Falcon controls hospital pigeons

Stephen Sanders and his falcon Archie are taking on feral pigeons

Pigeon mess can be an annoying problem for many businesses, even more so when your place of work is a huge hospital.

Stephen Sanders and his Harris Hawk, Archie have stepped in to deal with the problem at the Leicester General.

The bird of prey is released to fly around the building in an attempt to scare off the feathered pests.

The pair have been working on the site since August 2008, but Stephen believes they have already made a marked difference.

Deter not kill

Stephen is keen to stress that they are not acting to kill the pigeons but deter them.

"We want them to fly the other way and off the site, which they have done."

He believes most birds should respond to Archie as a predator, even if they have not seen a Harris hawk before.

"The main problem we find at this hospital is that they're at the centre of the hospital where all the roof spaces are. "

To get to the birds Stephen often has to stand on the roof of the canteen and target the pigeons with tactical moves.

"Because it's an old hospital, trying to get to an ideal flying spot is really difficult, so we just have to make do with what we've got."

Archie does not kill the pigeons but flies around to scare them off

Archie is not attached to his keeper, so there is always a fear he may disappear, but a promise of chicken legs has kept him loyal so far, and a tracker is attached for back-up.

Patients, visitors and staff are often surprised to see the unusual sight of a man walking round hospital grounds with a bird of prey on his arm.

However the falconer says he is always happy to answer questions about Archie and the job he fulfils.

"They're not aggressive to people. He's quite chilled, quite laid back"

Stephen has a number of birds, and in the past has worked on a landfill site with a falcon, scaring away seagulls.

"The falcon's quite capable of taking out a black-backed seagull. He's big enough for that, if he's in a stoop at 50 miles per hour.

He also performs falconry and static displays at various events.