Ferocious hawk attacking villagers and disrupting mail delivery | National

By Faye Mayern

A hawk that has terrorized village residents for weeks by dive-bombing and leaving them bloodied is now disrupting the mail.

Royal Mail has confirmed that while it was continuing to operate in Flamstead, Herts, some deliveries had been disrupted.

The Harris hawk – a medium-large bird of prey – has attacked more than 50 villagers over several weeks and is facing euthanasia, the council has warned.

Locals have spoken of how the ‘aggressive’ hawk has left them bleeding and with scratches after it launched aerial pursuits on the men of the village.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We can confirm we continue to deliver to the area, however, there are a number of addresses where deliveries have been disrupted.”

Tim Parsons, chairman of Flamstead parish council near St Albans, Herts, said that a verdict on euthanizing the hawk would be based on whether police deemed it a “threat to life”.

It comes despite a falconer being “extremely close” to catching the bird.

He said: “We want the hawk to be caught safely and we need people to stop feeding it so that the falconer can catch it.

“We think people are still feeding it because our falconer hasn’t been able to catch it yet.

“A decision will be made by the police [on euthanizing] the bird if it is deemed a threat to life, but it is not a parish council decision, we are just reporting the updates we are given.”

One of the victims is six foot-four retiree Roy Lambden, 68, who was putting his bins when he was attacked earlier this month.

Roy said he was “left bleeding” and with “scratches” on the back of his head after the bird of prey, believed to be a Harris hawk, swooped down and nicked him.

He said: “I had no idea what had hit me, it was a total surprise.

“I had just gone outside to take the bins out and all of a sudden there was a big crash on the back off my head.

“It was only when I looked up and saw a bird flying away when I had realized what had happened.”

The hawk is still roaming the skies above Flamstead as of this week (March 28).

The Independent Bird Registry has suggested that the bird could be trying to mate, explaining the attacks on men.

A spokesperson said: “It may be that the bird was hand-reared when a chick and is now coming into breeding condition so looking for a mate (a human).

“We have concluded that it is not because she is hungry.

“I would advise that residents do not feed her as I am told someone is, which prevents her coming to a falconer for food making it easier to recover her.”

The spokesperson asked residents to refrain from “shooting” the bird.

Harris Hawks are not native to the UK originating from South American countries like Chile and Argentina.