“The hawk is basically a free spirit and I have to work with it.” Meet RufusTheHawk and handler Wayne Davis, who keep Wimbledon pigeon-free for Ons_Jabeur, Elena Rybakina and fellow competitors.
The emerald grass courts were glistening with dew Monday morning as Rufus the hawk made a big circle, then — like a fighter jet descending on an aircraft carrier — swooped down for a perfect landing on the gloved hand of Wayne Davis.
Every morning, from 5 to 9, before thousands of spectators enter and play gets underway, the beloved Harris’ hawk flies over the world’s most manicured tennis courts and keeps the pesky nuisance birds away.“There were loads of pigeons when we started and we sorted that problem out,” said Davis, 59, from Corby in Northamptonshire, a 2½-hour drive north of London. “It’s more of a preventative thing now.
Rufus is fitted with hawk bells, which tinkle like distant sleigh bells when he’s in the vicinity — you can hear him before you see him — and a tiny GPS tracking device that allows Davis to find him on his phone. Indeed, Rufus is no corgi, but he and and Davis clearly have an understanding. While others watch from a safe distance — it’s quite something when those big wings start flapping — Davis is comfortable enough to get nose-to-beak with Rufus. With affection.
For Davis, his love of falconry and ornithology began when he was a child. At 11, he got his first kestrel, bigger than a songbird, smaller than most other birds of prey. That grew into a family business in which hawks and falcons are used to clear airfields for safety, the exteriors of food manufacturing plants, iconic locations such as Westminster Abbey, and for the last 22 years, Wimbledon.
This isn’t just a once-a-year routine for Wimbledon. Davis and his birds visit the club multiple times per week throughout the year, sometimes working in the afternoon and evening. The key is consistency and letting the pigeons know the threat is real.
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