Emu, a very handsome nine-year-old male harris hawk, is sitting on the roof of a flatbed truck in Eaton Square, London. Although the driver can't often have seen a bird of prey sitting on his truck, he is not at all amused. In fact he is glaring at the bird with considerable antagonism. Emu takes the hint and flies back across the road to handler David Bishop.

Bishop and Emu both work for Van Vynck Environmental, and every Thursday morning they can be found patrolling the square, giving the local pigeons a hard time.

Eaton Square is one of the poshest addresses in London – the rubbish left outside the six-storey houses include empty Pol Roger bottles; one or two buildings have flags (not British) or blue plaques detailing how the likes of Neville Chamberlain once lived there. Top-of-the-range Mercedes vie with Rolls-Royces, Ferraris and Bentleys for parking space. So it's hardly surprising that the owner of the Grosvenor Estate, which owns the lease to Eaton Square, the Duke of Westminster, has recruited such an elegant way to control pests.

Bishop's role as a pest controller started in 2005 in slightly humbler surroundings, when Ken Livingstone decided to rid Trafalgar Square of pigeons. "The feeding was gradually stopped and a controlled feed introduced, so the pigeons didn't starve, and this was depleted over an 18-month period. Then we started to fly the hawks after they fed," he explains. "We were there seven days a week, eight hours a day to start with. There were an estimated 12,000 pigeons on the ground at any one time."

The work was very high-profile and attracted a lot of criticism from pigeon lovers. "No one attacked us physically, but they did verbally," Bishop recalls. "The Pigeon Alliance put posters of me, labelled pigeon murderer and spattered with red paint, all around the West End."

Ironically, the one thing the falconers patrolling London aim not to do is kill pigeons. They simply scare them away, to prevent them fouling the buildings and pavements and spreading disease. Key to this is keeping the hawks slightly overweight – when you weigh 1lb 7¾oz, just one extra ounce is enough to make the difference between a few worried pigeons and feathers all over the pavement.

"If a pigeon doesn't react, it's putting itself in temptation's way. But Emu doesn't catch them very often. He works as a visual deterrent," says Bishop.

He only flies Emu in London one day a week – another venue is the Victoria and Albert Museum. The rest of the week he drives to other city centres and commercial sites, with Emu sitting on a perch in a large wooden box in the back of the van. The box means he does not have to be hooded for his excursions.

Harris hawks are not known for their speed but they are social birds and easy to train, making them popular for falconry. Van Vynck breeds a variety of birds to use in different locations, and training to ensure the handler is recognised as the sole source of food and to ignore the kinds of disturbance they might come across in city centres takes about 12 months.

As we stand by the edge of the Eaton Square Gardens, I can see a magpie or two hopping around, squawking at the hawk. A blackbird is broadcasting its mellifluous song, a squirrel runs up a nearby tree and surprisingly, given that we are in central London, we can both hear a woodpecker knocking. Does Emu ever go for smaller prey? I ask.

"They tend to hunt large targets," says Bishop. "It takes as much energy to hunt a small bird as a big one, and the hawks are very greedy. All they want to do is hunt, gorge themselves and then sleep."

Instead, Bishop feeds Emu on day-old chicks, supplemented with quail on Fridays (because he doesn't work at weekends). And although he gets small snacks during work to encourage him to fly back to Bishop, he eats his main meal after work.

Van Vynck recruited Bishop to work on the Trafalgar Square clearance because his then job as head falconer at the English School of Falconry had given him plenty of experience of dealing with the public. Years of displaying birds of prey – including a golden eagle called Fluffy – meant he was the ideal person to explain the falconers' work and introduce the hawks to the public.

As we talk, parents and children on their way to school come up to say hello and ask about Emu. "How far do you think he can see?" Bishop asks one small boy. "Right to the end of the square," the boy replies. "You're right, and he can see so well – about 42 to 44 times better than we can – that he could read a newspaper being held there," Bishop says.

One thing he never does is offer to let people stroke the harris hawk. "Normally harris hawks are very laid back. But Emu is a one-man bird – a bit stand-offish if other people try to touch him," says Bishop.

