An experienced marathon runner was left injured after a buzzard swooped into his head and sank its talons into his skin. Ewan Cameron was out jogging at the weekend when it happened.
Out on Sunday, Ewan said he was running when he felt a "punch" to his head from behind. Ewan, 46, was left trying to duck for cover as the bird of prey continued its attack.
Ewan, who has recently done the marathons in London and Tokyo, said he'd had confrontations with the same bird on previous occasions, but he thought it had left the area. Ewan was out for a run in Friockheim in Angus, Scotland, when it happened, reports the Daily Record.
He said: “It’s not the first time it's happened and it’s not the first time that that particular bird has gotten its talons into me. But I hadn’t actually seen it for the past six months and I run that route three or four times a week.
“So I thought it had either moved on or died. But on Sunday, it just caught me completely off guard. It got me from behind. I hadn’t seen it in the air or anything beforehand.
“It sunk its talons into the back of my head, which felt like a punch because it’s flying at a reasonable speed when it does it. I came to my senses and realised it had got me as it came back around for another couple of swoops.
“But by that time I was aware and ducking accordingly. I definitely sped up my pace to get out of there. I’ve maybe got a few less brain cells but there probably won’t be any lasting damage. I’ve already got scars on my head from where it got me a couple of years ago.”
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Ewan shared his ordeal with fellow runners on Facebook and was surprised to see how many others had similar experiences in the countryside.
He added: “I can’t quite believe the amount of people who have said they have had similar situations. One woman shared a picture of blood pouring from above her eye from where one had hit her. It looked really bad.
“If I want to get out and do a long run, this route is my only real option. It’s just one of these things. It’s clearly nesting in the area and defending it so I need to be aware of it and keep my head on as swivel to avoid it getting hold of me again.”
Paul Reynolds, from the New Arc Wildlife Centre in Aberdeenshire, told BBC Drivetime that attacks like this are not that 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.
