Crows reportedly attacked four people in Tampines in one day on Jul. 18, 2024, which left a woman, 59, with a bleeding scalp.

The incident happened at the open-air car park at Block 485B Tampines Avenue 9 at around noon.

At least 20 crows were spotted in the vicinity after the attacks, including some seen perched at a block of flats.

Measures taken

Following the incident, measures were taken to mitigate the avian attacks.

Tampines GRC MP Baey Yam Keng provided an update on the measures taken in an Instagram post on Aug. 2.

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A post shared by Baey Yam Keng 马炎庆 (@baeyyamkeng)

Presence of fledglings out of their nest linked to attacks

According to Baey, the National Parks Board (NParks) conducted a survey the morning after the attacks and found two crow fledglings on the ground.

They were "likely to have fallen from their nest", Baey wrote, drawing a link between the attacks and the vulnerable young birds.

The fledglings were removed and "the crows subsequently stopped their aggressive behaviour", he added.

"This is because adults crows tend to display aggression when they sense danger close to their young due to their protective instincts," Baey explained.

"When their young is removed from site, the attacks also stopped as there is nothing left to defend."

This prompted the removal of more nests in the estate.

More nests removed

Baey wrote that Tampines Town Council removed the nest that the fledglings fell from and another three nests later the same day.

The following week, another five nests from the trees within Block 461 to 470 Street 44 were removed.

Baey added that NParks conducts regular surveys for crow nests in Tampines and "77 nests have been removed this year" so far for the stretch from Tampines Street 42 to 45.

This was done with the assistance of the town council.

"The town council will continue to engage and work with Nparks for the trapping and culling of crows," he added.

Not the first time

Crow attacks on unsuspecting passersby in a Bishan housing estate and outside Orchard Central made headlines in 2023.

For the Bishan incident, it was speculated that the crows were trying to protect fledglings after tree pruning in the area affected their nests.

Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said in a 2021 parliamentary reply that in 2020, NParks received about 2,750 cases of crow-related feedback, pertaining to issues such as noise, crow sightings, feeding, and crow attacks.

Lee shared that NParks has taken measures to manage the crow population in Singapore, such as removing crow nests, using crow traps and enforcing littering and illegal bird-feeding, among others.

How to avoid crow attacks?

According to an NParks advisory, one should take an alternate route and avoid dense trees where crows are roosting.

Crows are highly intelligent creatures and can recognise and remember faces.

They are also described to be "grudge-holding" birds and you could have offended them without knowing.

The best course of action is to avoid the area they are protecting.

To frighten them off, one can play recorded crow distress calls at different times of the day, for three consecutive days, or more to prevent their return, to disperse them.

Additionally, CDs or shiny metal pieces can be used to reflect sunlight at them as that makes it difficult for them to see where they are going and would scare them away.

However, do note that these methods will not last as crows may adapt to such gimmicks.

Those who encounter any crow-related issues in your neighbourhood, can contact NParks at 1800 476 1600 or through their online feedback form here.

Top photos via Shin Min Daily News