Express & Star

Peter Rhodes on hawking, cold homes and making money out of death

People in the Hertfordshire village of Flamstead live in fear of a large hawk which dives at people, sometimes inflicting head wounds. You would think any bird, even a big one, would stay well away from a creature as large as a human. Not so.

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I once spent a memorable day at a falconry centre with a spaniel, two ferrets and a pair of Harris's hawks. 

A photo of the event shows me and a hawk both looking intently into a spinney. 

The hawk is sitting on my head which was thankfully protected by a tweed hat. As far as this fearless predator was concerned, the human's head was simply a useful perch.