A stunned resident has revealed how he has been attacked no less than three times by a pesky bird of prey that has brought havoc to a quiet Home Counties village.
Scores have caught sight of a Harris’s hawk that has evaded capture in Flamstead, Hertfordshire – which has a population of just 1,400 people – since November.
The South American bird of prey has been divebombing villagers – with ‘tall men’ said to be particularly at risk. At least 12 have reported head wounds caused by the feathery devil.
Among them is Graeme Elliot, who told MailOnline that the hawk has swooped on him twice – and missed once – in just the last seven days.
On both occasions, he recalls feeling ‘a massive thud’ to the back of his head, with the bird’s talons drawing blood from his scalp.
The bird, which is roughly double the size of a common pigeon, has even been credited with causing an upsurge in requests for tetanus jabs at a local doctor’s surgery.
Graeme, who is standing as a Hertfordshire county councillor for Bridgewater, revealed how the first attack happened last Tuesday afternoon while he was out canvassing with his colleagues, before he was struck again just two days later.
‘I felt a massive thud on the back of my head, and I thought what is that?’ recalled Graeme. ‘And then I just saw a bird swoop past me.
Scores have caught sight of a Harris’s hawk that has been evading capture in Flamstead, Hertfordshire, since November
The South American bird of prey has been divebombing villagers – with ‘tall men’ said to be particularly at risk
Graeme Elliot, who is standing as a Hertfordshire county councillor for Bridgewater, told MailOnline he was attacked three times in the last week by the hawk
‘I put my hand on my head, and I thought, “Oh, there’s blood!”
‘And I shouted at my wife who was out canvassing with me and she thought I was mad, because she hadn’t seen it.’
But Graeme was able to confirm he was indeed attacked by the bird of prey when minutes later he was speaking to a nearby resident.
‘He told me he had his hat taken [by the hawk] and he was quite an elderly man. He was probably in his 90s and lives in the same street.
‘Then on the Thursday, two days later, I was out canvassing once more and it got me again. The second attack was heavier and it drew more blood.
‘I looked at it, and it was just sitting on a telegraph pole. I thought, “there you are, looking at me.”
‘My colleague got swooped on as well, but it missed him. Then it tried again with me and missed. So it got me twice and missed once.
‘Another resident I spoke to who worked in the local doctor’s surgery said that there’d been a lot of people coming in for tetanus jabs because of that bird.
Flamstead is a quintessential English village off the M1 near Luton with two pubs, a primary school and a church
The hawk has been credited with attacking at least 12 people – and an upsurge in requests for tetanus shots at a local medical centre
The Flamstead hawk has jesses hanging from its legs – leather straps used to tie birds of prey to posts
Barbara Royle, of the Independent Bird Register said: ‘This type of bird doesn’t have to have a ring because it’s an American species, so it will have been bred in this country’
‘It’s causing a bit of a controversy around here, because you’re walking around just thinking where do I look in case it comes back again?
‘I played rugby for 30 years and I don’t think I ever got a bang on the head like that!’
Graeme said he had been shown photographs by residents around the village of men with the backs of their necks scratched by the bird, which has become ‘quite a talking point.’
He added: ‘I don’t think anybody’s heard of Flamstead- but they have now.’
Rumours have abounded as to where the bird – a native of Brazil, Argentina, Chile and parts of the southwestern United States – may have originated from, with experts saying it could have escaped from a private owner.
Whipsnade Zoo, which is just a few miles away from where the bird has set up home, has confirmed the medium-large hawk, which feeds on squirrels and rabbits as well as lizards and snakes in its natural habitat, is not one of theirs.
Graeme added: ‘There‘s rumors that it may have been maltreated and that is why it is attacking people.
‘They’re not normally meant to be aggressive to humans from what I hear.
Local Roy Lambden was attacked on March 2 and later realised he had caught the incident on a CCTV security system at his house
CCTV shows the moment Mr Lambden was walking in the street – before the hawk swooped down and attacked him on the head
Mr Lambden can be seen cowering in pain after the hawk injured his head with its talons
‘I’m hoping the bird is captured alive and looked after. It’s just doing what it does naturally, I would think. I wouldn’t want somebody to shoot it.’
Local Roy Lambden has also had a close encounter with the hawk.
He was attacked on March 2 and realised afterwards that the incident had been caught on a CCTV security system at his house.
‘It attacks from behind and you’re surprised, you suddenly get a whack on the head – a number of people get their heads cut,’ the 68-year-old said.
Confirming the bird had been around for some time but had only become aggressive ‘over the last week or so’, he added: ‘Someone working in my garden got attacked twice and another friend of mine got cut on the head. It’s moving around the village.
‘It’s just a big surprise when this thing hits you from behind. It got me from behind and cut me on the top of the head. It’s a big shock when it happens. It’s out of the blue.
‘The falconer has been down. He’s putting humane traps down to try and catch it.
‘Some people are frightened. It’s cut about a dozen people’s heads. It did mine last Sunday [Sunday before last]. I was one of the early ones.
