Caws for alarm: Swooping crows descend on passersby as they protect their young

If she were back home in Ireland, Aiofe Bagnall says she would never have to worry about walking down the street —  minding her own business — and being swooped from behind in an unprovoked attack by a ticked-off crow.

But she’s in Vancouver now.

“It was so intense. I was terrified,” Bagnall said, describing a seemingly random crow attack from a week earlier.

“They just dived down, like, got the back of my neck and then it’s wings are, like, flapping in my hair.”

A crow caws near its nest during fledgling season. The birds can become quite territorial. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

In Metro Vancouver and beyond,