Appeal to find hawk with 'sleigh bells' anklet

A bird owner has asked people to listen out for the 'sleigh bell' anklets attached to his harris hawk, which has not returned home for more than two weeks.

Jodeci Mcpherson, 33, has searched around Ilkeston looking for eight-month-old Ivar in the hope of getting her back home.

Mr Mcpherson flew his bird at Rutland Recreation Ground on Thursday 11 December, but he said she became intimidated by gulls and crows, sending her into "fright mode".

He said he had seen his pet since 11 December, with the last sighting at Apple Green petrol station in Derby Road, but when he has attempted to get her back, she has not returned to his glove.

"She's got bells on her anklets and they're like sleigh bells, they're very distinct, you can hear them a couple of hundred metres away with ease," he added.

Ivar is Mr Mcpherson's first bird of prey and he has trained her since buying her at sixteen weeks.

The plumber said he had gone "above and beyond" to care for her, spending hours of contact time taming her into an approachable feathered companion.

"I couldn't have asked for a more solid bird from all the manning I've done," he said.

Mr Mcpherson had ambitions of taking her to shows, presentations, and forest walks, but that has been scuppered by the flying session at the recreation ground.

"She got into a bit of bother with the gulls and the crows. They started getting on top of her and bullying her off," he said.

Ivar had consistently responded to her name, Mr Mcpherson's voice, glove and whistle call, but having acted on sightings since the incident, the owner thought some of that training had been undone.

"She sees me, I go up to the tree, I call her, and I get no response," he said.

He said he fears the hawk does not have the hunting skills to feed herself in the wild and could continue to be outmuscled by other birds.

However, Mr Mcpherson is still hopeful his bird will return to the glove, having read of harris hawks being retrieved after months away from their owner.

He has thanked people who have reported sightings and falconer friends who have used thermal image cameras and dogs to locate her.

"The response I've had has been brilliant," he said. "There's definitely hope, especially with all these new sightings."

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