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1 day ago
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A hawk which has been terrorising male residents of a Hertfordshire village for weeks has been captured by a local man after it stalked him through the village while he was jogging.
Dozens of villagers in Flamstead, near Luton, have reported being attacked from behind by the bird, identified as a Harris hawk, with some left bleeding and in at least one case requiring hospital treatment.
Tall men in particular have reported being swooped at and clawed for more than a month, leading many to start wearing hats or even cycling helmets when outside. Villagers became more concerned when the bird attacked an 11-year-old boy earlier this week, and someone reported it swooping at other children walking home from school.
Steve Harris, 40, said he caught the hawk on Thursday after it followed him on his daily jog before landing in his garden.
Determined to stop the attacks after weeks of being forced to wear a cycling helmet while out running, he had finally managed it, he said, by clambering onto his shed and throwing a cage over the bird. He had previously tried to lure it into a cage with some chicken, but without success.
“I had just been out on a run . It was following me for a mile, hopping along all the telegraph poles,” he said. “It came into the garden, and I was holding the cage above my head. Eventually it sat in the shed, squawking at me.”
Harris, a physiotherapist and father of two, said he hadn’t allowed his children to play in the garden for weeks because the bird would often perch in their tree. “We’re about to pick the kids up from school. They’re going to be delighted they can go into the garden.
“It feels strange, a bit of a relief. We’ve all just wanted to get it caught. I think I’ll be able to keep my wallet in my pocket next time I go to the pub.”
Paul Boyes, a gardener and handyman who was attacked twice by the bird, said: “I think the reaction for most people is that the guy that caught it should be given the freedom of the village.
“Everybody’s over the moon that he hasn’t been shot,” he said, after the local parish council, which had employed a falconer to try to capture it, said the bird might have to be euthanised.
The village has been abuzz for weeks with discussion about the bird, which would sit brazenly on top of telegraph poles and rooftops, said Boyes, watching him as he worked in local gardens. He donned a fedora after the first attack, but a rumour that the bird had been caught several weeks ago led him to abandon it, after which he was attacked again.
“It really did hurt when it hit you,” he said. “It comes up behind you, and its talons got me in the back of the head, and its other ones came round the front and got me on my forehead.” The frequency of attacks had increased to three a day or more recently, he said. “It was getting to the stage where actually this is getting really serious, so it’s fortunate he’s been caught.”
Asked why villagers believed they had been targeted by the bird, he said: “Well, everybody’s a Google expert now, we’ve all Googled hawks and we all know everything about Harris hawks. There’s a theory that it has been building a nest and it’s fending off males, but we need to find out from the falconer whether it’s actually a male or female.”
Jim Hewitt, 75, who was treated in hospital after being clawed as he walked to the village shop on Wednesday said he was delighted it had been caught. “I had to be careful and cautious. The sensible thing was to drive to the shop, but I won’t get beaten by a poxy bird,” he said.
