Harris hawk Squeaker visits the school once a
week to scare away seagulls
A school is using a Harris hawk to try to stop
seagulls stealing food from pupils on their lunch break.
The bird of prey, named Squeaker, visits the
Tollbar Academy in Grimsby once a week with its handler to try to scare the
gulls away.
The scheme started last month after a flock of
seagulls began to congregate in the playground during lunchtime.
The school said the hawk did not attack the
seagulls and was being used only as a deterrent.
Tollbar Academy's principal Stephen Moon said
the school was forced to act because of the large amount of droppings left by
the seagulls in the playground.
Harris hawks are
unique among raptors for hunting in family groups, allowing them to capture
larger prey than would otherwise be possible
These birds of prey are not native to the UK but
are kept by falconers for pest control - although occasional escapees are seen
In the wild, the Harris hawk is found from the
US southwest to Chile and Argentina
A Harris hawk used to scare away pigeons at
Wimbledon was reported stolen during the
2012 tournament - but later returned
"There's not much food on the floor,"
he said.
"But because the seagulls are hungry they
want to see if there is anything at all they can have."
"It is the droppings that are the main
problem."
Ben, a student at the school, said the seagulls
had dropped their mess on him "a couple of times".
"I can tell you it's not a great moment to
be honest, especially when all your friends are around," he said.
"It's not safe really either. Have you seen
the size of these seagulls?
"They come diving in at head height."
No comments:
Post a Comment