Hawk attacks prompt residents in central Florida to duck and run

A pair of protective hawks has residents in one central Florida neighborhood ducking and running for cover this week.

The birds are attacking people who get too near their nests in Oviedo in suburban Orlando, local news outlets reported.

It hits me on the side of the head, not just hit, but grabbed, knocked me to the ground. I had to kind of shake my head loose," resident Beverly Bonadonna told WPLG-TV.

"At that point, I started screaming for my husband ... then it flew away, it finally let go.

Bonadonna had to go to the hospital for treatment of puncture wounds and a tetanus shot, but she said more than anything she was terrified during the attack.

"I have never been attacked by one; never even considered that I could be. I have never, I mean, they swoop real low over our head but never considered it was really a possibility," she told WPLG.

Bonadonna isn’t the only victim. Another resident in the same neighborhood, Don Cochran, has a hawk nest in tree next to his house and has been attacked twice.

"He scratched me right in the back of the head, but if you weren't thinking about him, he could have knocked you down because he weighs about 5, 6 pounds," Cochran said."

Cochran says he now uses an umbrella to go to the mailbox and hasn’t been attacked since.

Hawks and their nests are protected under Florida law and can't be moved or harmed.

Sarah Elsesser contributed to this story.