Attacked by an Owl!

[Wrench]

Been there too. My buddy hit the bird with a shotgun as it was reaching for my head.

 

[IdahoElk]

Are you the guy that jogs with a raccoon hat on?

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I had one steal a Robo dove on me. He really didn't get to far, the wings were beating him up pretty good, and he couldn't kill it.

 

[Mojave Kid]

Similar story, 1976 or 77, I was a teenager hiking with a friend at night at 11000 ft looking for a campsite. A great horned owl came down and grazed my head and I felt it. I had a good old Stevens 16 ga, single barrel loaded with either 7.5 or 6 shot. That owl came back at me and silhouetted against the full moon and I shot in his direction. The owl flew off and never came back. This was in Ecuador, I never wanted to shoot a bird of prey but that great horned owl was determined to get me....

 

[PineBrook413]

A few months ago late at night I was driving the ATV over to my shop 125yards down the driveway and an owl dive bombed me as well. Didn't hit me, but came close enough that I yelled out loud and about jumped off the wheeler

 

[dreamingbig]

I have had one dive bomb my stocking hat in the tree stand too but I saw him first and ducked. They can get aggressive for sure but they are looking for the small rodent that keeps bobbing around.


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[Yarak]

Interesting stories
Never heard of an owl going after people
I did have one to light in a tree very close behind me one morning just before daybreak
I was about 30' up in a tree stand
The owl screamed and I was never so glad I had my safety harness on because it caught me as I was so startled that I stood up and fell forward to escape the booger that was about to get me

 

[Jaker_cc]

A guy I went to high school with lost an eye after an owl attacked him in a tree stand. He said it was just after dark and he imagined the owl mistook him for a squirrel or something similar.

 

[Rich M]

I had one get friendly just before dawn one day - it started hooting and was real interested in what I was - hopping down a limb to the next and next, getting closer and closer, hooting quite a bit. I put my bow up as a shield and watched the show. Very neat. He stopped about 20 ft away.

Same general woods - Next early morning episode was one that landed about 8 ft away on a limb that looked like he used it frequently (no bark left). He watched me pull my phone out, turn it on and take a picture of him.

 

[LostArra]

it is wonderful when they dive bomb you in the tree stand just after dark.

Pretty common occurrence in one place I hunt. Lots of barred owls. They seem to be attracted to arrow fletching.

 

[fishermanpunk]

Sorry to hear about your ordeal, bud. The owls are not what they seem...

 

[stanginthe11s]

this is why I don't go running, it's getting too dangerous out there.
I watched a goose go all out on a jogger in town 2 years ago, the funniest thing I ever saw lol

 

[KenLee]

it is wonderful when they dive bomb you in the tree stand just after dark.

I had to ring ones bell with the barrel of a Remington 742 in 1980

 

[TSAMP]

Did you happen to have a headlamp on? I have noticed while predator hunting in texas many times I turned my red/green light on to scan for animals I could get the owls swooping in and reacting.

 

[Loper]

A guy I went to high school with lost an eye after an owl attacked him in a tree stand. He said it was just after dark and he imagined the owl mistook him for a squirrel or something similar.

That’s crazy! I’ve never heard of anyone losing any eye before, but I guess it isn’t that uncommon to have an owl encounter in a tree stand as some have mentioned here.

Walking out of the forest right at dark one evening several years ago, I had one buzz me like 3 times. He would land in a tree ahead and watch for me. Pretty scary.

The owl definitely flew ahead of me and stood perched on a street sign about 20 yards ahead of me. As I passed I kept thinking he might attack me again, but I didn’t want to turn around as I would have preferred he attack the back of my head rather than the front of my face. I didn’t want get my face ripped apart or lose an eye like Jakerr-cc mentioned in this thread

A few months ago late at night I was driving the ATV over to my shop 125yards down the driveway and an owl dive bombed me as well. Didn't hit me, but came close enough that I yelled out loud and about jumped off the wheeler

I yelled as well. Right after it happened I kept saying “F You Owl, F You!” I’m sure the surrounding homes were probably wondering what was going on at 4:45 am in their normally quiet street.

