Harris Hawks at Trafalgar

Sunday, Sept.29'13

 Pigeons and gulls can be a nuisance at Trafalgar Square in London. A bird control firm had a display of Harris Hawks during my visit to Trafalgar Square. It specializes in controlling nuisance birds.

Harris Hawks have a range which extends from southwestern United States to Chile and Argentina. They are unique among raptors because they hunt in packs. Therefore, their hunting technique is similar to the co-operative fishing technique of Red-breasted Mergansers in northwestern Canada in rivers near my village.

I asked the hawk handler at Trafalgar, "How do you keep them coming back after you let them go?" "Every day we weight the bird and their food," he replied. In other words, I suppose the hawks are kept hungary. As a result, the hawks keep coming back for an easy meal.

Falconers call Harris Hawks 'beginner birds'. Why? They are inexpensive and widely available. Some beginners, however, give up on them. Then the hawks go free. As a consequence, some have formed flocks far outside their natural range (Wikipedia).

A giant blue sculpture of a rooster or cockerel stands over the square. The major of London unveiled it on July 25'13 (theguardian, http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2013/jul/25/boris-johnson-fourth-plinth-trafalgar-square-video). A female German artist created it as a symbol of masculinity where statues of famous generals and admirals from the colonial era stand. Brazen thing for her to do considering it could be interpreted as a provocative statement about colonialism and the Queen owns the square! Ironically, one of the Harris Hawks landed on the comb of the rooster's head. Then it sat there for a few minutes.






I would wear leather gloves on both hands!




Location: Trafalgar Square, Westminster, London WC2N 5DN, UK

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