Fourth runner attacked by owl in Bush's Pasture Park

A fourth person has been attacked by an owl in the vicinity of Bush's Pasture Park, and this time it took more than skin.

At 5:45 Monday morning, Brad Hilliard was running on the track that shoulders the Soap Box Derby when he felt a scratch on the back of his head.

"I turned around and my favorite running hat was gone," Hilliard said. "I was just dumbfounded after the fact. I was like, 'My hat is gone and I can't see anything,' " he added.

It was only later, when he saw the signs warning runners of the aggressive owls, that he realized what had happened.

"It's one of those that has a Velcro strap," he said. "It had to have gotten right under that space and just lifted it of my head."

Unlike other runners, who were attacked on the south side of the park near Leffelle St. S, Hilliard is the first to have a run in with an owl by the Soap Box Derby hill, which is at the 600 block of Mission St. SE.

Hilliard escaped with only a minor scratch on the back of his neck.

"It didn't get deep into me," he said. "It was almost like you touched the tip of the knife but you pulled away before it does any real damage."

Hilliard said that he'd read the stories about the other runners the owl had attacked, but didn't think anything of it.

"I used to live in Colorado and there was a bird that would swoop down at you, it kind of followed you" he said. "I had that happen to me a few times. It never did actually touch me, but it would follow me for a half a mile."

While Hilliard may be used to this kind of avian behavior, Keith Keever with the Parks Operations Division said the barred owl is not native to the area.

Keever said some members of the national Audubon society have speculated that the birds may be rescues that have been released.

"One person thought that there was a bird at one of the owl life refuges that maybe someone released, but to be released in the middle of Salem is not likely," Keever said. "It is suspected that it's a matting pair establishing in a new area."

Keever said while owls are likely to become aggressive during mating season, they could also be defending a nest.

Hilliard said he will continue his search for his favorite black Nike hat.

"I'll keep buzzing by there until it turns up," he said. "I can't imagine a bird or a person wanting a sweat stained hat I've had for five years."

aarmstrong@statesmanjournal.com; (503) 399-6745 or follow on Twitter at @AlexaArletta