Birds of a feather flock together -- and a falcon a day, scares them away

Published June 9, 2009
By Karen Abeyasekere
100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

RAF MILDENHALL, England -- "But I'm right-handed," I said to Keith Mutton (aka 'The Bird Man') as he handed me a left-handed leather glove (or gauntlet, as it used to be known). "Ahh," he said. "Bird on the left hand, sword in the right hand - that's how it was in medieval times, so that's the way we do it now." (Minus the sword, obviously...)

So there I was (for my third "Karen A. picks up the gauntlet" assignment, as it's now known - and very appropriate in this instance), wearing a huge leather glove, standing by the flightline with a very large eagle owl perched on my hand and my trusty sidekick, Staff Sgt. Jerry Fleshman, taking photos.

Every so often, the owl twizzled her head around to watch a jet taxiing along the runway, flapping her feathers out to their 5-feet wingspan, and blinking her amazing, huge orange eyes.

Though pretty big at (literally) arm's length away, Twinkle the owl weighs just 7 pounds - a mere 'featherweight'... But what she lacks in weight, she more than makes up for in stealth, sharp beak and claws.

At 20 years old, Twinkle is one of the oldest of the birds of prey owned by Mr. Mutton, owner of Phoenix Bird Control, contracted to patrol the runways of RAFs Mildenhall and Lakenheath 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Twelve people work for the company, and between them cover RAFs Mildenhall, Lakenheath and Fairford, as well as Manas Air Base, Kyrgystan.

Twinkle was bred specifically for the bird control program, and though Phoenix does have a breeding program for the birds of prey, many are bought from known and trusted specialist breeders.

In her position as resident night owl, Twinkle's main job is keeping the runways at RAF Lakenheath clear of nuisance birds, such as gulls or lapwings, who try to roost on the warm asphalt during the hours of darkness. Though she sometimes patrols at RAF Mildenhall, it's usually the other birds of prey that keep the runways clear here.

Each employee is responsible for his or her own birds. Mr. Mutton has more than 20, which include owls, Harris hawks and falcons. Some are regularly used on the airfield, some used for displays and factory work, while others are breeding birds.

Alan Marenghi, Mr. Mutton's step-son, owns three falcons and two hawks and is also one of the regular bird control specialists working at RAF Mildenhall.

Keith has worked in bird control at RAFs Mildenhall and Lakenheath for 35 years, and has owned his business since 1997. He's been a falconer for 42 years.

"I began at 8 years old," he said. "Around that age I also had pigeons as pets; as far as I can remember, I've always had an interest in wildlife and birds. I can remember wanting to be a falconer at a very early age - around 7 years old. It seemed quite natural, and the interest became deeper as I grew up. I can't imagine ever doing anything else."

With their trusty Harris hawks, Lanner and Peregrine falcons and Eagle owls on hand, Keith and his team spend their time racing up and down the runway (when it's clear of aircraft), scaring the flocks of birds posing a hazard to incoming and outgoing planes.

"Bird control is essential to all airports and airfields, because of the hazard that birds and other wildlife present to aircraft," said Mr. Mutton. "I like to think we make a very positive contribution to flight safety at (RAF) Mildenhall and the other bases we work at, and this is reflected in a very low number of damaging bird strikes."

Bird strikes can cause catastrophic damage to aircraft as well as lost lives. They can also cost the U.S. Air Force millions of dollars if and when they happen. Having the bird control helps prevent them.

The majority of the birds are imprinted (hand-reared) and arrive with the bird control specialists when they are about 10 days old.

"You can actually start training them when they are still inside the egg, by using a whistle," said Alan. "From about 10 days old, once it's established that the chicks are healthy, they go everywhere with you - home, work, in the car or van, and on the flightline to get used to the aircraft - in a plastic box. That way they can see everything, they get used to your children, dogs, the other birds, and aircraft. When they eat, food is placed in the box and you blow a whistle, so they get to associate the sound with food."

Once the young birds start flying, the handlers pick a quiet time to let them stretch their wings.

Alan explained that every stage of their development takes place on the airfield, so the birds come to look at it as their territory.

"Next, we get them used to flying from the vehicle, then chasing birds, which is their natural instinct," he said. "Most birds are trained primarily to scare rather than kill; then they come back to the vehicle and get rewarded with food."

Doing this means the birds of prey can cover a long distance rapidly, thereby getting rid of the flocks quickly, so aircraft don't get a stray bird in an engine, causing untold damage.

I had the opportunity to travel with Alan in his van when he patrolled the runway one afternoon, with Flora, a Peregrine/Lanner-cross falcon. As she constantly swooped in and out of the vehicle to chase birds and returned to get her treat, I took photos.

It has to be said, travelling in that van with him and Flora, perched next to the steering wheel (Flora, that is - not me), was a pretty surreal experience. It was pretty comical, as she sat near the dashboard while looking out of the windscreen to see where she was going; it seemed like she was really concentrating as she looked around the airfield, occasionally turning around to give me a dirty look and a quick screech, as if to ask me what the heck I was doing in her vehicle.

Something else I got to experience was having Lancaster, a male Harris hawk, fly to my hand.

I had to hold a piece of food (it was pretty gross - I won't go into further detail - but thank goodness I had a glove on my hand.) and after flying off Keith's hand to fly some distance away, Mr. Mutton whistled. When I stretched out my arm and held up the food, the bird flew to my hand, gobbled up the treat and took off again.

Just so you know, the urge to duck is quite strong when you have a falcon flying towards you at high speed, claws outstretched ready to grab its food. You just get the feeling it's going to miss the food and land on your head instead. And, when your trusty sidekick is standing there laughing at you (but not actually volunteering to have a go himself) - well, it's just not on.

Keith explained that most of the falcons can fly up to 40 mph in a straight line, and can dive up to 180 mph (I think that makes my ducking completely acceptable.) Peregrine falcons are the fastest moving creature on earth, and can stoop (dive) at up to 200 mph.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience up close exactly what these birds can do, and understand more about the vital role they play at RAF Mildenhall and other bases.

Now, I'm off to look for more 'gauntlets' to pick up.