Sydney airport worker gouged in eye by falcon living in Qantas hangar

Exclusive: union says cleaners should not have to work in area where falcons have nested for at least 20 years

An aircraft worker has been gouged in the eye by a falcon that lives in a Qantas Sydney airport hangar, creating what the union has called an “unsafe work environment”.

Multiple peregrine falcons – including at least one small family – live, nest and hunt in the hangar.

Falcons have been there for at least 20 years and have turned it into a “known roosting site”.

But on Tuesday last week, one of the falcons attacked a worker, causing significant damage to his eyes, neck and face. The worker “may lose sight in one eye”, the Transport Workers Union said.

The birds cannot be easily removed because they are a protected species, and Qantas has allowed them to stay because they keep mice, rats and pigeons away.

Guardian Australia has obtained an internal safety warning issued by Qantas that confirmed the attack and told staff to wear safety goggles until the end of breeding season in November.

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Crow in East Vancouver attack no ordinary bird, cyclist discovers

Crow was raised by humans and is a common fixture around the neighbourhood

CBC News Posted: Sep 28, 2015 7:29 PM PT Last Updated: Sep 28, 2015 7:29 PM PT

Steven Huynh was reunited with a curious crow after he thought it had attacked him on Friday. (CBC)

A cyclist who was attacked by a crow in East Vancouver has since been reunited with the bird, only to discover it's no common Corvidae. 

Steven Huynh's first encounter with the crow didn't go well — he was on his way to work when it flew towards him and pecked at his hand and climbed onto his back.

Huynh had stopped to look at the crow before it attacked him, because he had noticed a man petting it on the sidewalk. After reviewing the comments on his Facebook and YouTube posts of the attack, Huynh decided to return to the site of the encounter.

It was then that he found out the crow has a name: Canuck.

The bird hangs around Cassiar and Hastings streets near the home of Shawn Bergman, who said his landlord's son helped rehabilitate the bird when it fell from its nest, and it's hung around ever since.

"He does just approach people," said Bergman. "He's just really more curious than anything." 

Bergman thinks Canuck may have been attracted to the reflective strip on Huynh's backpack when he cycled by. 

As for Huynh, no hard feelings.

"After re-looking at it now, it's just like a friendly encounter. It's not an attack at all," said Huynh

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