Game, set and snatched: Wimbledon hawk tasked with chasing off pigeons is stolen from parked car

By IAN GARLAND


On the job: Rufus the American Harris Hawk, on duty at Wimbledon with his owner Wayne Davis

The hawk that patrols the skies over Wimbledon to deter pigeons has been stolen.
The American Harris hawk, named Rufus, was taken together with its cage and handling glove overnight between Thursday and Friday from a car parked in Wimbledon. Rufus was in the car on a private driveway in Dunstall Road with its rear window open for ventilation.
For the past four years, the hawk has spent every morning of the Championships scaring pigeons away from the hallowed grass.

Looking out over Wimbledon's courts the resident Harris Hawk keeps an eye out for pigeons

Owner Imogen Davis, 25, said she was still in shock after Rufus’s disappearance. ‘It’s really, really sad,’ she said.
‘He was taken in his travelling box, which is where he sleeps because it’s nice and dark and cool and he can fall asleep in there.
‘We’re very shocked – we just want to know that he is OK.’
Ms Davis said Rufus was reared by the family-run business, Avian Environmental Consultants.
She added: ‘We work as a team together. To have him taken away like that is just horrible.
‘It’s a family business, the birds are brought up around us. They’re part of the family. It’s just the way it is.’

Rufus this week, chasing pigeons away from Centre Court

Pigeons are not the Harris Hawk's natural prey, and they are trained not to attack but to circle and fly around the courts to scare the birds

Ms Davis said she originally thought it was a prank, but was not sure as a falconry glove and falconry hood were stolen at the same time.
‘Initially I was almost hoping that it was a prank because there was more possibility of us getting him back, and somebody would realise it was a stupid thing to do,’ she added.
‘But because the hood and the glove were taken, I’m not sure. I suppose at least it means he’s being looked after.
‘We have another hawk and we can still do our job but we would like Rufus back because we’re very fond of him.’

Bird's-eye view: Rufus even has his own pass for Wimbledon which reads: Bird Scarer

Rufus the Hawk, on Centre Court on Wednesday with handler Imogen Davis. Miss Davis is in shock after the theft and has appealed for his safe return

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘Rufus is also a family pet and the family has become very attached to the bird.
'They are distressed over the theft and are appealing for help to recover the bird.’
Rufus has become a well-known fixture at the South-West London tennis club, with visitors often stopping to ask for photos with the hawk.
He even has his own Twitter account, but there has not been a tweet for a day.
His last tweet was before Rafael Nadal’s shock exit from the tournament, when he said: ‘Murray is through, Rafa is down 2-1 (!), Ward played brilliantly but lost to Mardy Fish, and Italy are beating Germany 1-0!’



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One tough old bird: $10,000 reward for sadist who shot hawk through head with a nail gun (but failed to slow it down)

Injured: Rescuers believe someone intentionally hurt the red-tailed hawk earlier this month, and said it appeared to be in pain



A red-tailed hawk that rescuers said was shot in the head with a nail gun was recovering Sunday at a Northern California wildlife centre.

The hawk, captured in a San Francisco park by rescuers yesterday, was doing 'very well' while being cared for at the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley in San Jose, said Rebecca Dmytryk, executive director of the Monterey-based group WildRescue.

'The nail dislodged and dropped out during transport with no sign of additional trauma and no bleeding,' Ms Dmytryk said.



The juvenile bird was trapped on Saturday evening at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. It was immediately transported to the wildlife centre where specialists stayed late to receive it, Ms Dmytryk said.

WildRescue had been notified of the injured bird nearly a week ago and had tried to trap it several times last week without success.



Rescued: A wildlife rescue group captured the hawk at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Saturday



But observers got close enough to the bird to see the nail extending from its cheek through the front of its head. They said the hawk appeared to be in pain.

Ms Dmytryk's group had been using a trap called a bal-chatri, a trap made of wire mesh, to try to catch the injured hawk.

Rescuers believe someone intentionally hurt the hawk earlier this month. A reward of $10,000 has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whomever harmed the bird.

She has said that wild birds like hawks are protected, and that it's a felony to try to capture the birds without a license.



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Guy Hawks: Ospreys return to Wales for first time since the Gunpowder Plot

By EMILY HILL



Proud parents: Nora heads to the nest with a fish



With his wings outstretched and a satellite receiver on his back, Einion the osprey is unaware that he is making history –one of the first of the beautiful birds of prey to hatch in Wales for more than 400 years.



A trio of the majestic birds –named Einion, Leri and Dulas after local rivers – hatched three months ago in the Dyfi Valley, also home to their father Monty.



He has soared in the skies above the valley for two years but it was only this year that he managed to attract a mate, a female named Nora.





Spreading his wings: Einion's migration to Africa will be monitored via the transmitter on his back





After a rather hasty 16-day courtship, she laid her eggs in their nest on top of a 50ft telegraph pole.



Einion, Leri and Dulas are now fully fledged and will soon migrate 3,600 miles to spend the winter in Africa. The trip is fraught with danger for young ospreys, and only one in three lives to make the journey back to Britain.



To track their progress, the trio have been fitted with the tiny solar-powered transmitters.





