These pesky birds have ruffled a few feathers in their time: dive bombing cake aisles, being disruptive outside pubs and even posing as Morrisons security guards.

Here News Shopper remembers five of their best moments - mostly in Thamesmead.

1. One small bird with a sweet tooth caused havoc with its cake habit in February last year. 

News Shopper: The Morrisons bird

Shoppers at the Twin Tumps Way Morrisons, Thamesmead, were  ducking for cover from the small black starling which spent a day in the store, dive bombing the  fresh bread and cake aisle.

One shopper said: "It certainly put me off buying any cakes."

A Morrisons spokeswoman later confirmed to News Shopper the feathered sugar fiend had exited the store.

He said:"The bird has now left via a back exit. It's gone."

2. A little over six months later, two swans and six cygnets were pictured lining up patiently at the taxi rank of the same branch, perhaps to give their tired feet a rest.

News Shopper:

The picture was tweeted by 'Shox the Rebel' who described the scene as "madness".

3. A safety-conscious heron decided to use the zebra crossing to navigate the busy Cannon Retail Park in Thamesmead last May. 

News Shopper: Large bird spotted using zebra crossing in Thamesmead

Twitter user @MrTaylan tweeted the picture of the sensible bird before adding: “What is it about birds in Thamesmead? Always just wandering around car parks.”

4. This week a swan acted as a cautionary tale on Tuesday after causing chaos near a Crayford pub and had to be rescued by two policeman.

News Shopper:

The Met officers rushed to the animal near the Jolly Farmers Pub in Thames Road after it "disrupted traffic".

The swan was rescued by the police and Dartford animal charity, Artisan Breeds, and later released.

5. Yesterday several people spotted the trio of swans gandering around outside Morrisons.

Some passers by speculated the birds may have been queuing for money or even staging a robbery.

News Shopper:

However the most popular theory was Morrisons were employing the swans as security to guard the cash machines.

This has not yet been confirmed by the store.