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The residents of a Black Country village are being terrorized by an aggressive owl that swoops down from the sky, attacking senior citizens, children and pets.
The Canadian great horned owl has been dive-bombing locals living in Sedgley, West Midlands, leaving some people too scared to leave their homes.
Sightings of the ‘psycho’ bird, believed to be an illegal escaped pet, have increased in recent weeks, as have seemingly random attacks on members of the public.
Liz Hodgkins, 74, was savagely attacked by the owl’s sharp talons just before Christmas in her driveway and was left with deep cuts to her scalp.
Sedgley’s grandmother of five was left with a bloody head wound as she went to close the front garden gates in December.
Liz Hodgkins, 74, was left with deep, bloody cuts to her scalp after a Great Canada owl was caught terrorizing locals.
The bird of prey, believed to be an escaped illegal pet, was photographed by a member of the public in Sedgley, West Midlands and is believed to be responsible for the attacks.
The retired lab technician said: ‘I live in a relatively large house and I was just going down the driveway to close the door.
‘The owl was in the tree and I waved at it and said hello. As I was walking back I felt a big blow to the back of my head.
My grandchildren stayed and were worried about me when they saw all the blood.
“I asked my neighbor and he told me that he had been attacked while he was taking the dog out. They see it on the fence of him.
‘It seems like a really nasty thing. A neighbor is soft with him and does not want anything to happen to him. Although it is not a native bird.
“I think it’s a pet that was kept illegally, but you wouldn’t know that.
To catch it you need a license. Nobody wants to catch this owl, nobody wants to catch this vicious owl. There isn’t really a plan for it.
He’s been in the woods since October. The RSPB came and said it was probably hungry and that’s why it was attacking now.
‘If in October it just didn’t come out much, but now it seems to be coming out all the time.’
The grandmother of five was savagely attacked by the owl’s sharp talons just before Christmas while her grandchildren were at their home in Sedgley.
The lab technician, pictured where she was attacked by trees near the front garden gate, said: “The owl was in the tree and I waved and waved at it.” As I was walking back I felt a big blow to the back of my head. “My grandchildren stayed and were worried about me when they saw all the blood”
The large bird was seen throughout the region last September, but is believed to be becoming more vicious as it becomes hungry or guards its territory in search of a mate.
There were also reports of a 13-year-old boy being injured and small dogs being attacked in their owners’ backyards.
Great Horned Owls can be 2 feet tall with a wingspan of 5 feet. They feast on small to medium-sized mammals as prey, from rabbits, ducks, mice, and voles.
Another resident, Rachel Teague, 36, a mother of two, added: “He’s gotten a bit psycho and people are pretty terrified.”
“It’s crazy that a Great Canada owl is wreaking havoc in the Black Country, we usually only get to see birds like this at Dudley Zoo.
“Hopefully someone can catch him safely because he has become very aggressive and I worry about my two little ones.”
‘We don’t want to mistreat the poor thing, she’s just showing her natural behavior. But it has to be caught and no one is doing anything about it.
Other locals took to community social media pages to say they had been attacked and left with puncture wounds that left “blood everywhere.”
One mother wrote on Facebook: ‘My son, who is 13, was attacked by a bird of prey yesterday. He is thinking that he might have been a big owl.
I was close to assignments. I thought about making people aware
Another added: “My friends have been attacked by him and now they are afraid to leave their house, they have little dogs and he went for one so be careful with your dogs.”
The random attacks have left locals feeling too scared to leave their homes in Sedgley, West Midlands and they are worried for the safety of their pets.
The large bird was seen throughout the region last September, but is believed to be becoming more vicious as it becomes hungry or guards its territory in search of a mate.
The Brockswood Animal Sanctuary in nearby Dudley first reported a sighting of the barn owl in September.
They wrote on Facebook ‘Please share. Does anyone or any of you know someone in the local area (or possibly a bit further afield) who has lost an owl?
“We have received reports of a Spotted Eagle Owl in the Dudley/Sedgley area. These are not native species and obviously an escaped pet.
“We have scoured the various lost animal pages, but so far we cannot find any reference to this bird and wish to help find its home.”
One woman replied: “Unfortunately the owl attacked Jay and our neighbor and we are fighting with our dogs in our back garden, I think it got away.”
‘There are now two neighbors on Turls Hill Road who have been physically attacked by this owl, one with scratches on his scalp.
“Keep in mind that people are worried about their dogs too.”
‘Someone has a contact at a falconry, so now we’re talking to them about it. Although it is good to know that the owl has survived the winter, this is concerning.”
Another added: ‘You can protect it by all means, no one wants to harm it, but you have to understand the seriousness of the problem here.
‘We have a child who has puncture wounds, and the mother has said there was blood everywhere, also the other two people who were attacked, one was almost knocked to the ground because of how powerful she is.
“We all want to protect it, just like you and getting caught is the safest option for the owl and the local people.”
Bird expert Barbara Royle, owner of the International Bird Register, believes the owl is becoming territorial due to the breeding season.
She advised members of the public to avoid the large bird at all costs.
Barbara said: ‘From his behaviour, we suspect that he is now looking for a partner. It is protecting its territory for its breeding status.
“With all the publicity, I’m surprised someone hasn’t come forward and I suspect they’ve been let go on purpose.”