Owl-ways stay aware! A felonious fowl attacking joggers in Homewood

3 months ago 2

HAVE A PROBLEM WITH EARLY MORNING JOGGERS OVER THE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS. IT’S ATTACKED DOZENS OF THEM. NO REAL INJURIES, BUT SOME STARTLING MOMENTS AND A GOOD STORIES. WVTM 13 LISA CRANE LIVE IN LOCAL ON LAKESHORE TRAIL. LISA, ANY SIGN OF THE OWL? UNFORTUNATELY NOT. I THINK YOU GOT TO BE HERE BETWEEN THE HOURS OF, LIKE, FOUR AND 7 A.M., JUST TO GET A GLIMPSE OF IT. AND AMAZINGLY, ALL THESE PEOPLE ATTACKED AND NO ONE HAS MANAGED TO GET ANY PICTURES OR VIDEO OF THE OWL. BUT PLENTY OF PEOPLE SAY THEY HAVE BEEN ATTACKED BY THIS ORNERY OWL, AND THEY ARE ALL SWAPPING THEIR STORIES. AMY SMITH IS A REGULAR ON LAKESHORE TRAIL, USUALLY JOGGING IN THE MORNING HOURS BEFORE WORK. ON SUNDAY, SHE WAS ATTACKED BY AN OWL. I’M JUST SCREAMING AND SWATTING AND IT WAS THIS OWL THAT HAD I GUESS, LATCHED ONTO MY HEAD. SHE’S JUST THE LATEST IN A STRING OF VICTIMS. THE VILLAINOUS OWL HAS COME AFTER MATT GRANGER TWICE, MOST RECENTLY, THE OWL CAME DOWN, SWOOPED, GRABBED MY HAT AND TOOK IT OFF. AND I HAVEN’T SEEN MY HAT SINCE. THE ATTACK SEEMED TO HAPPEN IN THIS ABOUT THREE QUARTER MILE STRETCH OF LAKESHORE TRAIL. EACH VICTIM THOUGHT THEY WERE ALONE UNTIL THEY STARTED FINDING EACH OTHER BY TALKING ABOUT THEIR ATTACKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. NOW BEING HIT BY THE OWL MAKES YOU A MEMBER OF A VERY ODD CLUB. WHEN IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED, I WAS LIKE, OH, NOW I’M ONE OF THE OWL VICTIMS. IT’S KIND OF FUNNY TO HEAR EVERYBODY’S STORY OF LIKE, OH, IT GOT ME HERE. OH, IT GOT ME HERE. THEY’VE EVEN GATHERED TO SHARE THOSE STORIES IN PERSON. WE KIND OF HAD AN OWL PARTY. WE HAD BUTTONS MADE. WE HAD CUPCAKES THAT WERE MADE COOKIES. SO, YOU KNOW, WE MADE FUN OF IT. SO IT’S MADE FOR REALLY FUN STORIES. THEY ALSO WANT TO SPREAD AWARENESS. SO ANYONE ON THE TRAIL WILL KNOW THEY NEED TO BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THE UNWELCOMING OWL. THEY SAY SO FAR, NO ONE HAS REALLY BEEN HURT AND THEY HOLD NO ILL WILL TOWARD THEIR FEATHERED FOE. I THINK IT’S JUST, YOU KNOW, YOU’RE IN NATURE. YOU’RE RUNNING ON THESE TRAILS THAT, I MEAN, THERE’S WILDLIFE AROUND YOU. SO I THINK YOU’RE JUST, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO COEXIST. NOW, WE’RE TOLD WILDLIFE CENTER OFFICIALS PLAN TO MEET WITH THE HOMEWOOD CITY COUNCIL LATER THIS MONTH TO DISCUSS MAYBE PUTTING UP SOME SIGNAGE TO WARN FOLKS OR PUTTING SOME NESTING BOXES OUT TO TRY TO DISCOURAGE ANY MORE OWL JOGGER ENCOUNTERS IN THE MEANTIME, THOUGH, GRANGER SUGGESTS WEARING A HAT WHILE YOU’RE OUT. IN THIS SECTION OF THE TRAIL JUST TO PROTECT YOUR HEAD. ALTHOUGH HE SAYS, WEAR ONE YOU DON’T PARTICULARLY LIKE BECAUSE THERE’S A GOOD CHANCE THAT OWL MAY SNATCH IT AND YOU MAY NOT GET IT BAC

