Has anyone been attacked by a Bird of Prey?

I was hunting with a friend several years ago and he was attacked by an owl that left him with a couple of good gashes in his head. It is still one of the craziest/funny hunting stories I have ever heard! We thought it was a fluke deal but last season another good friend's dad was attacked by an owl while in the tree! Has this happened to anyone else? A discussion on another thread in trapping section, about what hawk/owls can do, prompted me to ask if anyone has a story about a bird of prey that is pretty cool.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
I almost learned the hard way not to wiggle your finger to see what a redtail hawk sitting in the next tree will do when you're motionless in a tree dressed in camo. You can guess what it did. When I stood up and yelled, it was about a foot from me with it's talons stretched out. I don't know which one of us it scared worse. :bounce:

I know a guy who was walking down the road one night with a white cap on. An owl swooped down and grabbed it off his head, left some pretty good gashes in his scalp.

I also learned the hard way not to shine your light in a screech owl's eyes and walk up and grab it when you're out coon hunting. those things are tiny, but they feel about the size of an eagle when they sink those claws and beak into you. It took longer to set it down than it did to pick it up, for sure. My dad thought it was a lot funnier than I did, especially since he was the one that put me up to it. :)
 
I have had one swoop down and come straight at me but I waved him off and he changed course at the last second. Have also had a couple land real close and look at me, when I waved my arms they flew away. These all happened just as first light was breaking.

For anyone who puts their mask on before first light and hunts in a climber in the woods, you should definitely watch for hooters
 

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
I almost learned the hard way not to wiggle your finger to see what a redtail hawk sitting in the next tree will do when you're motionless in a tree dressed in camo. You can guess what it did. When I stood up and yelled, it was about a foot from me with it's talons stretched out. I don't know which one of us it scared worse. :bounce:



I did the exact same thing with a barred owl once. With the same results you mentioned. :D

It sheared off when I stood up. Thank goodness!
 

Jeff C.

Chief Grass Master
Well, I came awfully close, but I brought it on myself. I was deer hunting and had been sitting in a stand all morning. After about 3 hrs. in the stand and no sightings, I decided to still hunt for a while (private property). I mozied around for a while and decided to sit down up against a HUGE pine tree on the backside of a farm pond.

A huge owl flew in and camped out in another big pine 20 ft away, and for some dumb reason I decided to play around with him. :bounce: I was in full camo, mask, gloves, everything.

I scratched around in the leaves with my hand and sure nuff he snatched his head around and keyed in on the sound and movement. I did it again and his big ol head started bobbing as he locked in on it. I did it maybe another time or two and thought it was funny and cool, but before I knew it he was falling off that branch into a dive coming straight for my hand. Didn't really realize how BIG that son of gun was until he spread his wings and talons at the last second before pouncing on my hand. I reckon at about 3 -4 ft from the ground I threw up my hands and yelled. :rofl: Scared the dickens out of me.

He managed to break off, but i felt the wind as he passed about a foot from my face. Had to have at least a 3-4 ft wing span. I won't do that anymore. :bounce:
 

billy62green

Senior Member
A buddy of mine (now deceased) and I were hunting a tract of land at separate locations about 25 years ago. When we got back to the truck at dark he told me that he was sitting on the ground with his back to a tree when suddenly out of nowhere a squirrel was running across his shoulder and chest onto the ground and right behind it (apparently just skimming across his shoulder but not making any hard contact) was a hawk after the squirrel. My friend's movements and screaming threw the hawk off enough that the squirrel dodged him and the hawk hurriedly flew away. My friend's nerves were still shot and I think he had a close call with messing his britches, to hear him tell it!
 

golffreak

Senior Member
Had an owl fly up and remove my orange cap before daylight one morning. Scared me to death.
 

cuda67bnl

Senior Member
Most of my bird of prey stories involve my own personal hunting birds. But I have had screech owls land beside me in a deer stand. And I've called in GHOs while predator hunting at night. Both can be unnerving in the dark.......
 

BornToHuntAndFish

Senior Member
My brother has been tapped on the top of his head as an owl flew by, but had no pain or injury from it.
 

swalker1517

Senior Member
Well, I came awfully close, but I brought it on myself. I was deer hunting and had been sitting in a stand all morning. After about 3 hrs. in the stand and no sightings, I decided to still hunt for a while (private property). I mozied around for a while and decided to sit down up against a HUGE pine tree on the backside of a farm pond.

A huge owl flew in and camped out in another big pine 20 ft away, and for some dumb reason I decided to play around with him. :bounce: I was in full camo, mask, gloves, everything.

