Wimbledon in a flap ‘bird scarer’

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.
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.
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.'