Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Man left soaked in blood after bird of prey attack near Aberdeen

The species of the bird is not yet known, but it is suspected to be an escaped domestic animal.
The species of the bird is not yet known, but it is suspected to be an escaped domestic animal.

A mysterious avian menace believed to have escaped from a falconer has been dive-bombing at the heads of innocent walkers and cyclists on the outskirts of Aberdeen.

Several reports have now been made of an unknown bird swooping at people around Dyce, Hatton of Fintray and Newmachar over the last week.

On Monday, the animal was spotted repeatedly attacking a man close to the Dyce Juniors football pitch.

The man was covered in blood, but a passing driver noticed him struggling against the bird and pulled over to help.

The individual said he had been assaulted by the raptor for 20 minutes, and suffered wounds to his head.

The helmet, with talon marks in the protective plastic

Another victim said he had been cycling along a back road in the direction of Cothal, north-west of Dyce, when he suddenly felt a “heavy, but cushioned thump” on the back of his head.

Thankfully, the cyclist had been wearing a helmet, but when he removed it to check for damage, he found three claw marks in the protective plastic.

Keith Marley, who runs the Ellon-based animal rescue centre New Arc, said he had received several concerned calls regarding the unknown bird.

Mr Marley thinks the most likely reason the animal is behaving in such a strange manner is that it could be an escaped falconer’s bird, possibly one used to scare away gulls from industrial estates.

He urged anyone who knows where the creature is to phone the New Arc or the Scottish SPCA as soon as possible to ensure its wellbeing.

Mr Marley said: “I’ve had quite a few people get in contact about this bird, some people have said it’s a buzzard but we really don’t know exactly what kind of bird this is.

“It’s very, very unlikely that this would be a wild buzzard attacking people, even if there was a grounded chick nearby.

“It’s more likely that it’s an escaped falconry bird of some sort, or a bird that’s got out of an aviary, that is so accustomed to people that it’s trying to approach them to try and get fed.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


“These kind of birds are accustomed to coming and landing on people to feed from their hands, so I suspect it’s more likely to be a bird of that nature than a wild animal.

“There would be nothing to be gained by a buzzard or other bird of prey randomly attacking somebody, these are cautious birds.

“Even a vulture would approach a dead body with a certain degree of respect.”

Colin Seddon, the manager of the Scottish SPCA’s national wildlife rescue centre echoed Mr Marley’s thoughts, and believes the bird could very well be an escaped domestic animal.

He added: “There is a chance this is an escaped falconer’s bird, or a bird that isn’t doing well on its own in the wild.

“If the bird can be safely contained, such as in a shed or garage, then do so and contact our animal helpline immediately on 03000 999 999.”