I promise I’m not neglecting my blog, there just hasn’t been much to cover lately…that is until my run Tuesday evening.
After work I headed out to make the most of the beautiful weather with a run. Being tired of the same old loop I decided to mix it up by going in a different direction. A couple of miles in I was running up a path in the Mount Baker Park (South Seattle, not the actual Mt. Baker), it was still light out and there was plenty of visibility. I heard a strange noise in the trees that I attributed to a dog whining from a house that borders the park. A few seconds later an owl buzzed me from behind. I’d say the wing span was about three feet and it was light brown in color. After the pass it landed on a tree branch about 15 feet up in the air. I turned around and walked backwards up that past to get a really good look at the bird. We made eye contact for about 15 seconds seconds and it was obvious there was some serious attitude here.
I turned around and continued running up the path, about five steps in the owl hit the top of my head. I never sensed it coming, first I felt its claws then the weight and force of the bird. It scared the hell out of me and was really exciting at the same time. After pass number two I decided not to turn my back on the bird again.
On the way out of the park I let a couple people know about the owl, one person mentioned that the owl frequents the area but they had never heard of it actually hitting people. Not sure if it was trying to chase me away or thought I looked like a good dinner…
After doing a little research online I’m pretty sure its a barn Owl. Needless to say I’ll be running the same route tomorrow!
Photo Credit: Jürgen from Sandesneben Germany (Creative Commons 2.0)
First I read the Own Attack, then I read the
story to George out loud. One attack is a fluke….happens again, maybe think of a indoor track ???? love Denise
Same Owl, same spot, attacked my head today while I was running. We should form a support group.