Buzzard bait

[mrbubl]

Angry Buzzard Terrorizes English Country Road

Fri Jun 11, 7:26 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!



LONDON (Reuters) - An angry buzzard is terrorizing a quiet English country
road by dive-bombing passing cyclists, newspapers reported on Friday.



Paul Taylor, 71, said the bird of prey used its beak and claws to rip a
three-inch gash in his head as he cycled along the stretch of road near
Holsworthy, in Devon, western England.


"I thought at first it was a lorry passing and the wing mirror had somehow
caught my head," he told the Daily Mail.


"Then I saw the buzzard swooping in front of me and suddenly there was blood
pouring down my head and face."


Last weekend 22 cyclists taking part in a long distance competition along
the road -- the A3072 -- suffered head injuries or had gouges taken out of
their helmets by the same bird, according to the race coordinator.


The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds suggested the bird was
probably nesting nearby and was defending its chicks.


"We would suggest that people avoid the road for a few weeks, but if
cyclists do want to use it we would advise them to paint a pair of eyes on
their helmets," a spokeswoman told the Daily Express. "That will put the
buzzard off."

 

[Roger Zoul]

mrbubl wrote:
:: Angry Buzzard Terrorizes English Country Road
::
:: Fri Jun 11, 7:26 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!
::
::
::
:: LONDON (Reuters) - An angry buzzard is terrorizing a quiet English
:: country road by dive-bombing passing cyclists, newspapers reported
:: on Friday.
::
::
::
:: Paul Taylor, 71, said the bird of prey used its beak and claws to
:: rip a three-inch gash in his head as he cycled along the stretch of
:: road near Holsworthy, in Devon, western England.
::
::
:: "I thought at first it was a lorry passing and the wing mirror had
:: somehow caught my head," he told the Daily Mail.
::
::
:: "Then I saw the buzzard swooping in front of me and suddenly there
:: was blood pouring down my head and face."
::
::
:: Last weekend 22 cyclists taking part in a long distance competition
:: along the road -- the A3072 -- suffered head injuries or had gouges
:: taken out of their helmets by the same bird, according to the race
:: coordinator.
::
::
:: The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds suggested the bird was
:: probably nesting nearby and was defending its chicks.
::
::
:: "We would suggest that people avoid the road for a few weeks, but if
:: cyclists do want to use it we would advise them to paint a pair of
:: eyes on their helmets," a spokeswoman told the Daily Express. "That
:: will put the buzzard off."

 

[jkinney2]

Seems that a 12 gauge would be a better solution but that is just my redneck
AMERICAN way of thinking.

Jim

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>,
"mrbubl" <[email protected]> writes:

> The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds suggested the bird was
> probably nesting nearby and was defending its chicks.

The crows here have become aggressive like that, too.
I've been spotting dead ones on the roadside. I don't
know if they go after cars, or if they just get hit
while going after people who are on foot. At least
they have the courtesy to leave cyclists alone.

Yesterday while riding I had a couple of swallows escorting
me out of their territory. They were swooping mere inches
above the ground, just ahead of my front tire. They were
marvelous to watch.

> begin 666 my16.gif
[etc]
> end

If that's an attachment, please send those on UseNet.


cheers,
Tom

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[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Tom Keats) writes:
>
> If that's an attachment, please send those on UseNet.

I mean, please /don't/ send those on UseNet.


cheers again,
Tom

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[Ben A Gozar]

I do not know where you call home, but dead Crows and other dead birds here
in Southwestern United States is a sign of West Nile Virus being present.

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <[email protected]>,
Ben A Gozar <[email protected]> writes:
> I do not know where you call home, but dead Crows and other dead birds here
> in Southwestern United States is a sign of West Nile Virus being present.

Vancouver, BC, Canada. West Nile hasn't arrived here yet.
These hit-by-cars crows are a seasonal occurrence; it happens
every year when they've got new broods to look after.


cheers,
Tom

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I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

 

[Ben A Gozar]

Lucky you! Crows were the first afflicted birds here with song birds soon
after.

 

[Garrison Hilliard]

"mrbubl" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Angry Buzzard Terrorizes English Country Road
>
> Fri Jun 11, 7:26 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!
>
>
>
> LONDON (Reuters) - An angry buzzard is terrorizing a quiet English country
> road by dive-bombing passing cyclists, newspapers reported on Friday.
>
>
>
> Paul Taylor, 71, said the bird of prey used its beak and claws to rip a
> three-inch gash in his head as he cycled along the stretch of road near
> Holsworthy, in Devon, western England.Buzzard dies dive-bombing a van
>

An angry buzzard which was blamed for more than 20 attacks on cyclists
on a country road in Devon has died after dive-bombing a van.
The RSPB said the aggressive bird of prey was accidentally killed on
Wednesday when it swooped on the vehicle near Holsworthy.

Experts believe the buzzard - which has a 1m wingspan - could have
been protecting a nest.

The bird had been swooping on cyclists, gouging holes in their
helmets.

Emma Parkin from the RSPB said the driver of the van that hit the bird
had reported the accident immediately.

She said it was unusual for buzzards to attack humans, which suggested
it had once been in captivity.

She said: "It was just being a good parent, although it was probably
rather too enthusiastic."


There is probably a single parent buzzard flying around now
Emma Parkin, RSPB
She said it was likely the buzzard was one of a pair and the surviving
bird would now care for the chicks.

"There is probably a single parent buzzard flying around now, I hope
that's the case.

"The chicks should be pretty robust by now anyway, but this will
definitely mean their chances of survival have diminished."

Retired toolmaker Paul Dixon, 71, North Devon secretary of the
Cyclists Touring Club, was among those who fell victim to the buzzard
on the A3072 between Brandis Corner and Anvil Corner.

He was not wearing a cycle helmet when the angry bird swooped on him
on one occasion - he was left with blood pouring from three scratches
on his head.

All 22 competitors in two long-distance cycle races were also attacked
at the same spot nearly a fortnight ago.

The attacks forced a time trial and another scheduled bike ride to be
re-routed last weekend.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/devon/3814991.stm

Published: 2004/06/17 10:13:30 GMT

© BBC MMIV

 

[Jacques Moser]

On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 09:28:32 +0000, Garrison Hilliard wrote:


>
> Experts believe the buzzard - which has a 1m wingspan - could have been
> protecting a nest.
>
> The bird had been swooping on cyclists, gouging holes in their helmets.
>

Is this intended to start an argument about the need for helmets when
cycling near bird nests ?