The hawk stomps around on Bishop's wrist, and is then set into flight towards the balcony of the house opposite. Unlike the other balconies in the square, this one is like a jungle – absolutely covered in trees and bushes, obscuring any view into the building. The inhabitants obviously value their privacy.

Emu, however, does not. First he sits in one of the trees on the balcony, then shifts to the railings. "It's perfect pigeon nesting ground there," says Bishop.

Bishop says he has been "obsessed with birds in general since I was a kid, and I got my first kestrel when I was 11. It's almost terminal. Once you start [being interested in falconry], you just keep going and going."

Just as well, given the hours he has to work. To keep out of the way of traffic and the general public, the pair generally set off for work before dawn, starting at 4am in summer and 5am in winter. It also means he finishes work by lunchtime, and can fly his own birds, including a gyr peregrine falcon, in the afternoon. He lives in Hertfordshire, where he also grew up, and still hunts with his birds and his two English pointer dogs in the Hertfordshire countryside. His freezer is full of partridge, pheasant and grouse, "and there's no lead shot in them – no trips to the dentist".

While we talk, Emu is sauntering around the middle of the square, gliding from branch to branch to balcony rail and then back to Bishop for a treat. He wears a ring on his leg, denoting that he is listed in the independent bird register, and alymeri anklets to which jesses are fitted.

He is also sporting a tracker device attached to a "backpack", a harness that Bishop has fitted to all the firm's birds. "I've only lost one bird permanently," he says. "It was a peregrine back in the big storms of 1987. His mews blew over and he wasn't tethered."

Emu protests a bit when the tracker is fitted, stretching his wings into Bishop's face and hopping around. "Must we go through this every time? Really?" says Bishop. Emu and Bishop seem more like an old married couple than working colleagues.

Bishop's affair with birds of prey predates him meeting his wife, Elizabeth, and she is completely accepting of them, or so he claims anyway: "It was made quite clear from the outset that the birds took precedence. They take a lot of commitment, a lot of looking after."

However he admits Elizabeth is not very keen on the hawks. "She thinks they are scary – the way they look at her and their mannerisms," he says.

Bishop holds Emu so their faces are very close. Does he ever peck you? I ask. "No, that's the dangerous end," he says, indicating the very sharp talons.

The birds live in a mews – a shed in Bishop's back garden that is unheated but protects them from the wind and draughts – which is cleaned out on a daily basis.

I wonder who looks after the birds when he goes on holiday. "We go to Scotland so I can fly the birds," he says. On seeing my face, he bursts out laughing and adds: "Not really," he confesses. "There's another falconer lives very close to us, and we look after each other's birds when we go away."

There are thousands of falconers in the UK ("there also are a lot of falconry widows out there"), and several firms use the technique for pest control in London, according to Bishop. Van Vynck Environmental alone employs about 10 falconers and owns 40 birds, which are used to control seagulls and Canada geese besides pigeons.

The work is perhaps less glamorous than conducting displays at bird of prey centres or on the circuit of county shows, but it pays a lot better: "Working for a pest control company means you can live," says Bishop. "When you have a family, you have to go where the money is."

We have been standing on the pavement chatting while Emu works, but suddenly Bishop steps behind me and says: "Do you want to know what it's like to be a pigeon?" Before I can say anything, he holds out his arm. Emu swoops down and flies straight towards me, a blur of beak and wings, wafting my hair as he swoops over my head to Bishop's wrist.

I decide it might be a good time to switch territory.

Could this be the pest controller with the most well-heeled clients?

Once a week Wayne Parsons ensures Belgravia's Eaton Square remains pigeon-free by deploying a Harris Hawk called Lizzy to scare the pests away.

The square has been home to two Prime Ministers, Neville Chamberlain and Stanley Baldwin, and now counts Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson, hedge fund chief George Soros and Sir Sean Connery among its residents.

Mr Parsons, 52, said: "Using hawks is a far more humane way of pest control than trapping them or shooting them, definitely in a place like Eaton Square. I fly the hawk through the trees in the central garden and then get her up to the top of the buildings as the pigeons stir at dawn."

