Latest news with #falconer
BBC News
30-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Flamstead hawk finds forever home with falconer
A Harris's hawk which terrorised a village for at least a month has found a forever home with a local Bomber Harris, the hawk was captured in Flamstead, Hertfordshire, in April, and falconer Wayne Housden has been training bird of prey was blamed for attacks on about 50 people including one incident where a man was taken to Housden said the story had reached "a happy ending". After working with birds for about 30 years, he said his first priority was to stabilise his new feathered friend."He has calmed right down," said Mr Housden, who said he had spent about £1,000 building him an falconer said he would take Bomber Harris to the Flamstead Scarecrow Festival in August and aimed to let him loose in the hawk's "unusual" behaviour was likely hormonal or territorial and he was "not nasty at all", Wayne said. "I am keeping him full-time... that wasn't the plan and that isn't why I tried to catch him," he Housden said Bomber Harris - a non-native South American species - was likely a captive-bred bird that had lost its falconer. He said the dried-out leather tags on its feet suggested it had been loose for more than a had not been contacted by anyone claiming to be its owner, Mr Housden said."If I was to let someone else have him, I would have wanted to stay in contact with him," he added."He's been failed once and he is not going to be failed again and the only way that I can make sure of that is by me keeping him myself." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Flamstead Hawk update reveals he has 'calmed down'
A hawk that terrorised villagers for a month has "calmed down considerably" and is recovering at his new home since being Harris's hawk, named "Bomber", was trapped by a resident in the Hertfordshire village of Flamstead after attacking an estimated 50 people since the start of March, sometimes drawing blood and sending one man to unnamed falconer caring for the hawk provided an update on its condition from Flamstead Parish Council, saying: "There's still a bit of a journey ahead, but we're getting there.""He's a lovely little character and it's been a joy to watch him come into his own," they added. "Since being caught, he's calmed down considerably," the update said. "It's taken a lot of patience and gentle persuasion to move him away from his all-chicken diet, but he's now enjoying a much healthier, natural mix of food. "That's a big step forward for him."The hawk was still "slightly jumpy" when his carer has taken him outside on the glove, but he was flying confidently in a 30ft line. The update from Flamstead Parish Council referred to the bird as "Bomber". After he was captured his handler told the BBC he wanted to name him after Bomber Harris, the RAF commander responsible for the bombing of Dresden during World War anonymous falconer told the BBC that they had been working to capture the bird since January and it had been difficult as villagers had been feeding unusual violence was blamed on the fact he was hormonal or territorial. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
