Hawks keep £14m railway station repairs on track

Two Harris hawks put in two shifts a week at Scarborough station preventing birds nesting

Two so-called "winged sentries" have been employed to ensure a £14m project to improve a Grade II listed railway station is completed on time.

The roof renovation at Scarborough station is due to be finished by next March and two Harris hawks have been taken on to discourage other birds aiming to use it for nesting and laying eggs.

Network Rail said Maverick and Lily patrolled the site for an hour each visit, keeping gulls and crows from settling on the soon-to-be-replaced roof.

Aiden How, the hawks' handler, said: "Flying birds of prey over the station roof deters the gulls from wanting to nest there, as they see them as a threat and so will look at other locations in which to breed."

A Network Rail spokesperson said the hawks were kept "under close control", only eating pre-made food from their keeper.

The arrival of the raptors always "provokes a lively response from the surrounding birds", Network Rail said

Mr How, from Rentokil, said: "With it being the breeding season for gulls right now, we're using birds of prey as a natural form of pest control."

Maverick "knows when he's on site and he's ready to go pretty much as soon as he comes out of the van," he explained.

"He knows he's off to work and he's rewarded with food, so it means dinner time."

Network Rail said the Scarborough station scheme would also see improvements to the ticket office and the waiting room

Network Rail said the work being carried out at Scarborough Railway Station would preserve the building's character.

The construction work would include a full repair of the roof, drainage upgrades and restoration of exterior stonework.

Ann Shannon, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said the roofing project would make "a massive difference to this historical station".

However, she said nesting birds could mean work having to stop work "during the critical summer months", which would incur "phenomenal" costs.

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