In the past 25 years of running trails at Tiger Mtn., several individuals
in my party have been bonked in the head by Barred Owls. All of them had a
pretty good head of hair. OTOH, I am bald and thus immune to such attacks.

My favorite owl episode at Tiger Mtn. occurred 20+ years ago when I went
off the trail into the woods to relieve myself and found myself
face-to-face 3 feet away from a curious Northern Pygmy-Owl.

Steve Loitz
Ellensburg WA
steveloitz at gmail.com

On Fri, Sep 15, 2017 at 12:19 PM, Nadine Drisseq <bearsmartwa at gmail.com>
wrote:

> HI Jeremy,
>
> 14th Pl NE and NE Falls Dr. is just one of several areas in Issaquah
> Highlands where a number of people experienced owl attacks on or around
> this date last year. Is it possible that Barred Owlets are starting to
> leave the parental home range, so that parents might be acting extra
> protective at this time of year? I posted the warning of early morning
> attacks on the Issaquah Highlands FB Group, advising people to wear hats at
> that time since I do Bear Smart and wildlife educational outreach in the
> community. So, thanks for sharing your post. Perhaps we'll get some
> responses with owl ID's.
>
>
> *Nadine Drisseq*
> *Biologist, **Bear Smart WA*
>
> *PO Box 152*
> *Issaquah, WA. 98027*
>
> Tel: (530) 628-7787 (call / text)
> bearsmartwa at gmail.com
> https://www.facebook.com/BearSmartWA/
>
> On Sat, Sep 9, 2017 at 9:44 AM, Jeremy Davis <davisjp23 at hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Hey all,
>>
>> I was sent this from a buddy of mine who saw it on the Facebook page for
>> the Seattle Mountain Running Group. Be careful out there!
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Jeremy Davis
>> Kenmore, WA
>>
>> ~~~~~~~
>>
>> Jeff Ziegler > Seattle Mountain Running Group
>>
>> Around 5:50 this morning, I was running behind Issaquah High School and
>> had just turned onto the High School Trail to head up to the Lake Tradition
>> Plateau, when I was hit on the back of the head. I turned around to see if
>> someone had snuck up behind me or if I had hit a low branch. Seeing
>> nothing, I again faced forward and saw what I thought was a reflection of
>> an eyeball from my hand lamp moving up the trail around the corner. I
>> followed around the corner, shined my light up the trail and saw an owl
>> sitting on a branch about 100 feet ahead. Deciding it would be best to not
>> continue up the trail, I turned around and headed back the way I had come.
>> I had traveled maybe 30-40 feet when I was again struck on the back of the
>> head. This time I backed up the trail towards the high school parking lot
>> as the owl watched from a branch.
>>
>> At this point I was a little spooked, so I decided to run around in town
>> for a while. As it started to get light and I turned off my hand lamp, I
>> realized I wasn?t wearing my headlamp anymore. What I had thought had been
>> the reflection of light from the owls eye, was actually my headlamp the owl
>> was carrying up the trail after picking it off my head.
>>
>> I then headed to Grand Ridge. Around 7:15as I was heading down the Grand
>> Ridge Trail, a commotion stirred about 10 feet in front of me as an owl
>> took flight from a stump, and took up watch perched on a branch above the
>> trail in front of me. Learning my lesson from earlier, I picked up a stick
>> and started back pedaling back up the trail. I took a quick look behind me
>> to check out where I was going, and when I turned back forward, I saw the
>> owl had swooped down towards me. I started waving the stick in front of me
>> and over my head. The owl put the brakes on mid-air, momentarily hovered
>> over me, and then retreated to a branch a couple of dozen feet in front of
>> me. Without taking my eye off the owl, I reached down, picked up a rock,
>> and threw it off the trunk of the tree the owl was on, and it retreated to
>> another tree farther down the trail. I continued back pedaling up the trail
>> until the owl was well out of site.
>>
>> I then headed back across I-90 to the Lake Tradition Plateau. Around 8:00 I
>> picked up a stick at the top of the High School Trail and headed down with
>> the intent to look for my headlamp. About half way down I had second
>> thoughts and decided I would detour onto what I think is the Boundary Trail
>> through Park Pointe. Just as I made that decision, I was nailed on the back
>> of the head for the third time this morning. I?m not sure if it was the
>> same owl as from the first attack, but I was probably still .4 of mile up
>> the trail from where the first attacked had occurred. Once again I back
>> pedaled up the trail until the owl was well out of site. I probably look
>> pretty stupid the last couple of miles back to my car waving a stick in the
>> air, and my head on a swivel.
>>
>> I?m not sure what the deal is. I?ve run hundreds of miles on Grand Ridge
>> and Tiger Mountain, including a few dozen in the dark, and never been
>> attacked or buzzed by an owl, much less three times in one morning. I?m now
>> in the market for a new headlamp, and maybe a helmet and body armor.
>>
>> ~~~~~~~
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
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>>
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