Wimbledon has plenty of familiar sights when the Championships arrive, from packed Centre Court stands to strawberries and cream. But long before the crowds settle in, one of the All England Club’s most experienced regulars is already at work.Rufus, a Harris’s hawk, has been making his way around the grounds for 18 years, although his job is rather different from that of the tennis stars who follow him.
Rufus starts work before the players arrive
Rufus’s job is to keep pigeons away from the All England Club so they do not disrupt play or cause problems around the grounds.His career at Wimbledon began after his handler, Donna Davis, noticed pigeons interrupting the 1999 final between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. She contacted Wimbledon and was invited to bring her previous hawk, Hamish, to the club to demonstrate what a bird of prey could do.Rufus eventually took over the role and has been doing it since 2008, when he was just 18 weeks old.His working day starts remarkably early during the Championships, with Davis and Rufus arriving at around 04:00 BST, when the birds he is there to deter are becoming active.“Generally, we start off in court number one to make sure that any pigeons that may have gone under the roof and in any little nooks and crannies, he goes and flies up there to make sure nothing’s about,” Davis told the BBC.“Occasionally there is one, and there’ll be a little chase and the pigeon’s out.”Rufus can spend hours flying around the site, checking the rooftops and other areas where pigeons might settle. Davis said he can disappear for as long as 12 hours during the Championships.If the previous night’s rain has left water on the court roof, Rufus has even been known to take a bath in a puddle before getting back to work.“He is his playground, I mean, he pretty much fledged here at 18 weeks old,” Davis said.The bird has also become something of a celebrity among spectators. Davis said fans regularly recognise him during the tournament and want to stop for a look.“Everybody wants to stop and see Rufus, and it’s so lovely,” she said.“I feel very privileged to be here and fly my beautiful bird, and he comes back.”Wimbledon is not Rufus’s only workplace, either. He also performs the same role at Lord’s Cricket Ground and Westminster Abbey, making him one of the more unusual and well-travelled pest-control workers in British sport.
The Wimbledon hawk even survived a kidnapping
Rufus’s long career has included one incident considerably more dramatic than chasing pigeons.In 2012, the hawk was stolen overnight from Davis’s van while it was parked at the Wimbledon grounds. His disappearance prompted a frantic search involving the club, the press and a rescue centre in south London.Rufus was eventually found safe, and the following morning he made the front page of The Times under the headline “Rufus is back.”It was a remarkable level of attention for a bird whose normal responsibility was simply to make sure pigeons stayed away from the tennis courts.And despite the rise of technology, Rufus’s position at Wimbledon does not appear to be under immediate threat.The Times has reported on the possibility of using drones and AI-based detection systems to tackle pigeon problems, with some venues already experimenting with technology that can identify flocks and react to them. In theory, such systems could offer a more automated and efficient way of keeping birds away from sporting venues.For now, though, Wimbledon has no plans to replace its feathered employee. And there is something fitting about that. Rufus is not simply a practical solution to a pigeon problem; he has become part of the character of the tournament, with fans stopping to see him and his daily patrols adding a little bit of Wimbledon tradition that a drone could hardly replicate.That familiar presence could remain around for quite some time, too. Harris’s hawks can live into their 30s, meaning Rufus could potentially have many more summers at Wimbledon ahead of him. While technology may offer efficiency, the sight of Rufus quietly doing his rounds is rather harder to put a value on.