He and Lizzy spend up to two hours every Tuesday on patrol. Mr Parsons is one of 10 falconers at Van Vynck Environmental, a pest control company contracted by the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor Estates.

David Van Vynck who has run the firm for 12 years after taking over from his father, said: "Eaton Square may be one of the most expensive in London but the thing with pigeons is that they have no respect for their surroundings. I'm sure Buckingham Palace has its fair share of problems."

Clare Finney meets Junior - The Harris Hawk responsible for keeping Leadenhall Market's historic heights remarkably free of roosting pigeons

Imagine for a moment that you are a gritty urban pigeon, landing at Leadenhall Market for the first time.  You look around inhaling the tantalising smells of stalls and cafes.  Paradise, you think, as a man spills a lump of lunchtime curry on the ground.  Nodding off that night, you wonder vaguely why these warm, sheltered rafters are so empty - after all, by avian standards this is the promised land.  Yet no sooner have you fallen to dreaming of dustbins in summer, then you are woken by a blood curdling sound.

"Junior!" The man's shout is followed by the confident, single minded flapping sound of an approaching bird of prey. One glance at its sharpened beak tells you all you need to know: either you beat it, or be beaten.  And then  eaten.

Unsurprisingly, not many pigeons look behind them as the hightail it skywards - but if they did they'd be bemused at the scene.  Far from seeking to kill them, Junior the hawk wasn't really chasing them at all.  He didn't even see them as breakfast.  He was just doing his job as part of the bird control management scheme from Van Vynck, a family-run firm that uses predatory species to clear pigeons.

Central to the Leadenhall part of that scheme is the bird handler Chris.  At the moment his charge, Junior, is sitting quietly, his head cocked neatly to one side.  He looks as if he's about to answer one of my questions.   Nevertheless, the moment one of his adversaries comes within earshot, Chris assures me he'll be "off like a shot, totally focussed and determined.  He's in sleepy Labrador mode now, but he's like a working spaniel when he hunts".

A few minutes later we see this in action - a lightening turn and a great thrust of his wings that send Junior streaking towards an inquisitive pigeon, stopping, and returning back to Chris in one fell swoop. When I look around people are staring.

As junior swallows his "treat" (which I can't see, and don't want to) I ask his handler if he gets a lot of attention.

"Not really," he grins. "Most commuters are heads down and blind to everything and everyone around them, and I'm here in the morning so that's all I see." He's had bad attention, naturally - what environmental profession hasn't? - and various people shouting at him that what he does for a living is cruel.  Yet when it comes to pest control, he says there is only one kind option: to let the hand of Mother Nature take its course.

"Look at the alternatives." Chris points out.  "If you poisoned them, it would have to be instant - otherwise you'd have pigeons dropping dead halfway down Fenchurch Street.  If you trapped them and then released them elsewhere they'd only return.  By using hawks early in the morning once a week, Van Vynck manager David says you disturb the pigeons' sleeping patterns - so that eventually they are forced to leave.

"For me it's like having bouncers outside a nightclub," Chris says sagely. "Just them being there stops any trouble." From Leadenhall they'll go to Trafalgar Square, a notorious watering hole for pigeons, then home to roost - or, in Junior's case, more training.  "He's pretty good," Chris says dubiously, as the hawk tries to perch outside Jigsaw and slips off, "but he could still be better.  I'd like to get him as good as the Bomb."

"The Bomb" if you're wondering, was Chris's last Harris Hawk, whose placidity in the face of loud noises was renowned.

"Even when the HMS Belfast sounded when we were at Tower Bridge, he wouldn't blink," Chris fondly recalls, looking pensive as he remembers the Bomb sadly "passed away earlier this year".  Nevertheless when I ask him if he and his hawks have a string emotional attachment, he is cheerfully pragmatic in his reply.

"There's no love in him," he grins at Junior, "no love at all. He just knows I'm the one with the food." So saying he pats the bulging pocket of his jacket to demonstrate.  Almost immediately Junior's head whips round.  Well trained thought the birds may be, it is this promise alone that stops them from going the whole hog and eating their quarry - because, unlike their domesticated cousins, these birds will never stop being wild.

