Attacked by a bird of prey!

smit101

smit101

smit101

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Joined
11 Jan 2004
Posts
4,286
Location
In The Wilds.
Evenin' all,I was out doing my usual cross country run this evening,it's a 5 mile circuit around the fields in Strensham where I live.

I was approaching the end of the run and probably within a mile or so of home when all of a sudden I felt a heavy blow on the back and top of my head,as I looked around in shock to try and identify the culprit I was amazed to see a large bird of prey bearing down on me!

He/she swooped down a second time before I had time to react,but this time he avoided actual contact,I carried on running and he just carried on swooping(at least two more close calls).

I eventually stopped running and he perched in a nearby tree,by this time I was genuinely in fear of this vicious animal,the blow I received was heavy enough to break the skin in several places on my head,I shouted and lobbed a couple of stones at the thing and from then on he left me alone.

Scary occurence though! I'm not sure what kind of bird it was,it looked too big to be a Kestrel.

Anyone had any similar experiences or can maybe shed any light on what type of bird attacked me and why,It had a definite eagle/falcon look,on reflection it was a beautiful looking animal,this didn't really occur to me at the time though!

It could have been a kestrel I suppose but it seemed much bigger,then again I have no idea how big kestrels can grow.

Crikey! does this mean on future runs i'll need to wear a crash helmet! :eek:
 
They fly so fast they really make an impact. Been to a few bird shows, one bird was flying about showing off, just coming near its owner, he lobbed a piece of meat as hard as he could, bird caught it in under 2 seconds.
 
Velocity219e said:
does your head resemble a medium sized rodent?
Click to expand...
:D

Seriously though it may have had a nest near where you were running and thought you were a threat. Is it a major throughfare or are you the only one that is likely to go through there?
 
Velocity219e said:
does your head resemble a medium sized rodent?
Click to expand...
180px-Ideal_cartoon_head.jpg
 
Velocity219e said:
does your head resemble a medium sized rodent?
Click to expand...

I hope not! I think i'm too tall to be mistaken for a rodent tbh! maybe it thought i was after its nest or something.
 
Amp34 said:
:D

Seriously though it may have had a nest near where you were running and thought you were a threat. Is it a major throughfare or are you the only one that is likely to go through there?
Click to expand...

yeah,must have been a nest nearby.Its a relatively unpopulated area tbh,never see anyone else whilst running.
 
smit101 said:
Evenin' all,I was out doing my usual cross country run this evening,it's a 5 mile circuit around the fields in Strensham where I live.

I was approaching the end of the run and probably within a mile or so of home when all of a sudden I felt a heavy blow on the back and top of my head,as I looked around in shock to try and identify the culprit I was amazed to see a large bird of prey bearing down on me!

He/she swooped down a second time before I had time to react,but this time he avoided actual contact,I carried on running and he just carried on swooping(at least two more close calls).

I eventually stopped running and he perched in a nearby tree,by this time I was genuinely in fear of this vicious animal,the blow I received was heavy enough to break the skin in several places on my head,I shouted and lobbed a couple of stones at the thing and from then on he left me alone.

Scary occurence though! I'm not sure what kind of bird it was,it looked too big to be a Kestrel.

Anyone had any similar experiences or can maybe shed any light on what type of bird attacked me and why,It had a definite eagle/falcon look,on reflection it was a beautiful looking animal,this didn't really occur to me at the time though!

It could have been a kestrel I suppose but it seemed much bigger,then again I have no idea how big kestrels can grow.

Crikey! does this mean on future runs i'll need to wear a crash helmet! :eek:
Click to expand...

Just out of interest what colour is your hair?
Unbelievable though it may seem very light brown almost blonde hair can make them attack, for some odd reason.
 
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Elmer said:
Just out of interest what colour is your hair?
Unbelievable though it may seem very light brown almost blonde hair can make them attack, for some odd reason.
Click to expand...

Strange! mines dark brown though!
 
Never been attacked by a bird of prey before, I guess that's pretty hair-raising when it happens as those things are bigger in real life than on the box.

I do get 'buzzed' by bats all the time though. Anyone who knows Stoke at all will know where the old Victoria Ground used to be. Anyway, at this time of year if you walk past the spare ground where the stadium used to stand there are a myriad of bats flying around, most probably chasing the moths that are attracted by the street lights. More than once I've had a near miss and felt one just brush my face (probably the air as it went past rather than the actual bat though), and one of these times I'm sure one of the critters will get caught up in the mane that i call my hair.
 
As I see it you have two options.

1: Remember a lucky rabbits foot means just the one foot, not a whole rabbit (you don't get 4 times the luck).
2: You were probably near it's nest or something :)
 
Yep, I agree with the earlier post's, that a nest of egg's or chick's was nearby.

Years ago, (school days) my mate lived in a terraced house in north Leeds and there was a certain ginnel/alley where you often got swooped upon by a magpie or crow or similar (i cant remember) but it never made actual contact with you (but came very close, flapping feathers in your ears and all that!!)

I suppose if you were unfortunate enough to threaten a bird of prey's awareness then they will take no prisoners and go for the full attack.

There is a good chance it might happen again if it is nesting nearby.
 
BillytheImpaler said:
Owls? They certainly are birds of prey. Birds of prey are birds that primarily hunt using their talons. Owls definitely qualify.
Click to expand...

I will second that.
Owls are birds of prey.......
 
Don't have any similar experiences but about a week ago I was on a car trip and I could seriously swear I saw a bird flying along the length of a river that had an at least 6, if not 8 foot wingspan. I estimated this because it flew past a couple of people. At first it flew across the road in the distance and it looked like a stork or a heron or something. It was HUGE though.
 
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