A huge buzzard, apparently protecting its chicks in a nearby nest, has been busy in one Irish town; attacking passing cyclists.
Having won the A3 race at the Bobby Crilly Memorial near Belfast yesterday, James Curry is in the headlines again today.
However, the local newspaper coverage he’s generated this time is not for his prowess on the bike.
Instead, the national junior cyclocross and MTB champion has been attacked by a bird of prey while training.
A buzzard clearly wasn’t happen with Curry riding on its patch, swooping down on him and sinking its talons in Curry’s helmet.
Steve Lindsay of Dromore CC was similarly set upon by the giant bird with sharp talons; being hit twice on the same morning.
He and Curry were targeted at the Drumneath Rd area of Banbridge.
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“I was just cycling down the road and this big bird slapped me on the back of the head,” Curry told the Dromore Leader.
James Curry taking the Bobby Crilly Memorial atop Divis Mountain just yesterday (Photo: Marian Lamb - Cycling Ulster)
“It was massive. I didn’t expect it to be honest. It used my helmet as a landing spot and ripped into it.
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“Then I shouted at it and thankfully it flew off, although its wing hit me on the shoulder as it did.”
He warned other cyclists to take care, saying the bird is big enough to cause serious injury.
“If I wasn’t wearing a helmet, I could have been badly hurt,” he said.
“The bird is huge. It has quite a small body but its wings are as big as your arms and its beak is massive.”
Lindsay said he was astonished by the turn of events.
“On the first morning, I was hit at the top of the rise after turning onto the Drumneath Road off the Castlewellan Road,” he said.
“The next morning I was cycling along the Drumneath Road before the Quarry Road junction when I received a blow to the head again.
“I’ve been chased by dogs and abused by motorists but I never thought I’d be attacked by a bird.”
Wildlife experts watching birds in the area, said the buzzard that attacked the riders had nested very late this season.
Its chicks have only just hatched, meaning it will be on the lookout for anything, including cyclists, runners and walkers, it believes poses a threat to its young.
”At the minute, the female is staying near the nest to protect the chicks but that will stop after the next two weeks,” said Eimear Rooney from the NI Raptor Study Group, which has since 2010 been monitoring the bird that attacked the riders.
“The chicks will be old enough to stay on their own and the mother will be away hunting.”
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