Established 1989
Specialist environmental falconry. Over 35 years of field operations.
Avian Environmental UK is led by Wayne Davis — one of the UK's most experienced operational falconers, and handler of Rufus the Hawk at Wimbledon since 1999.
Wayne Davis — operational falconer
Wayne Davis has worked with birds of prey since the age of 11. Over 35 years, that became a career delivering specialist falconry-led bird mitigation across some of the UK's most demanding environments.
Wayne created the Wimbledon Championships bird control programme in 1999, operating it for over two decades — one of the longest-running operational falconry programmes at any sporting venue in the world.
He is best known as the handler of Rufus the Hawk — the Harris's hawk who has kept pigeons off Wimbledon's courts for over two decades. Rufus has his own Wikipedia entry and has been covered by BBC News, ITV, the Los Angeles Times and Reuters.
Rufus the Hawk — Wimbledon's resident bird scarer
Rufus is a Harris's hawk employed by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to keep pigeons away from their 42-acre grounds. Described as "an important member of the Wimbledon family", he has worked the Championships and the 2012 Olympic Games. His theft in 2012 generated global media coverage — the RSPCA found him on Wimbledon Common three days later.
"Birds instinctively move away from a predator. And it works — pigeons cannot get used to a falcon, so it constantly is effective." — Wayne Davis, ITV News
What we do — and what we don't
We are not a general pest control company. Every method we use is biological deterrence — working with natural predator-prey behaviour to achieve displacement without harm. No poison. No lethal control. No permanent structure.
Pest species cannot habituate to genuine predator presence the way they habituate to spikes, netting or acoustic systems. That is why sustained falconry programmes work where other approaches have already failed.
All operations are conducted within the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.
Operational range
Primary operations: London and the South Coast. National deployment available for appropriate projects. Base: Old Lodge Farm, Brigstock, Northamptonshire.