I had one get friendly just before dawn one day - it started hooting and was real interested in what I was - hopping down a limb to the next and next, getting closer and closer, hooting quite a bit. I put my bow up as a shield and watched the show. Very neat. He stopped about 20 ft away.

Same general woods - Next early morning episode was one that landed about 8 ft away on a limb that looked like he used it frequently (no bark left). He watched me pull my phone out, turn it on and take a picture of him.

View attachment 582281

Excellent photo! I don’t often see owls in the day light. Before this I’ve always been very interested in owls. When I hear them hooting outside at night near my house, many times I grab the spot light and try to find them in the trees. They are amazing birds to observe.

Did you happen to have a headlamp on? I have noticed while predator hunting in texas many times I turned my red/green light on to scan for animals I could get the owls swooping in and reacting.

No, I didn’t have a headlamp on. I don’t like running with any gadgetry (watches, lights, heart monitor). The only thing I can think of that may have spurred it was I had an energy gel in my hand and had just opened it a couple of minutes before. Not sure if the owl was attracted to the smell of the gel or not, but I doubt it as he hit the top of my head and not my hand.

 

[Rich M]

Excellent photo! I don’t often see owls in the day light. Before this I’ve always been very interested in owls. When I hear them hooting outside at night near my house, many times I grab the spot light and try to find them in the trees. They are amazing birds to observe.

Yes sir! I always enjoy seeing and hearing them when hunting, and otherwise.

We used to have some wildlife around our house and that included 2 eastern screech owls - one red phase and one gray phase. They would perch on our outside bathroom window sill and hunt by the motion sensor light. We really neat to open the window and have this little owl spin his head around to look at you. This was before I had a cell phone...

Likewise, my folks had a barn owl in their neighborhood - it would perch up above a nearby street light every now and again - good sized critter. Very neat. Let you walk right under it and check it out.

 

[Loper]

We used to have some wildlife around our house and that included 2 eastern screech owls - one red phase and one gray phase. They would perch on our outside bathroom window sill and hunt by the motion sensor light.

Very wise of him to hunt by the motion sensor light. I wonder if other owls use this as a hunting tactic or if this considered illegal or not fair chase in the owl hunting regulations.

 

[Loper]

I GOT ATTACKED AGAIN THIS MORNING!

Very similar situation. Went out at 5:00 am on my run it was still dark out without many cars or people on the streets. This time it happened only about 3 blocks from my house. I had just started my run and was still a waking up and getting into the rhythm of my run.

I was crossing an intersection and there's a street lamp that provides a good bit of light on the intersection. This time when the owl came at me I saw its shadow and realized what was happening right before he got right on top of me. I ducked down as it flew from my back right side, over top of me just missing me. It flew past me about 5-7 feet on my left side and then circled back around me and came at me again. By this point I was shouting at it and it flew into a nearby tree about 15-20 yards away.

As I kept running, I kept an eye on the owl and was running a little sideways and keeping my head turned so I could watch him. When I got about 30-40 yards away, the owl when from a perched position to leaping out of the tree with its wings spread wide coming right toward me. I lost it for a moment in the shadows but ducked down as I saw it in front of me. As I dropped down I hit my knee on the concrete of the street which didn't feel good. It flew past me, circled around and landed in a different tree about a couple house down from where it landed the first time. For the whole rest of the block I ran backwards watching the owl to see if he was going to attack me or follow me.

When the owl attacked me last summer, I could maybe understand that it was a mistake on the owl's part, some sort of mistaken identify as hit me and then left me alone. However, the owl this morning was DEFINITELY trying to attack me as It went at me 3 times!

I never thought in a million years I'd ever be attacked by an owl, and when it happened about a year ago I thought it was a rare occurrence. Now that there's been two different instances, I'm really wondering if this is more common or there's something about me or something I'm doing that is either attracting or pissing off owls.

 

[Poser]

Are you bald, by chance? I've heard that birds tend to attack bald heads.

 

[doc holiday13]

i had one dive bomb me about 8 years ago. I saw it coming straight for me and then when it was near 20 ft from me it peeled off after I moved my head to try to see it better

it is wonderful when they dive bomb you in the tree stand just after dark.