Red Trail Hawk?

stilluf

Well-Known Member
In the Newmans lot this morning, fellow rider told me he had been attacked by a hawk while riding upper red trail! He was riding when he felt something hit his helmet like a branch, but there were no trees in the vicinity. We checked out his helmet, and sure enough, there were Talon Marks in it!! Apparently this had happened to someone else recently. The theory is that there's a nest the hawk is protecting; so be alert on upper red.
Rider was not on this site, but said he rides Thursdays....white cannondale, drives a blue car with a custom hitch rack? hopefully he passes on the helmet pics!!
 

Off The Road Again

Well-Known Member
Yes, he's a friend of mine who rides CR a lot. He sent me pics of helmet, but it was hard to tell if the scratches were talon marks. Regardless, I've received other stories from other friends where they were harassed by a hawk at same location on multiple occasions. Lot of nay-sayers out there saying its a bunch of bunk that a hawk will 'attack' you. Well, believe it, they will, predatory birds - like eagles - will defend their young fiercely. Best bet, either avoid upper Red when riding solo, or ride with a group. Whether it's bunk or not, hawk is doing what it's supposed to do, so I'll show respect to the hawk and avoid the area until the little guy earns his wings. Aside from bikers, hikers, and others, we apparently aren't the only ones who enjoy the park.
 

stilluf

Well-Known Member
Agree, respect All trail users, best to avoid upper red if riding solo. And trust me, in person the indents on the helmet looked exactly like you would expect a talon strike to look!
 

pooriggy

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
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FitmanNJ

Well-Known Member
I got dive-bombed today, too. The bird is on MIDDLE Red, not Upper (unless there's two of them...). Going down Middle Red in the direction of the Newmans Lane parking lot, I reached the first reroute (orange flags) with a fairly tight bend to the right (bermed), followed the trail to the left and down a short straight-away, at which point I took a jolt to the helmet. From my peripheral vision, I saw a predominently tan colored bird with perhaps some white feathers on its abdomen. I stopped and looked back up the trail and saw a large bird, who flew to a closer tree (checking his prey?). Unfortunately, I didn't have my phone in hand at that moment or I could have snapped a photo. By the time I got the phone, the bird had withdrawn to quite a distance.

I think the reroute may have taken the trail closer to the bird's nesting place, hence the attacks that have been reported recently. Again, to be sure, this occurred on Middle Red, not Upper Red.
 

stilluf

Well-Known Member
@FitmanNJ thanks for clarifying and glad you're ok....that damn bird means business!! Were you riding solo? I think all of the attacks so far have been on solo riders.
 

FitmanNJ

Well-Known Member
@FitmanNJ thanks for clarifying and glad you're ok....that damn bird means business!! Were you riding solo? I think all of the attacks so far have been on solo riders.

Thanks, @stilluf. Yes, I was riding solo -- I went down the same trail (in the opposite direction) with a group on Sunday and there was no incident. I don't have a GoPro, so that's not an option for me. To record this behavior, you'd have to have the cam facing backward -- this bird is smart and attacks from behind.

A client of mine speculated today that the color of the bird makes it sound like it is indeed a Red Tailed Hawk. Luckily, they seem to go for the helmet as I hear that their talons are razor sharp.
 

JimN

Captain Wildcat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The title of this thread needs to be changed to "Red Trail Red Tailed Hawk" or "Red Tailed Hawk Red Trail."
 

rick81721

Lothar
I wonder if the color of the helmet triggers an attack? I rode that trail not too long ago and nuttin on my green camo helmet. Maybe my shitty fumbling/bumbling riding scared it away
 

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