I scratched around in the leaves with my hand and sure nuff he snatched his head around and keyed in on the sound and movement. I did it again and his big ol head started bobbing as he locked in on it. I did it maybe another time or two and thought it was funny and cool, but before I knew it he was falling off that branch into a dive coming straight for my hand. Didn't really realize how BIG that son of gun was until he spread his wings and talons at the last second before pouncing on my hand. I reckon at about 3 -4 ft from the ground I threw up my hands and yelled. :rofl: Scared the dickens out of me.

He managed to break off, but i felt the wind as he passed about a foot from my face. Had to have at least a 3-4 ft wing span. I won't do that anymore. :bounce:

Boy you got that right! They are fairly small all folded up on a limb, but they look like eagles flying thru the trees. Caught movement one morning, right at daybreak, and it was an owl trying to take my hat off. He flew over to a limb just a few feet away and looked tiny compared to what he looked like flying.
 

Paymaster

Old Worn Out Mod
Staff member
No bird of prey, but I wuz pecked in the top of the head until bloody by a Blue Jay when I was a young'n. Don't mess with baby Jays cause their Mom can be a mean and nasty bird!:biggrin3:
 

bull0ne

Banned
While predator hunting at dawn or dusk, I've had several birds of prey respond. Luckily, I spotted them, was well hid and they only landed nearby. Which gave me an opportunity to scare them off before I was mistaken for their prey.

Actually had far more daylight bird of prey responses than I ever had from the varmints I was targeting. :huh:
 

ASH556

Senior Member
I have twice in two different years had a Red Tail Hawk swoop in on me while bow-hunting. Fortunately he broke off at the last second, but the gust of wind and sound of wingbeats was enough to make sure I wasn't drifting off to sleep! I theorized that he was keyed in on my fletchings blowing around in the breeze.
 

elfiii

Admin
Staff member
Yep, pretty much the same as everybody else. My son and I were sitting in a two man stand watching a red tail sitting in a white oak about 40 yds away. All of a sudden here he comes. We were both thinking "That's pretty cool" until he was about 10 feet away and I realized he was coming for us. Raised my hands, he locked eyeballs with me, flared and dove off to the side. He landed in the tree next to us just above us and "studied" us for a while. Then he flew back to his tree and continued to wait for some prey to show up. I'm thinking he had decided this was his hunting ground and we weren't going to scare him off even if we were bigger than him.
 

Fenderbuilt27

Senior Member
Had an owl or a hawk one go after a squirrel behind my tree blind last year. I heard a big commotion behind me, turned to look and saw wings, squirrel tail claws and rodent teeth. Next thing you know there's a scared squirrel sitting next to me in my blind.
 

HighCotton

Senior Member
Have had something similar happen to me only once. I was in a ladder stand overlooking an overgrown fallow field when an owl or hawk came right at me but turned aside right at the last minute. Not sure what it was attracted to.
 

Flaustin1

Senior Member
I did the same thing a few of yall have already mentioned. I was sitting in my climber in full camo. I shoot a recurve so I had my shooting glove on. . . .which is made of hair on calf leather. Big ol owl lands not 20 ft away so I twitch my finger. He sees it. I twitch again and hes on his way. His wing brushed my face as he veered off. Learned a valuable lesson that day.
 

Jim Thompson

Live From The Tree
Just whatever you do...do not pee from stand when you are in hawk country!!!!!

This is a lil copy/paste from way back when:bounce:







You never know when a hungry hawk will attack your urine stream thinking he is getting an easy meal flopping around in the leaves!!!

This was the craziest thing I have ever witnessed from the stand. I was relieving myself yesterday evening from about 25ft up when all of a sudden a hawk comes flying in, lands where I was urinating and stats throwing leaves every where! He obviously thought the splashing and noise was a rabbit or something rolling around in the leaves. I of course continued to urinate, but he would not leave! So if you see a hawk with a yellow head you know why! BTW, water will run off a hawks back just like a ducks!

Sorry the pics are not the best quality, but it had to be captured. Just so you know, I was done when I took these pics :D but I would spit on the ground and he would attack!

hawk3.jpg


hawk2.jpg


hawk.jpg
 
WOW! My buddy has a support group :cool: He still gets goose bumps when he hears an owl:) He was in full camo and saw the large owl roost next to him and start bob&weaving his head trying to figure my buddy out. My friend decided to wave the owl off and he flew off but when as my friend started watching some does in a clear cut he felt a punch on the back of his head knocking his hat and glasses off. He was in a tomcat climber and leaned toward the tree and ducked for cover! He then saw the owl flying off.
 
Top