeme]

I'm sorry that you continually get attacked by them, but you have to admit that corvids are really amazing birds.

[Pugilist]

@Lance that is how Seattle FEELS to me right now!

@Colored Guy it's nuts. I feel like Seattle may have more aggressive crows than in other locales? Also because I've only been swooped by hawks before, so...

@MadeIndelible now you know it's not a curse, you were just near some babies! Hahaha

@polliwog @Fala I have a friend who has been attacked by swans on 3 (THREE!) different occasions!! Wtf.

It's amazing the bird stories that come out.

Swans are fucking monsters.

[hogg]

Great. Now I have a phobia I didn't have before clicking on this thread.

[polliwog]

I'm sorry that you continually get attacked by them, but you have to admit that corvids are really amazing birds.

Some ravens were nesting down the street from where I work at Wellesley College and they set up a webcam. The baby fledged on graduation day. It was fascinating to watch this little family, and I hope they return next year.

An article about corvid intelligence

[gougetheeyes]

@beez I never knew this was a thing! @polliwog that clip is great, I remember reading about a study where they had to get food out of a film canister and some crows would trick the other ones as to which one the food was in.. Super smart birds.

Here's a weird story, I have two crows on skulls tattooed on me. First time mid-tattoo Michael Jackson died. Second time mid-tattoo Whitney Houston died. Wanna get a third just to see what'll happen..

[Colored Guy]

Before DDT virtually wiped them out, Blue Jays were a real aggressive entity. They're bigger than most birds and tended to hang out in large groups. I recall my cat slinking across the back yard with numerous 'Jays divebombing him until he got in the house. I see more of them now than in the past 30 years, their call is quite distinct especially if I haven't heard it for a long time.

[Mark Bee]

A few years ago I was staying in a village just outside London (UK) visiting with friends. We walked out to a park along the Themes, and I was surprised to find massive flocks of Canada Geese. They get big here in Toronto, but holy shit! These birds were massive and seemed to spend the bulk of their time terrifying children. There were signs everywhere warning of the menace, but few heeded the warning.

The people fishing along the banks seemed oblivious, but they all had boxes of live maggots with them, so I question their sanity.

Hey UK, consider the birds payback for Jedward: Planet Jedward : Home and One Direction.

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Before DDT virtually wiped them out, Blue Jays were a real aggressive entity. They're bigger than most birds and tended to hang out in large groups. I recall my cat slinking across the back yard with numerous 'Jays divebombing him until he got in the house. I see more of them now than in the past 30 years, their call is quite distinct especially if I haven't heard it for a long time.

My folks had a place in the country when they retired, and the backyard was filled with blue-jays. Not the friendliest birds, but they are stunning. (And one variety of them is doing well in the AL this year.)

[Hands On]

i clicked on this thread because I thought there was a chance it was Game of Thrones related.

[idyllsend]

Before DDT virtually wiped them out, Blue Jays were a real aggressive entity. They're bigger than most birds and tended to hang out in large groups. I recall my cat slinking across the back yard with numerous 'Jays divebombing him until he got in the house. I see more of them now than in the past 30 years, their call is quite distinct especially if I haven't heard it for a long time.

Bluejays are assholes, and they never shut up!

[Colored Guy]

Bluejays are assholes, and they never shut up!

They have such an unusual call, so when I hear one I look for it. I now see them in smaller groups of 2 or 3 as opposed to seeing 50 of them at a clip. I'd love to see more of them, although they are an aggressive bird. They fall into the 9" length from head to tail. Most other birds are 5-7".

[suburbanxcore]

I remember getting divebombed every time I walked past a certain house as a kid, but it wasn't a crow. Regardless, it still scares the crap out of me. I don't know what I'd do if crows continually attacked me.

Once when I was really little, I remember a goose biting my mom. I'm always wary of them when I run by this pond near my house.

Good luck out there.

[Colored Guy]

I remember getting divebombed every time I walked past a certain house as a kid, but it wasn't a crow. Regardless, it still scares the crap out of me. I don't know what I'd do if crows continually attacked me.

Once when I was really little, I remember a goose biting my mom. I'm always wary of them when I run by this pond near my house.

Good luck out there.

Most birds are territorial as hell if they have a nest and you get too close.

We have those winged-shit-factory geese all over the place now. They migrated down one winter and some of them liked the scene and stayed. One place I drive by, all I see now is them out an about with the little ones for the past few weeks. Cute, but give them some space.

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I remember getting divebombed every time I walked past a certain house as a kid, but it wasn't a crow. Regardless, it still scares the crap out of me. I don't know what I'd do if crows continually attacked me.

Once when I was really little, I remember a goose biting my mom. I'm always wary of them when I run by this pond near my house.

Good luck out there.

Most birds are territorial as hell if they have a nest and you get too close.

We have those winged-shit-factory geese all over the place now. They migrated down one winter and some of them liked the scene and stayed. One place I drive by, all I see now is them out an about with the little ones for the past few weeks. Cute, but give them some space.

[polliwog]

Hawk knocks a drone out of the sky

[Pugilist]

Hawk knocks a drone out of the sky

America!!!!!!!!!