From the Cleveland News-Hearld, June 20, 2001
Report of owl attacks continue
by HEather Fletcher
Well, owl be - times three.
Birds are still attacking people in Willowick.
Now the swooping screech owls have hit their targets three times.
"He scraped me real good," Don Manning said. "Last night was the first night I got zonked."
Manning said he was just sitting ont he front porch of his East 294th Street home Monday night when he was dive-dombed by the nocturnal bird.
Ken Herman, who lives across the street from Manning, has been hit on the head twice in two weeks.
The first winged whack caused his wife, Eugenia Herman, to call in the federal government. Eugenia Herman wanted to gain protection from the federally guarded bird of prey, so she contacted Marlys Bulander.
Bulander, permit administrator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said she didnt want residents to go through life ducking. So she promised to find someone to take care of the problem.
In came Michael F. Zeloski, assistant director of special events with the St. Louis-based World Bird Sanctuary. The nonprofit organization works to keep birds in their natural environments.
On Monday night, Zeloski peeped through trees to find the gray birds. Then he started counting: Six owls. The mother and father were just protecting the chicks, he said. Zeloski predicted when the fledging owls lear to fly well, the attacks will stop.
Zeloski said he thinks that will happen in a couple weeks, so he's not moving the birds.
"This is awesome," he said. "This is screech owl heaven."
Zeloski said the avian environment that includes old trees, insects and small rodents is ideal. It is all the owls needed to keep them happy.
So why are the two birds buzzing humans?
Zeloski said the bird brains decided people were a threat to the four fledgling owls. At the same time, the adult owls chose to attack humans when they were not expecting it, becuase they didn't want to be hurt or eaten.
He said in a couple weeks, the owls would dispurse throughout the neigborhood. Meanwhile, residents are trying to get along with their new neighbors.
"It's dangerous," Manning said. "But it's nice to see they're still surviving."
Ken Herman joked that he'd like to see another kind of bird move into town. Monday night, Ken and Eugenia Herman had just returned from a second anniversary dinner at Chi-chi's Mexican Restaurant.
"We've got the owls," he said, smiling. "We're still waiting for the stork to come by."
Report of owl attacks continue
by HEather Fletcher
Well, owl be - times three.
Birds are still attacking people in Willowick.
Now the swooping screech owls have hit their targets three times.
"He scraped me real good," Don Manning said. "Last night was the first night I got zonked."
Manning said he was just sitting ont he front porch of his East 294th Street home Monday night when he was dive-dombed by the nocturnal bird.
Ken Herman, who lives across the street from Manning, has been hit on the head twice in two weeks.
The first winged whack caused his wife, Eugenia Herman, to call in the federal government. Eugenia Herman wanted to gain protection from the federally guarded bird of prey, so she contacted Marlys Bulander.
Bulander, permit administrator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said she didnt want residents to go through life ducking. So she promised to find someone to take care of the problem.
In came Michael F. Zeloski, assistant director of special events with the St. Louis-based World Bird Sanctuary. The nonprofit organization works to keep birds in their natural environments.
On Monday night, Zeloski peeped through trees to find the gray birds. Then he started counting: Six owls. The mother and father were just protecting the chicks, he said. Zeloski predicted when the fledging owls lear to fly well, the attacks will stop.
Zeloski said he thinks that will happen in a couple weeks, so he's not moving the birds.
"This is awesome," he said. "This is screech owl heaven."
Zeloski said the avian environment that includes old trees, insects and small rodents is ideal. It is all the owls needed to keep them happy.
So why are the two birds buzzing humans?
Zeloski said the bird brains decided people were a threat to the four fledgling owls. At the same time, the adult owls chose to attack humans when they were not expecting it, becuase they didn't want to be hurt or eaten.
He said in a couple weeks, the owls would dispurse throughout the neigborhood. Meanwhile, residents are trying to get along with their new neighbors.
"It's dangerous," Manning said. "But it's nice to see they're still surviving."
Ken Herman joked that he'd like to see another kind of bird move into town. Monday night, Ken and Eugenia Herman had just returned from a second anniversary dinner at Chi-chi's Mexican Restaurant.
"We've got the owls," he said, smiling. "We're still waiting for the stork to come by."