"So what is it that's so tempting that the pigeons escape without harm?" I wonder - then wish that I hadn't as, with a mischievous smile Chris brings out a very dead chick. "Are you vegan then?" he asks, as if only a vegan would balk at the sight. Junior meanwhile tuck in.

Chris insist that feeding hawks this way is in fact remarkable green. "At the battery farms, when the eggs hatch, the cock birds are no use to them." he explains.  "They used to just get thrown away. No they realise there's a niche demand. It's just like recycling. But with chickens."

Personally I think I'll stick to cereal boxes and coke cans: newborn chicks seem too cute for my brown bin.  Still I'm impressed by this efficient use of resources even if - as Chris grudgingly admits - it doesn't always work.

"Every so often there's a pigeon that doesn't quite make it away fast enough," he grimaces.  "You know, if they're old or haven't got any legs." It's a rare occurrence, and easily avoided if Easter treats are in good supply, but it is still a sharp reminder.

"They may look obedient," says Chris, "but these birds are trained - not tamed."

Meet Rosie, the dashing Harris Hawk, who swoops down on St John's Wood Park every week to send pigeons packing from the private Queensmead development.

Rosie would be silent and deadly if it wasn't for the little bell attached to her ankle and the fact that she is highly trained to deter and not to kill pigeons.

Her master, Wayne Parsons, keeps her piled high with "Mousey" morsels from a leather pouch. Mr Parsons and Rosie, native to South America, Work for Van Vynck Environmental a pest control company that deploys birds of prey around London.

Heathman can't think of a more attractive and interesting alternative to the dreaded pigeon netting.

This prestigious street in the heart of Knightsbridge is a perfect area for pigeons, it is a busy area lined with restaurants and bars that provide ample food for the pigeons.

Thankfully the Van Vynck bird control team are now on hand with their trusted Harris Hawks to clear the pigeons.

Working together with GVA Grimley this site in kent will have a pigeon free site.

We are working in partnership with GVA Grimley to service an office building in Clifford Street.

The building in central london poses lots of oportunities for pest control issues, but with our team no job is too small.

We are now servicing this site for general pest control as of 16/09/2011.

Working together with Fifthstreet Management Limited.

At Van Vynck we always carry out a free site survey of the sites...Not only for the best recommendations for our clients but also to see if this is a safe working environment for our staff.

From the survey it was clear that the population of feral pigeons is not only healthy in the immediate area but also extremely well established. This has resulted in roosting occurring on all three blocks as the location is ideal for town centre feeding.

There are significant levels of fouling below well used roosts and large numbers were present during the survey indicating a food source close to these roosting areas. This is corroborated by the condition of the birds present which again points to close and substantial food source generated I suspect by perpetual feeders both intentional and unintentional.

Attempts at bird proofing measures have been made in the worst affected areas however this has merely displaced the problem onto neighbouring features. In locations where food is readily available close to the point where roosting is also occurring displacement over any real distance is extremely difficult. Feral pigeons will put up with almost anything to remain in a location suitable for roosting as well as feeding and therefore to have any noticeable level of success any management program must start with a reduction by culling of flock numbers.

This should be carried out over a finite period to avoid a vacuum effect and should be followed by a displacement program designed to have a short term impact but should be ongoing to allow for long term sustainable results.

At Van Vynck we recommend to therefore allow for a program of trapping aimed at reducing flock size followed by the introduction of a bird control hawking program carried out over two levels of specification. The first to provide quick noticeable results and the second to maintain these results.

The client went with these recomendations and is very pleased with the results.

The Orsett Show began life as "The Orsett Agricultural Association and Labourers' Friend Society" in 1841, and started very simply as a ploughing match. When the squire of the village Mr R. B. Wingfield died in 1880, the show died with him.

In 1895, the new squire Captain T. C. Douglas Whitmore and his son Francis revived the Orsett Show and started the "Orsett and District Cottage Garden and Agricultural Society". The Show was held in the park at Orsett Hall and continued to prosper until the outbreak of the First World War.

