BUZZ FLIGHT FEAR
I was freaked out... it came at me four times Athlete left bloodied after second attack by vicious bird in days
Several people attacked in same area
A WOMAN on a charity walk had to fend off an angry buzzard in the second such attack in the same area within days.
Lorraine Young was clocking up steps for the challenge when the aggressive bird swooped down and clawed its talons into her head just outside Collon, Co Louth.
The camogie player then waved her hands and started shouting to ward off the buzzard as it circled the sky before dive-bombing her another three times.
The 38-year-old athlete was left bloodied and needing a tetanus injection and a course of antibiotics.
She has highlighted the incident on social media in an effort to warn others.
Lorraine said: “I was out walking the Collon/kells Road in a 300km challenge for St Anne’s Camogie club to raise funds for Lauralynn (Ireland’s Children’s
Hospice) and the Northeast Cancer Research and Education Trust.
“All of a sudden I got an almighty bang on the head by this huge bird, which I was later told was a buzzard.
“It perched on a tree and stared aggressively at me.
“I was freaked out and started walking again along that stretch which is lined with a lot of trees.
“All of a sudden, it flew into the air and came at me again.
“It came at me a total of four times but each of these times I could see it coming so I waved my arms in the air and started shouting so it couldn’t get another swipe at me.
“I put my hands to my head and they were covered in blood but I was still four kilometres away from home.
“It hit me so hard it nearly knocked me over. I actually stumbled so I thought, ‘What if it had been an elderly person out walking or a child on its bike knocked into oncoming traffic?’ So I put up a post on social media to warn others and since, two men have told me they met with the bird but thankfully were expecting it so it didn’t get close to hurt them.
“I haven’t been along that stretch of road since. Instead I’ve taken all the hills and alternative routes I could.”
Just a few days earlier, another local resident Sean Carpenter received two puncture wounds to his head after an attack by the buzzard while running along the same stretch of road.
Niall Hatch of Birdwatch said the “extremely rare” attacks could be linked to birds nesting closer to roads which had little activity during lockdown.
He added: “What we are thinking is buzzards have nested this year closer to main roads and footpaths because of the lack of human activity during Covid-19 lockdown.
“They are extremely territorial so when people are out and about again, they are trying to fend off would-be attackers from the nest.
“The good news is the nesting season is about to end so any attacks, however rare, should also finish.
“We would just advise people to try and stay away from any areas where these birds are known to nest and if any incidents occur, report them to the National Parks and Wildlife Service.”
LORRAINE YOUNG YESTERDAY