The last five jogging runs for Thomas Paroli of Hørsholm north of Copenhagen have been something of a trial – a buzzard has repeatedly attacked him, according to Ugebladet Hørsholm.

“It attacks by diving silently from behind and goes for my head. The last attack was four dives over 200 metres,” Paroli says, adding that on the first two occasions he had not been aware of the impending attack and the bird hit him.

It is not the first time angry buzzards have attacked joggers. In 2007 one jogger had to be taken to hospital with buzzard claw cuts in the scalp. In 2004 several joggers reported to police that their jogging hats had been grabbed.

The Danish Ornithological Society suggests that the reason for the attacks may be the arrival of the mating season.

“The buzzard is probably building a nest somewhere nearby and it’s defending it,” says DOF Hørsholm Chairman Bent Møllmann Jurgensen.

He adds that one reason why a jogger has been attacked but no walkers, may be that the birds do not like quick movements.