Gordon Riley, 69, who lives in the village and is retired, has kept all sorts of birds, including parakeets, and feels he has some understanding for the hawk after it swooped on him
Len D’Silva, aged in his 50s, was out walking his dog Jenga and was wearing a bright orange hat to frighten away the hawk from swooping down on him
‘A lot of people in Flamstead are worried about him attacking them, mainly men,’ said one local
‘The general view is that they are going to try to trap it humanely and find a new home for it.
‘People would like it to be saved and looked after.’
Barbara Royle, of the Independent Bird Register which operates a nationwide database for lost, stolen and found birds of prey, said: ‘No one’s reported it missing to me. It’s been around for a long time and it’s been advertised on social media, but still no one’s come forward.
‘This type of bird doesn’t have to have a ring because it’s an American species, so it will have been bred in this country. Any European birds must have rings.
‘It’s the most common falconry bird (in the UK), so it could have escaped from a home or aviary.
‘I’ve been trying to figure out why [it’s been attacking people]. It is fairly unusual for it to suddenly start doing this.
‘It’s the start of the breeding season. I’m not saying it thinks men are mates but they do get territorial.
‘It won’t be for food. It was being fed by residents and we’ve asked them to stop as it’s hunting for itself.
The hawk is said to have a preference for tall men when attacking. Pictured: Husband of resident Jess Mclaughlin, who was attacked by the hawk
‘It’s not frightened. It knows exactly what it’s doing.’
Mr Lambden said a falconer from the neighbouring village of Markyate had offered to attempt to catch the bird with a ‘humane trap’.
‘Local falconers are talking to people, working behind the scenes to get it back to its home,’ he added.
The local falconer, who did not want to be identified, said: ‘I have been trying to get it since it started hurting people.
‘I was all for leaving alone when I first heard about it. The last time I did it [catch a domesticated hawk] it had been eating someone’s pheasants. Trying to catch a bird is hard.
‘People are feeding this one and it’s making it harder for me. It’s having the opposite effect. If they didn’t feed it it would go off into the woods and hunt for itself. It’s hanging in the village now and has made its home in the village.
‘It’s started to nest because it wants to find a mate. But it won’t because there aren’t any mates to find.
‘It’s attacking people. It is warning them to get away from where it’s setting up home.
The hawk has become a ‘talking point’ around the quintessential village in Hertfordshire
‘They normally attack the back of heads because they’re cowards. They won’t attack you in the face.
‘He’s probably something like 1lb 10 oz. He’s about four or five [years old]. Someone has been flying him.
‘I would chase my bird to the end of the earth if they got away, but this person isn’t going to come for it now because it’s hurting people. They’ll probably declare themselves once he’s caught.
‘I want to find him a home with someone who’s going to look after him.
‘I would not fly a bird without telemetry [tracking system]. It’s cruel.
‘Anyone can go and buy these birds. It’s ridiculous isn’t it. People just sell them. It’s money for them. People shouldn’t have a bird if they don’t know how to look after it.’
Gordon Riley, 69, who lives in the village and is retired, has kept all sorts of birds, including parakeets, and feels he has some understanding for the hawk after it swooped on him.
Mr Riley, who used to work for Vauxhall, said: ‘I was walking down the road and it swooped down.
‘I just felt it was looking for food because it has not been eating any food.
‘I could feel it on the back of my neck. If I had had my arm out it would have landed on that.
‘It has even attacked a dog. One of those pug-type of dogs, but the owner scared it away.
‘It comes from behind. It just wants to land on your arm. I saw it has a ring and two leather straps on its legs.
‘It’s a tame one, escaped from somewhere.
‘You can’t hear it until it is actually on top of you. It just sweeps from behind.
‘Some people in the village have been feeding it. There’s a family at the top of the village that’s been throwing food out.’
Len D’Silva, in his 50s, was seen donning a bright orange hat while out walking his dog Jenga.
Mr D’Silva said: ‘My wife texted me this morning and said that if I was going out I should wear a hat today.
‘It’s been in the village for over a week now.
‘I’m worried about me and the dog. It looks like it’s only going for me at the moment. A lot of people in Flamstead are worried about him attacking them, mainly men.’
Flamstead is a quintessential English village off the M1 near Luton with two pubs, a primary school and church.
Men in the village have reported leaving home with their hats on for fear of being attacked by the hawk who is nesting in the hope of finding a mate.
There are believed to be thousands of Harris’s hawks in the UK, the vast majority kept inside at homes and zoos, although some are known to have escaped and started living in the wild.
The Flamstead hawk has jesses hanging from its legs – leather straps used to tie birds of prey to posts.
It’s large dark wings flap slowly as it flies before swooping again over people’s back gardens.
Whipsnade Zoo said: ‘Birds of prey aren’t actively hostile towards humans but may attack if provoked or if they feel threatened if a person gets too close. We do not recommend feeding birds of prey.’
The birds, which have a wingspan of up to 4ft, normally hunt in packs in the wild. Females are as much as a third larger than males.
They can live up to 12 years wild or 25 years in captivity and their preferred habitat is sparse woodland and semi-desert or marshes.
Their high intelligence has made them popular for falconry, with trained birds used to remove unwanted pigeon populations from Trafalgar Square and tennis courts at Wimbledon.
