Scary crow worries residents

A "scary" crow which has begun pecking at the windows of homes in a Derby street is causing Hitchcock-style worries for residents. People living on Portreath Drive, in Allestree, say they first noticed the "dishevelled-looking" bird in May. Since then, the bird's antics have woken some residents at 4:30am and left marks on UPVC windows. People have tried to deter the bird by closing their curtains and hanging CDs outside their homes as deterrents.

However, so far their efforts have been without success. One resident, Angela Sharp, said: "We sometimes get birds flying at the windows, so at first I didn't think too much about it. But then later that day, the same bird started flying at the kitchen window. It's just one dishevelled-looking crow. It ran along the window ledge, pecking at it, and left marks all over. It's quite a loud noise. I've had to leave all the windows shut, which is quite annoying in the warm weather.



"It's now started pecking several times a day. When I go upstairs, it's out on the window walking up and down and looking at me. It's quite a Hitchcock-type experience." Another resident said: "I was woken one morning and I could hear this tap-tap-tapping. I drew back the curtains and there was this crow there. Normally, most birds would fly away but it looked at me and carried on pecking. It was a huge black bird with a horrible beak that kept tapping on my window. It was very scary."

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said there could be a number of explanations for the crow's behaviour. A spokesperson said sometimes parent crows were protective around their young as they prepared to fly the nest. Another explanation could be that the crow believed its reflection was another bird. The charity advised residents to cover windows on the outside where possible, but said the problem should stop soon.