MEDFIELD, MASS. (WHDH) - A man in Medfield is recovering after he was attacked by an owl earlier this week.
Ken Wadness was taking his usual run through Medfield’s High Noon Reservation on Monday night when the attack happened. He was ultimately left with deep gashes in his scalp after he said the owl swooped out of the darkness toward him and his 11-pound dog, Micah.
“Nothing like this has happened before in all the 30 years that I’ve been running in the woods,” Wadness said.
“I saw a large bird come below my elbow, swooping right over Micah,” he continued. “And then, suddenly it disappeared.”
Wadness didn’t know exactly what happened. Something told him, though, whatever had just attacked was not done with him and Micah.
“Within ten seconds later, ‘whack’ on the back of my head, the talons of this bard owl just stuck into my head and hit me with a force that I knew could have probably killed Micah or grabbed onto him.”
Despite his injuries, curiosity got the better of Wadness.
He pointed his headlamp to the tree limbs above him. There, he saw the owl that had just sent him and his dog a message.
“I was really afraid that it was after my dog and that it wanted to get at Micah again,” Wadness said. “So, I took a stick, carried it over my head. I picked up Micah and we just continued down the trail where I looked behind me a bunch of times.”
A little research told Wadness it is nearly nesting season for owls. This one probably just decided Micah and his owner were getting a little too close.
A photographer of wildlife, Wadness knows he’s the intruder in this territory. Going forward, he said he plans to give this owl its space.
“I love all the creatures out here and respect them and so, this is their home,” Wadness said.
Wildlife officials told 7NEWS an attack like the one against Wadness is unusual.
Wadness, meanwhile, said he believes the battery pack on his headlamp saved him from suffering more serious injuries.
Wadness continued, saying he hopes others avoid the summit area of the High Noon Reservation, where he said he thinks the owl has made its home.
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