YEOVIL NEWS: People left bloodied in buzzard attacks

PEOPLE who use a popular recreational area in Yeovil are being warned about the dangers of being attacked by an over-protective bird of prey.

In scenes straight out of Alfred Hitchcock’s chilling movie, The Birds, Simon Baker has said that he has been attacked twice in recent weeks by the same “big bird” while out on the Summerhouse Hill area which overlooks the Yeo Leisure Park car park at the bottom end of the town centre.

The latest attack happened yesterday (Wednesday, July 15, 2015) on top of Summerhouse Hill when the bird swooped with talons out and left Simon bloodied and shaken.

“Walkers, joggers and runners – there’s a big bird kicking about Summerhouse Hill and it’s very protective of its territory,” said Simon on his social networking Facebook page.

“The same buzzard has attacked a few people and he’s shown me what his talons look like. Take care people!”

PHOTO – TOP: Buzzards can have a wing span of more than a yard and can weight more than 1kg.

PHOTO – RIGHT: Simon Baker.

Keen runner Simon, who will be well-known among Yeovil Town FC fans for his physio work in recent times at Huish Park, told the Yeovil Press that he had now been attacked on two separate occasions – four weeks apart.

“The first one happened on the trail that runs parallel to Station Road in the wooded area on the side of the hill,” he said. “Yesterday’s attack happened on the top of the hill in the open.

“It's an awesome bird and must be protecting a low nest, but could do some damage, so people should be wary when up on Summerhouse Hill."

There are between 30,000 and 40,000 pairs of buzzards in the UK. They became a protected species 50 years ago and have recovered from near extinction after being regularly shot for killing game birds.

PHOTO - ABOVE: The result of being attacked by a buzzard - top of Simon Baker's head.

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