The show was restarted on the 13th September 1919, when classes for vegetables and horses in the Grand Ring were introduced.

The 1939 Show was due to take place on Wednesday September 3rd, but was once again disrupted by war, which had been declared three days earlier.

On Wednesday 4th September 1946 the Show once again returned, with Horse and Pig sections in addition to the Horticultural Show. 1947 saw the introduction of an Agricultural section, the return of Cattle Classes and a record attendance of 7,000. In 1949 the Show changed to a Saturday, and introduced a Fur and Feather section.

In 1968 the Orsett Estate was sold and Sir John Whitmore left Orsett Hall, resigning the presidency which had been in the family since 1895. In the following years, the land at Orsett Hall was sold and new site in Rectory Road Orsett was acquired by Orsett Show Ground Limited to provide the Show with a permanent Show Ground and its regular date of 'The First Saturday In September'.

The Orsett Show always takes place on the first Saturday in September. The show is Saturday 3rd September, 2011 from 9am - 6pm.

• Start Date: 20/06/2011
• Site Address: Milton Keynes

The site has a abundance of features attractive to feral pigeons interms of evening and daytime roosting.

There is a food source present at this site including large amounts of dough being deposited in large skips and crumbs being spilled which in turn attracts pigeons to forage onsite. Also the busy loading areas have plenty of surface areas for roosting pigeons.

It is worth considering that even a small number of feral pigeons present on site with food available will breed at a prolific rate during and prolonged warm or dry spells boosting existing numbers at an extraordinary rate.

We have been using the Harris Hawk to deter pigeons on site and all is going well.

Site: Harlinghton Upper School Duntstable Bedfordshire

We are working with Galliford Try at this site.

We do not consider physical deterrents or proof measures as a viable solution at this site. The problem is the amount of suitable areas available. The reliance on proof measures alone in such circumstances results in the displacement of pigeons from one area to another on the same site without ever resolving the issue.

The remote location of the site with the presence of pigeons during the day suggests to me that food is available on site or likely to be found fairly close by. In locations where food is readily available close to the point where roosting is also occurring displacement over any real distant is extremely difficult.

Feral pigeons will put up with almost anything to remain in a location suitable for roosting as well as feeding and therefore to have any noticeable level of success with proofing out the problem then either the food source must be eliminated or all available roosting areas must be comprehensively proofed. In our opinion there is little chance of success on either of these two issues.

Our recommendations were designed to offer a preventative approach to this problem and provide ongoing control measures.

We are confident that an ongoing and partly preventative method of control involving falconry is the most suitable and likely to succeed.

This site was also visited by the Van Vynck Proofing and cleaning team Bird fouling presents a serious health risk to those working and studying within the school once the falcory treatment was up and running our team removed and disposed of thefouling treating all areas with the necessary biocides to make the site safe again.

The site has been plagued by pigeons which have caused a significant amount of fouling. Pigeon excrement poses a serious health risk as it often harbours insects and diseases such as Listeriosis, Paratyphoid, Salmonellosis and Tuberculosis.

The main service road within the estate is lined with mature trees and there is evidence to suggest that the trees provide a permanent evening roost for a significant population of Wood pigeons due to the levels of fouling present below the trees.

Van Vynck's bird control team has been commissioned to visit the site regularly with a Harris Hawk to keep roosting pigeons at bay and in turn lower the amount of fouling on site.

Completed in 2001 the premises provide over 150,000 square feet of high-quality office space.

Van Vynck previously serviced the Great Burgh site in Epsom, Surrey in 2009 and are delighted to have been selected once again to provide bird control services to deter pigeons from roosting at the site.

The bird control team visit the site on a regular basis and use Falconry to unsettle the resident roosting pigeons and are working towards the ultimate aim of eradicating roosting pigeons from the site.

The Legg Street building was erected in 1991 and is located in the town centre, a short 5 minute walk from Chelmsford railway station. The building provides flexible office space for a number of companies.

This site has many bird problems including nesting herring gulls on the main roof, badly constructed bird proof measures allowing pigeons to access proofed areas and roost causing huge amounts of mess. Van Vynck have been tasked with resolving these problems.

