By Pepper Fisher

PORT ANGELES – Port Angeles residents need to know that Angry Birds are more than just a video game. They’re real, and at least one local woman has the gashes on top of her head to prove it.

Sami Fulwiler is a Home Care Aide in Port Angeles, working the graveyard shift. She was walking to work across the western Eighth Street Bridge last Sunday around 10:00pm when something hit her, hard, on top of the head.

“And as I was walking by, I felt something hit my head, and it actually hurt. And I looked up and I saw wings fly away. I touched my head and I could see a little bit of blood there. And I was like, no way, that did not just happen. I kind of yelled at it, like, ‘Go away. Leave me alone’, and kept walking and thinking that it must have been some sort of fluke. And it must’ve mistaken my bow for prey or something. And then it came down and it got me again, and they got me real good this time. And then, at that point, I called my boyfriend, because I was like, I’m not doing this. I’m like, ‘Please wake up and come take me to work. I did not want to battle an owl on my way to work today.’ And then, I got a picture of it sitting up in the tree just staring me down. Looking at me like, “Don’t you come near my nest.” I was like, “Come on, leave me alone. I don’t want any trouble.”

We showed the ghostly photo to Joseph Molotsky.  He’s a Bird Rehabilitator at Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue in Port Townsend. He said it was definitely a barred owl, attacking what it saw as a potential threat to its newly-hatched owlets.

“They’re one of our largest species of owls in the area. They’re also one of the most aggressive species. They see us as a threat to their babies, and it’s a very hormonal time for them, and they’re just wanting to scare us off. And so, that often comes down to them grabbing people’s head or hat. There’s a lot of cases when people have pom-poms on their hat, they grab the hat off their head. So, you know, don’t wear your favorite hat out there.”

Fulwiler wasn’t wearing a hat, just a bow in her hair, and she paid with several talon punctures in her scalp.

“I’ve got about four good puncture wounds on my head. It was very startling, and I didn’t really feel the puncture. It was more of, just the power of it. It felt like getting punched in the head.”

Anyone who has to cross the western bridge, especially after dark, would do well to walk on the north side, closest to the waterfront. Molotsky has a piece of advice for the rest of you brave souls who want to take their chances.

“I would definitely recommend not wearing your hair in a ponytail, or a hat with a pom-pom. One of the best things to do if you know there’s a barred owl nest in your area and you’re worried about it, bring an umbrella. It would deter them from trying to come down at you, and also, if they did, they wouldn’t be able to hit you, anyway.”  “I think that is good advice. And since I walk all the time, and often walk in the rain, I didn’t hear the umbrella part. So, I’ll just use my umbrella on that certain part of my walk.”

Don’t have an umbrella? Try a hard hat, and maybe you’ll have a story to tell the grandkids.

(Banner photo by Atilla Sulker. Story photo by Sami Fulwiler)