Meet Rufus, Wimbledon’s famous hawk, who has spent 18 years keeping pesky pigeons away from tennis courts. Wimbledon has plenty of familiar sights when the Championships arrive, from packed Centre Court stands to strawberries and cream.

But long before the crowds settle in, one of the All England Club's most experienced regulars is already at work. Rufus, a Harris's hawk, has been making his way around the grounds for 18 years, although his job is rather different from that of the tennis stars who follow him.

Rufus starts work before the players arriveRufus's job is to keep pigeons away from the All England Club so they do not disrupt play or cause problems around the grounds. His career at Wimbledon began after his handler, Donna Davis, noticed pigeons interrupting the 1999 final between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

She contacted Wimbledon and was invited to bring her previous hawk, Hamish, to the club to demonstrate what a bird of prey could do. Rufus eventually took over the role and has been doing it since 2008, when he was just 18 weeks old.

“Occasionally there is one, and there'll be a little chase and the pigeon's out.” Rufus can spend hours flying around the site, checking the rooftops and other areas where pigeons might settle.

Davis said he can disappear for as long as 12 hours during the Championships. “He is his playground, I mean, he pretty much fledged here at 18 weeks old,” Davis said.

The bird has also become something of a celebrity among spectators. “I feel very privileged to be here and fly my beautiful bird, and he comes back.”

Wimbledon is not Rufus's only workplace, either. He also performs the same role at Lord's Cricket Ground and Westminster Abbey, making him one of the more unusual and well-travelled pest-control workers in British sport.

The Wimbledon hawk even survived a kidnappingRufus's long career has included one incident considerably more dramatic than chasing pigeons. In 2012, the hawk was stolen overnight from Davis's van while it was parked at the Wimbledon grounds.

His disappearance prompted a frantic search involving the club, the press and a rescue centre in south London. Rufus was eventually found safe, and the following morning he made the front page of The Times under the headline “Rufus is back.”

It was a remarkable level of attention for a bird whose normal responsibility was simply to make sure pigeons stayed away from the tennis courts. And despite the rise of technology, Rufus's position at Wimbledon does not appear to be under immediate threat.