A local dad has warned of a dodgy gang of crows attacking shopping trolleys at Wilton Shopping Centre.

Speaking to PJ Coogan on the 96fm Opinion Line, Brian Cooney said that he was caught off guard by a feathered crook on Sunday morning, around 11.30am.

Parked near the main entrance, Brian was busy unpacking his trolley when the incident occurred:

“I was in the process of putting my shopping in the back of the car.” he told the radio show.

“I turned around to give my daughter some soup and a roll I had bought for her. When I turned back, there was a crow in my trolley with a bread roll in its mouth.”

‘Did you see that?’

“It landed about three feet away and sat there while I loaded the rest of my shopping into my boot.”

Then reinforcements arrived; two more crows joined the original winged thief. Having handed over a pieces of a bread roll to appease the gang, Brian assumed his stalkers would disperse.

“I then returned the trolley to the trolley bay and was followed by said crow.

“I turned around to the taxi drivers parked nearby and said ‘Did you see that? Talk about brazenness.’ – they said, ‘yeah, we’re looking at that every day of the week’.

Winged robbers 

“What I’d be worried about is that we’ve seen this with seagulls in Howth. I’d be particularly worried as a parent for anybody with a child in a buggy that could potentially have food because crows are well known to be the most intelligent of birds, particularly rooks.” Brian told PJ.

“If they’re prepared to go into a basket behind a grown person to take a bread roll, they will see an opportunity to take food from a child’s hands.”

Brian explained his daughter had been the victim of a dog attack on a Cork beach five weeks ago. He said the vet warned that the bacteria on the dog’s teeth can pose a serious risk of infection.

He said he worries that the bacteria on a crow’s beak could pose a similar risk to small children.  Brian also suggested that swarms of crows could potentially cause problems at Cork Airport.

Other listeners reported similar experiences with overzealous crows at Blarney Castle. listener Thelma messaged the show to say she’s witnessed a crow unzipping a bag to access food on a golf course.

Have you had a dodgy experience with a brazen crow in Cork? Tweet us your experience @Yaycork.

You can listen to Brian tell the story on the 96FM Podcast here.