Had a coffee this pm at "Mocha Joes" - the cafe/snack bar in the middle of the mall at Hyde opposite the entrance to the indoor market. The owner told me that a "large bird of prey" had visited his garden and that of his neighbours on several occasions in the past few days. The bird was wearing jesses so was obvious a falconer's bird. The area in question is Belvedere Drive, Bredbury and an area of fields close by. The cafe's owner's daughter showed me a picture on her mobile phone. It was a very tiny poor quality photo but it was obviously a bird of prey. It looked overall to be dark brown or black but little else could be seen. However there appeared to be two white bands on the tail one narrow and one much broader which would quite possibly indicate Harris Hawk.
Anybody missing a bird of prey could perhaps contact the cafe owner first - its open 6 days a week Mon - Sat 'til approx 5pm or a bit later.
That's a friend of mine mentioned in that article; she say they've contacted falconers, and one's tried, but unfortunately they couldn't tempt the bird down. I gave her a link to these people below, but I've no idea if they'll be able to help.