An owl in Homewood seems to have a problem with early-morning joggers. Over the past several months, it's attacked dozens of them. Thankfully, no real injuries, but some startling moments and good stories to share.When we went on the hunt, we saw no sign of the owl. Most witnesses say you’re most likely to see it between 4 and 7 a.m. Dozens of people have been attacked by the ornery owl, but no one has managed to capture any video of the villain. Still, though, they are swapping details of their encounters. Amy Smith is a regular on Lakeshore Trail, usually jogging in the morning hours before work. On Sunday, she was attacked. “I'm just screaming and swatting and it was this owl that had, I guess, latched onto my head," she said.Smith is just the latest in a string of victims. The villainous owl has come after Matt Grainger twice. He described the most recent encounter, saying, “The owl came down, swooped, grabbed my hat and took it off and have seen my hat since.”The attacks seem to happen in about a 3/4 mile stretch of Lakeshore Trail between Montague Alley and Columbiana Road. Each victim thought they were alone until they started finding each other by talking about their attacks on social media. Now being hit by the owl makes you a member of an odd club. “When it actually happened, I was like, oh, now I’m one of the owl victims out here.” Grainger added, “It's kind of funny to hear everybody's story of, like, oh, it got me here. Oh, it got me here," Smith said.They've even gathered to share those stories in person. Grainger told us, “We kind of had an owl party. We had buttons made. We had cupcakes that were made cookies. So, you know, we made fun of it. And so, it's made for really fun stories.” They also want to spread awareness so anyone on the trail will know they need to be on the lookout for the unwelcoming owl. They say they hold no ill will toward their feathered foe.“I think it's just, you know, you're in nature, you're running on these trails. It, I mean, there's wildlife around you. So I think you're just, you know, we have to coexist," Grainger said.Wildlife Center officials plan to meet with the Homewood City Council later this month to discuss signage or nesting boxes to lessen the chances of an owl/jogger encounter. In the meantime, Grainger suggests wearing a hat to protect your head. Although you might want to choose one, you don't mind losing in case the owl snatches another one.

HOMEWOOD, Ala. —

When we went on the hunt, we saw no sign of the owl. Most witnesses say you’re most likely to see it between 4 and 7 a.m.

Dozens of people have been attacked by the ornery owl, but no one has managed to capture any video of the villain. Still, though, they are swapping details of their encounters. Amy Smith is a regular on Lakeshore Trail, usually jogging in the morning hours before work. On Sunday, she was attacked.

“I'm just screaming and swatting and it was this owl that had, I guess, latched onto my head," she said.

Smith is just the latest in a string of victims. The villainous owl has come after Matt Grainger twice. He described the most recent encounter, saying, “The owl came down, swooped, grabbed my hat and took it off and have seen my hat since.”

The attacks seem to happen in about a 3/4 mile stretch of Lakeshore Trail between Montague Alley and Columbiana Road. Each victim thought they were alone until they started finding each other by talking about their attacks on social media. Now being hit by the owl makes you a member of an odd club.

“When it actually happened, I was like, oh, now I’m one of the owl victims out here.” Grainger added, “It's kind of funny to hear everybody's story of, like, oh, it got me here. Oh, it got me here," Smith said.

They've even gathered to share those stories in person. Grainger told us, “We kind of had an owl party. We had buttons made. We had cupcakes that were made cookies. So, you know, we made fun of it. And so, it's made for really fun stories.”

They also want to spread awareness so anyone on the trail will know they need to be on the lookout for the unwelcoming owl. They say they hold no ill will toward their feathered foe.

“I think it's just, you know, you're in nature, you're running on these trails. It, I mean, there's wildlife around you. So I think you're just, you know, we have to coexist," Grainger said.

Wildlife Center officials plan to meet with the Homewood City Council later this month to discuss signage or nesting boxes to lessen the chances of an owl/jogger encounter. In the meantime, Grainger suggests wearing a hat to protect your head. Although you might want to choose one, you don't mind losing in case the owl snatches another one.

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