Majestic: Monty rests on a branch





‘The osprey is Wales’s rarest bird and to see them take flight is a truly incredible sight,’ said Emyr Evans, of the Dyfi Osprey Project, which fitted the transmitters. ‘We hope they will fly back to us safely after spending the winter in Africa.’



Also known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, ospreys live mostly on a diet of fish and have a 6ft wingspan.



In common with other birds of prey, they had been hunted to extinction in Britain by egg-collectors and trophy-hunters.



In the Fifties, conservationists reintroduced them to parts of Britain – most notably, the birds have re-established themselves in Scotland, where there are now some 200 pairs.



There is also another breeding pair at Glaslyn, Gwynedd, North Wales. It is suspected that Monty may have been born there and that he has returned to Wales to breed.



The last reported sighting of an osprey in the Dyfi Valley came in 1604 – the year before the Gun¬powder Plot – when a Flemish engineer wrote of ‘fishy hawks’ on the Dyfi Estuary.



Since the young ospreys hatched, they have been seen by more than 40,000 birdwatchers.



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The last British bird left at Wimbledon: Rufus the hawk who's employed to put pigeons in a flap

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Hawk-eyed: Rufus starts eyeing up his surroundings as his owner Wayne Davis prepares him for duty


This is one Hawk-eye that is never wrong.

For pigeons flying around Wimbledon, Rufus, a three-year-old bird of prey, is a feathered fiend. But for fans, organisers and players alike he helps keep the place clean and prevents distractions on court.

Keeper Wayne Davis said: 'He provides more of a deterrent really, and keeps the pigeons away from court and stops them nesting rather than eating them.
'He can do though, he'd eat half a rabbit if he could.'

Rufus is a Harris hawk, a US species, and is a firm fixture around SW19, even having his own pass showing his job title: Bird Scarer.

Mr Davis, 48, and Rufus arrive every day at 5.30am and work for four hours. The hawk flies around the massive footprint of the south-west London tennis capital, keeping more timid birds at bay.

The pair then go to other jobs: keeping pigeons off Westminster Abbey and Hampton Waterworks among others.


Bird's-eye view: Rufus is a Harris Hawk and even has his own pass for Wimbledon which reads: Bird Scarer


Rufus might terrify other birds but he attracts admiring looks from tennis fans who always ask Mr Davis to stop for a picture.

Mr Davis said: 'He is very popular. People are mesmerised by birds of prey. And in this context, people are often surprised to see Rufus.

'But he's very good. I trained him to be used to people and all the things he would encounter in his work.'

Mr Davis, a father of six who has helped protect Wimbledon from pigeons since 1999, said working with Rufus is sometimes tricky. The bird, which is fitted with a radio transmitter, likes a bit of independence and sometimes flies off.


Important role: Rufus has to ensure that no birds nest and catches vermin during Wimbledon and regularly patrols Court 1


He has sometimes not returned and has stayed the night at Canary Wharf and Northampton, tempted back to domesticity with a rabbit. Recently Rufus fled to a residential garden in Wimbledon.

Mr Davis tracked the bird and had to explain on the householder's doorstep why he wanted to come in and have a look round the garden.

'It can sound a bit dubious: can I come in and look round your garden because I've lost my bird? But they were relieved when they saw him.'



High profile: Mr Davis also takes Rufus to keep pigeons away from Westminster Abbey and Hampton Waterworks


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Christine Bleakley falls about in a fit of giggles as a hawk causes mayhem in the Daybreak studio

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Whoops! Christine Bleakley was unable to control her mirth on camera after the hawk soared into the studio rafters


The old adage 'never work with children or animals' came true for Christine Bleakley on Daybreak today when she found herself face to face with a temperamental hawk.

Cressy, a four-year-old Harris Hawk who appeared on Friday's edition of the ITV1 show, is used to keep seagulls at bay in parts of Rhyl, Llandudno and Conwy and stop them from attacking people for food.

She appeared on the show in the Something Cool Before The Kids Go To School slot.


Staying put: the hawk seemed reluctant to budge and had to be coaxed down by its trainer


And while Christine, who admitted she was 'a bit scared of birds', kept her distance, Cressy initially appeared to behave herself.

But when the creature was called upon to show off her flying skills, she had other ideas.

While she seemed quite happy to fly between her trainers Mike Espley and Rob Davis, when it came to landing on Adrian Chiles' arm she opted instead to fly up into the rafters of the studio and stay there.


In a fit of giggles: A clearly amused Christine joked about how the bird running away was 'the story of Adrian's life'


On the loose: It was mayhem on the set as the bird took flight


Christine appeared unable to control her laughter and burst into hysterics on camera as Adrian registered his surprise that the hawk had flown straight past him.

'Adrian you haven't had any luck with the female dog or the female bird,' she joked. 'Story of Adrian's life, ladies and gentlemen.

'That's all I'm going to say. They tend to go running like that, although not quite up into the ceiling!'

The bird was eventually coaxed down from the rafters by its trainers and was seen sitting on Chiles' arm a few minutes later.


That's better: the hawk was finally brought down from the ceiling and perched on Adrian Chiles' arm



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