Buzzard has claws out for terrified villagers
Joggers told to protect heads with helmets after combative bird of prey mounts series of attacks
‘The bird was flying overhead and not too happy. The first time it happened I thought a truck wing mirror had hit me’
RUNNERS have been urged to wear helmets after an aggressive buzzard left a runner with head injuries following a terrifying aerial attack in a tranquil Scottish village.
The bird of prey, one of the most common in the country, left Ewan Cameron, 46, with six holes in his head after it attacked while he was jogging a few miles outside Friockheim, Angus.
Mr Cameron said it was the third time the combative animal with a wingspan of up to 5ft had attacked him, sinking its sharp talons into the back of his head.
He described the attack as “like someone is punching you in the back of the head” and said others have also encountered the creature. The RSPB said the bird was likely to have been an “overprotective parent” protecting its young in a nearby nest.
“The talons are very sharp and they just sunk into the back of my head effectively,” said Mr Cameron, who has recently completed marathons in London and Tokyo. “I’ve got a collection of about six holes in my head as a consequence of the attack.
“By the time I got home, there was quite a bit of blood running down the back of my head. I asked my wife to please get the antiseptic cream out and do a bit of a clean-up job.
“There is a buzzard I know frequents the area. It must be nesting there I suspect. I came round a corner and from nowhere I got this blow to the head.
“The bird was flying overhead and not too happy. The first time it happened to me I actually thought that a truck wing mirror had hit the back of my head on the way past.”
After he shared his story online, multiple other runners came forward to say they had experienced similar attacks. I think there was about 240-odd reactions to it and the comments are still coming today,” said Mr Cameron.
“A lot of people indeed have also been attacked by buzzards or at least getting swooped at, but maybe not actually being hit by them.
“The bird has got quite clever now and it gets you from behind.”
Paul Reynolds, from the New Arc Wildlife Centre in Aberdeenshire, told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Drivetime that attacks like this are not common. He said: “If we think about it on the grand scale of things, there’s more people injured by cows, I think, than the bird of prey side of things.
“Most buzzards are laying their eggs around mid-april until the start of May. So that’s when they’re sort of at their peak of defending their territory immediately adjacent to their nests.”
He said that people should take “appropriate mitigation”, such as avoiding nesting areas and even wearing a helmet or cap if necessary. “There have even been instances where people wear bicycle helmets if they have to go past particular areas as an extra bit of a precaution.
“But it’s not that common ... it’s about avoiding the area and if necessary wearing some sort of cap or a helmet.”
A spokesman for the RSPB said: “The bird is probably being an overprotective parent. It is probably nesting nearby and is worried that we are a threat to its young. The ‘mobbing’ or ‘dive-bombing’ behaviour of swooping down, flying close to, but rarely making contact, is designed to frighten a threat away without the bird risking getting injured by making full contact.
“The behaviour will likely stop as soon as the young leave the nest. In the meantime, people can avoid the area or, if that is not practical, holding something above your head can help.
“Birds will often swoop at the highest point so if you hold something above you (umbrellas or bags, for example) then that will get dive-bombed rather than your head.”