Rufus the hawk working overtime to outsmart Wimbledon’s pigeons
RUFUS the hawk, Wimbledon’s resident bird-of-prey, has double the work this year because of the new £70 million roof on No 1 Court, his handler has said.
Rufus has patrolled the skies over the All England Lawn Tennis Club for 10 years, keeping pigeons away from summer matches.
But the partially built roof on No 1 Court – on which work started last year and which will be fully retractable once finished next year – has given the pigeons a new range of hiding spots to roost and lay eggs.
Imogen Davis, a hawk handler who has cared for Rufus since he was a chick said: “He’s not been used to having that enclosed area, it’s meant there are a lot more places for pigeons to roost,” she said. “He used to know the area perfectly, but now there’s all these new crevices for pigeons to hide in. Ms Davis, who helps to run her family bird-handling business in Northamptonshire, added: “It feels very different in that court No1 has been added into his daily repertoire, which wasn’t as frequent before. It does mean more work, indeed … it’s practically doubled the work.”
It also means that Wimbledon officials will have to enact a “double action” plan for next year’s tournament, with Pollux, Rufus’s junior hawk apprentice stepping up to full-time duties.
The new roof on No 1 Court will allow competitors to play in rain and into the night, as players on Centre Court have been able to do since 2009.
Rufus, a Harris hawk native to central America, is also employed to scare pigeons away at Westminster Abbey, Northampton Saints rugby ground and Fulham Football Club.