Van Vynck's bird control team are addressing these problems by employing several of their services. These include upgrading the existing bird proofing measures, utilising falconry to upset the nuisance birds normal roosting and nesting patterns and cleaning to remove hazardous and unsightly guano.

Dale Rutter and Pete Garner find an ancient art thriving in an urban setting.

Throughout history, man has had a paradoxical relationship with birds of prey – symbols of power, efficient competitors for game and esteemed hunting partners for peasants and princes alike. In our modern world these paradoxes persist.

While fewer of us now live in the countryside, fewer still work there and fewer again earn their keep by working with animals.

David Van Vynck, a thirty-year-old falconer from Orsett, Essex, is in exception, for he has adapted the ancient art of falconry into a successful business started by his father, Alan, 15 years ago. Not with peregrine falcons searing through the sky over heather clad hillsides in pursuit of grouse or with goshawks exploding out of woodland in pursuit of pheasants and rabbits. David’s business, ‘Van Vynck Pest Control’ specialises in bird control in challenging urban environments.

David’s team of six falconers and Harris hawks concentrates on cleaning feral pigeons from a wide variety of locations and buildings in London and other major cities. Significant and prestigious locations include the National Gallery, Victoria and Paddington Stations, BBC and Channel 4 offices to name but a few. While tourists enjoy feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square and London’s parks and gardens, the droppings, which the birds leave behind them, are less attractive, especially to property owners. Furthermore, feral pigeons can and do carry a variety of harmful and unpleasant diseases including Salmonella, Ornithosis, Histoplasmosis and Cryptococcosis.

Because of their intelligence and flexibility, Harris hawks are the most suitable hawk for this challenging work explains David and Chris Jordan, falconer and, incidentally, slip Steward to the North Herts Coursing Club. The origins of the bird control business lay in the scattering of sparrows from a bakery in Basildon, Essex with a sparrow hawk.

However, that was before Harris hawks from the New World were widely available in the Uk. While Harris hawks are less difficult to train they do have to be ‘manned’ and made ‘steady’ to a very high degree. They must also be worked at hunting weights equivalent to the body weights at which they might be flown at ground game such as rabbits and hares. However, David and his team do not use their bird clearance hawks for hunting or their hunting hawks for bird clearance work.

Interestingly the hawks that earn their keep through out the year by clearing unwanted pests tend to get more flying time than their hunting cousins. Indeed, seeing David and Chris’s hawks respond instantly to their recall whistle betrays many hours of training. Once ‘manned’ and trained the hawks are introduced to quieter roof top locations and gradually flown in more demanding environments.

The company’s success, David suggests, has come because thought is given to why pigeons are using a particular site. He points out that pigeons use a location for three reasons: roosting, nesting and feeding. Once the reason for the pigeons’ presence has been ascertained an ariel campaign with falconers and Harris Hawks can be undertaken. The objective is not to catch the pigeons but to move them on, break up large flocks and interrupt their breeding cycle. This can take place in any month, for some pigeons rear up to four broods a year.

Typically a site is visited daily for several weeks and thereafter once or twice a week to keep the pigeons on their toes.

Like anyone working with wildlife and animals the clock is governed by them. Work rotas for the team of falconer’s starts at 5am prompt. Roosting birds need to be tackled at dawn and dusk as they arrive at or leave their roost sites. Feeding sites are more usually covered during the middle of the day. Once pigeons have been dispersed from a site, a wider variety of smaller birds may fill the niche that they have left. Indeed while the Van Vyncks have completed successfully with other bird controllers, ironically they now face natural competition from nesting peregrines in London and on one rare and memorable occasion David spied a hobby while working there, proving perhaps that the divisions between town and country are themes played out more in the minds of people than in the lives of wildlife.

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But it is not programmes she’ll be watching. Samanthas beady eye will be trained on a plague of pigeons in Grade’s new £62 million headquaters.

The pests’ droppings threaten to take the gloss off its acres of glass.

This weekend, the station completes it’s move into the studios in Victoria, London. Twice a week Samantha will keep watch over Grades empire. In a dig at the BBC, Grade said yesterday: “She is the only consultant the channel employs.”

