Escaped Harris's hawk spotted in Poole

Gloria the Harris's hawk escaped from Moors Valley and was spotted in Melbury Avenue in Poole, resting for more than two hours on a windowsill.

Gloria was first reported missing on Sunday, July 2.

Dubbed “the naughty madam”, it was not the first time the eight-year-old bird had escaped its enclosure.

Gloria is used for pest control; she has previously spread her wings at Southampton Hospital, scaring pigeons and seagulls nesting on the roof.

John Oliver, the proprietor of Hawks in the Forest, said: “We just keep an eye on her, to try and get her back. It's a bit of a waiting game here because what we do with our hawks, mostly through the summer, is keep them in their aviary.”

He added: “You give them as much food as they can so they can change all their feathers, because that's what they need to do. Because the feathers get warm and get damaged when it works over the winter. So, in the summer, we feed them up.”

Mark Bustow, a nearby neighbour to the hawk sighting, said: “I was in a meeting on a Team’s call, and I just looked out the window and there was this massive bird thing. It was interesting. I was like, why is there a bird of prey in Poole?

“There are lots of places with solar panels on the roof and apparently the hawk knows that pigeons and seagulls’ nest under solar panels. Pigeons were also flying around, trying to drive it away because they know it's a bird prey and therefore their nests would be at a risk.”

“The hawk was watching out and going towards the panels to try and drive out maybe a baby bird or something, and of course, all those seagulls.”

Harris's hawks are usually found in America, also known as the bay-winged hawk.

They are also notable for their behaviour of hunting cooperatively in packs consisting of tolerant groups. They live on forest edges, cultivated fields, and grasslands where they eat mainly birds and small mammals.

Gloria has since been reunited with her owner and returned home safe.