Among the thousands of employees and contractors who work tirelessly to bring the Championships to life every year, there are also a few unconventional characters. One of them certainly is Rufus, an 11-year-old male hawk whose job is to keep pigeons away from the immaculate lawns of the All England Club, especially the perfectly manicured Centre Court and Court n.1.
“His job takes place mainly on the show courts, as the roof and all the covers represent potential hiding and nesting places for pigeons and we need to keep those birds away to protect the grass”- says Imogen Davis, a “falconist” who has been working with Rufus since he was 16 weeks old who is involved in her family’s business of “operating” with hawks and falcons for commercial purposes. By now she is recognized by the animal as part of his “pack” and represents by far his easiest source of food. “His predator’s skills are mainly instinctive, it is not possible to train him like with other types of animals. He usually comes back to me because I am the easiest way for him to get food and also because hawks are social predators, and he likes to come back to the members of his pack to show what he has done”.
Rufus weighs slightly over a pound and his diet consists mainly of proteins such as chickens, quails, rabbits, or the pigeons he hunts down. He can be considered to be in his primes since his life expectancy is around 25 years.
“His job takes place normally between 5 and 9 am when he flies around Centre Court and the rest of the grounds, and then there is a second flying session in the evening – explains Imogen – This year he has been quite busy with all the new constructions brought in by the works for the roof on Court n.1 which have provided many more potential nesting places for pigeons. During the Championships Rufus is working alone, while during the year there is another “colleague” of his, Pollocks, who will probably be brought in full-time next year when the roof on Court n.1 is operation and there will be more places to patrol”.
