Barred owls have been swooping down on people in Seattle-area parks.

A ranger at Bridle Trails State Park in Kirkland, Mary Welborn, says people have been clawed enough to draw blood in a handful of incidents.

King County has closed parts of the Soaring Eagle regional park in Sammamish because of similar attacks.

The state Fish and Wildlife Department told KING ( http://is.gd/U6i6KG) the owls are young ones that are territorial about new nesting spots.

Rangers say the owls seem to target people wearing head phones and women wearing their hair in pony tails.

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Information from: KING-TV, http://www.king5.com/