Keeper Andy Garlick said: “Once the pigeons pass the word around, they’ll keep away.” Bosses hope to save £60,000 a year on cleaning when the pigeons stop dropping in.

Pigeon Hole

Channel 4 has hired a hawk to deal with pigeons at it’s new building.

Luckily, the BBC does not suffer a pigeon problem. If it did, different management consultants would be called in to set up different committees - a hawk committee and an eagle committee for example - to decide which bird should deal with the pigeon pest.

Twice a week a dozen of them come to town. Birds from Essex in full plumage that flit and flutter down the concrete corridors of power causing mahem. And the grand Whitehall mandarins love them. In fact the Treasury finances them to cause trouble.

David Van Vynck’s Harris Hawks are paid to unnerve the residents, to disturb the feral pigeons that stain the grand civil-service buildings with their droppings. He runs a squadron of 12 hawks employed to keep the Cabinet Offices, Portcullis House and, in particular, the newly refurbished Treasury clear of London’s unhygienic flying rats. “They are vermin”, says Van Vynck, who drives in before dawn from Orsett in Essex with his team of six professional Falconers.

“Pigeons are amazingly adaptable and netting and spikes don’t always get rid of them. But the hawks disturb the pigeon’s patterns of roosting and nesting.They make them feel uneasy and move them on.”

His team, who all started at amateur sporting falconers, use the American Harris Hawk because of it’s temperament. “Falcons are not suited to central London: they require a large space,” he says.

“But the Harris is easy to work within an urban environment. They stay trained and have a tolerance to noise.”

The handlers climb on to the roofs of Whitehall before dawn while the pigeons are still sleeping. Once the pigeons see the hawk, with it’s 3ft wingspan, they flee:those that don’t are killed and eatern.

“Our birds are working bird,” says David Van Vynck. “They fly for six hours a day and in the evening they are kept on a sheltered perch a few feet above the ground. It is similar to using working dogs to find game.”

Now, if he can turn his birds loose on the pigeon-hearted politicians...

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A magnificent Harris Hawk has been employed to scare the vermin away from Victoria Station but his presence is causing consternation among environmentalists.

Railtrack, faced with a worsening problem of pigeon mess, has employed pest controller David Van Vynck on an annual contract, who uses a hawk called Nelson to disperse the birds.

London-based World Society for the Protection of Animals, confronted Railtrack’s head of customer service, Marcus Long asking whether he knew that “these birds of prey actually kill pigeons”.

Mr Long replied he was aware of that but in this case the hawk was only frightening away the pigeons which were causing a nuisance to passengers and staff.

Ms Lloyd said that chasing pigeons away pushed the problem elsewhere in the capital, and that the best way of dealing with the issue was to put the pigeons on the contraceptive pill.

It was then that Mr Long, bristling his official feathers, answered: “Dear Madam,I don’t think that Railtrack is in the business of dishing out contraceptives to the pigeons.

Beside, there is no proof that it would work.” Other commuters were more favourable towards Nelson, including ITV Motor racing presenter Kirsty Westwood.

“Pigeons can be a dreadful pest,” she said, “they scare passengers waiting for trains when they swoop down low. The hawk seems like a good deterrent and a pretty humane way of dealing with the problem.

Railtrack is talking action against the pigeon problem following complaints from the public at Victoria, Paddington and Liverpool Street.

Almost a quarter of a million passengers pass through every day and the pigeons flock in vast numbers at peak periods.

The problem has been exacerbated by the increase in the number of take-away outlets, which has meant more food and rubbish is thrown on the ground.

Mr long said “We’ve tried putting up nets in the glass roofs and spikes on the ledges to stop them roosting. They work to a point, but the hawk has proved the best method for keeping them away.”

On the topic of using contraceptives as other authorities do he added: “it’s too much of a scatter gun solution.

It’s self-defeating because you attract the birds in the first place.” Mike Everett, spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said: “Pigeons can be at it every month of the year and lay two eggs everytime. The best way to control them is to remove the food and stop them roosting.

To find out more please view our bird control pages.