A year or two ago we had an owl on a ski trail that was attacking people and carrying away small dogs. Fortunately that all stopped, but the legend lives on......
Bird photographer Eric Hosking, most famous for his shot "Barn Owl with Prey" (an truly amazing achievement for the time), lost his left eye when an owl attacked him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Hosking http://www.poelking.com/wbuch/fruehzeit/erstfoto-4.jpg...
yeah, what laurel said--prolly she was nesting nearby. happens with starlings here in s.f. all the time. maybe there's a market for hats with hawk silhouettes on them. or hats with owl figures on them. ;o)...
I heard from a friend whose family in Puerto Rico owns a coffee plantation that "chupacabras" are most likely just owls. Big glowing (reflective) eyes, like to puncture coffee berries and smallish animals with their beaks and drink their juices -- sounds like a chupacabra to me....