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Owl attacks are common as mating season begins

A barred owl which attacked a cross country skier at the Pineland Recreation Center in Maine was doing what comes naturally. Owls are known to protect mating grounds and often strike and buzz people going by to warn them off the grounds.

NEW GLOUCESTER (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Ted Hall didn't know what hit him. It struck his head and he was knocked to the ground, but it took a few seconds to figure it out.

"When I got my wits about me, there was an owl that flew right up into the tree not very far from me at all and she was looking at me."

A former principal and experienced cross country skier, Hall has confronted many surprises, but this one takes the cake.

He kept his eyes on the owl which swooped by him again before he made his escape.

The Pineland Center put a notice on its social media pages to warn skiers. It also contacted local wildlife authorities to chart a proper course of action.

The center is leaving the trail open for now. It is thought that the bird is a barred owl which is trying to protect its mating sight. It is probably young or old as authorities suspect a hormonal imbalance is causing the bird to be overagressive.

However, such attacks are not unusual. "I can think of when I was at school at UMaine-Orono," said Maine Audbon Staff Naturalist Dough Hitchcox. "There was kind of a famous owl around there. There was a bird around there that was bonking students on the head."

Hitchcox notes that the attack can be thought of as a very early sign of spring. The birds will begin mating in a week or two. Eggs will develop over the next month and then hatch out the first of March or so.

Barred Owls usually live in tree cavities where woodpeckers have down their work. They are silent fliers and often buzz hikers in the woods.

Barred Owls don't migrate and young can climb trees by clawing the bark with their bill and talons, flapping their wings and walking up the trunl.

The oldest Barred Owl lived to be 24 years old, so the mating about to begin could give us furry friends that will be around in 2040!

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