A Harris Hawk believed to have been stolen from Dunnington has been found, and the owner has thanked YorkMix readers for her recovery.
We revealed that Hatty the hawk had disappeared, and asked people to keep an eye out for her.
After three nights from home, Hatty the Harris was located in a cattle shed this morning by a nearby farmer.
Owner Mike Marley has retrieved the slightly shaken Hatty, and said CCTV and a padlock will be installed on her pen from now on.
Mike released this statement on Facebook: “She’s home! She was found in a cattle shed about six miles away where she’d just made a kill on a pigeon so she had a full crop.
“She’s absolutely terrified of humans now and her feathers are smashed to bits, so something untoward has happened, but it’s all fixable.
“YorkMix news spoke to me yesterday about writing an article and putting it out on the radio station and social media.
“The farmer who found her literally Googled missing hawk and the news article with my number was the first thing to come up, so he rang me and the rest is history.”
He added: “I would like to thank everyone who rang and messaged and offered to help look for her literally dozens upon dozens of people.
“The padlock will be going on every night and new cameras will be going up.
“But more importantly the farmer will be getting a big crate of beer for re uniting me with her.
“Stay vigilant, you don’t know who’s about.”
What happened to Hatty?
Hatty the Harris was last seen on Bonfire Night (5 November), when her owner Mike Marley returned her to her pen for the night.
On Wednesday morning, he woke up to find Hatty was gone.
Mike ensures that there’s no way the Hawk would have managed to escape on her own.
He’s had Hatty for a number of months and has never had anything like this happen to her, or any previous birds, before.
On Monday evening, Mike took Hatty into his home as he believed she’d be spooked by the fireworks.
When they didn’t materialise, she was returned safely to her aviary and that was the last he saw of her.
The following morning, Mike feared the worst, assuming that the fireworks had restarted and Hatty had suffered a heart attack.
Once he realised Hatty was gone, Mike noticed that his barn owl, Betsy, was also behaving strangely.
“She was very stressed, I’ve brought her up from barely just out of her egg so she’s imprinted on me and really tame.
“She’s used to humans, but she really wasn’t happy yesterday morning.” Mike told YorkMix.
He believes this is a sign something sinister had taken place that night.
“There’s no way she could have gotten out of her pen by herself.
“It’s a really weird one as I can’t remember if the gate to her aviary was on the latch, whether it was open, or I just opened the door just because I was in a panic looking for her.
“But there’s no way she could have gotten out by herself,” Mike said.
He explained to YorkMix that Hatty is used for falconry, so it isn’t uncommon for a bird of her skillset to be taken. “It’s the same as your birds of prey, the same with your hunting dogs, they can go missing quite a lot.”
Harris Hawks have also recently increased in price this year due to a high demand and less breeding, with prices reaching up to £500.
Frantic search
Since Hatty’s disappearance, Mike has been frantically searching around Dunnington and the surrounding areas to find her.
He’s asked for people to be vigilant, and noted something to look out for.
Birds such as crows don’t like hawks, so if groups of crows attacking another bird there’s a potential it’s Hatty.
He also urges those who wish to help to keep a lookout around trees, aerials, and on top of houses.
If you believe you have seen Hatty, or have any information relating to her whereabouts, Mike has asked you to contact him directly on 07960 845846.
He also ensures to anyone worried that she’s not a danger, “she’s not aggressive towards people or dogs or cats or anything like that, so there’s nothing to worry about in that regard.
“She’ll maybe go for rabbits and squirrels but as far as family pets and people are concerned, she’s fine.”