Felt like an submission to the TV show “When Animals Attack” yesterday. Whilst out running my normal trail route which takes me past Ramsay’s Monument which overlooks the Penicuik Estate to the west of the town I was attacked by a buzzard. I was crossing a field which is bordered by a stand of trees when I felt a rush of wind and looked up to see the buzzard soaring away from me. Initially I thought that maybe I just hadn’t noticed it sitting on  a wall  and that I had startled it but when it came back I knew that I had one seriously pissed off bird.

Over the approximately 400 metres from the first ‘attack’ to the safety of some trees I was dive bombed six times. I found this quite spectacular as the buzzard would circle above me in a figure of eight formation before tucking back it’s wings and diving straight at me before veering off about a metre above my head.

When I got back to the house after my run I contacted the RSPB asking why they thought I’d been attacked and they suggested that the bird would’ve been protecting a nesting site.

Has anyone else had any close encounters with our furry, feathered or water-based friends whilst out training? Feel free to post them in the comments.