A trained hawk is helping Ford Motor tackle a long-running pigeon problem at one of its most significant manufacturing sites.
At Ford’s vast 12.1 million-square-foot assembly plant in Hermosillo, northern Mexico, the two-foot-tall bird has completed more than 300 patrols, totaling over 1,170 hours of work.
Named El Charro—a familiar Mexican word associated with a cowboy—the Harris’s hawk began guarding the facility in July 2025, just over a year ago.
Its mission is to drive away the pigeons that had been causing trouble inside and around the Ford assembly plant for years.
The birds created several risks, including entering machinery and interfering with light beams. Their droppings could also land on newly painted vehicles, making them difficult to clean, while the birds themselves posed potential health concerns for employees.
‘Having birds inside creates a lot of risks,’ the factory’s central maintenance manager, Jesus Teran, told the Wall Street Journal.
Before bringing in a bird of prey, workers tried a range of conventional pigeon deterrents, including fake predator eyes and recordings of raptors played through loudspeakers.
The pigeons, however, quickly learned that the threats were not real and soon returned to the plant.
El Charro, a trained hawk, has been brought in to combat a pigeon infestation at a major Ford assembly plant in Mexico. A stock image of a Harris’s hawk is shown
Ford’s Hermosillo factory has battled pigeons for years, with the birds creating operational problems and posing a potential health risk to workers
El Charro typically works two- to three-hour shifts, covering roughly half the exterior of the enormous plant. Ford says the hawk’s patrols have cut pigeon activity by about 80 percent
With those methods proving ineffective, plant managers concluded that falconry—the use of specially trained birds of prey—could offer a more lasting answer.
A falconer initially arrived with a Harris’s hawk called Chalino. During one patrol, Chalino encountered another hawk and flew off with it; neither bird was ever seen again.
The falconer later introduced El Charro, another Harris’s hawk that has since become a reliable presence at the Mexican factory.
Ford told the Wall Street Journal that the hawk’s regular flights have lowered pigeon activity at the facility by approximately 80 percent.
‘It has given very good results,’ Teran, the central maintenance manager, added.
El Charro generally begins work in the afternoon, spending two or three hours flying around about half of the building’s exterior. While searching for pigeons, the hawk can also help employees locate nests, which are then removed.
Falconry has gained ground as a way to control nuisance birds because it works without relying on methods such as poison, which are viewed as less humane, Jennifer Coulson, vice president of the Raptor Research Foundation, told the Journal.
The regular appearance of a predator is enough to discourage pigeons, seagulls, sparrows and other nuisance birds from settling in places where they could disrupt operations.
Falconry is increasingly being used to manage nuisance birds because it is considered a more humane approach than some alternatives. A stock image shows a hawk returning to its falconer at an airport
Airports use falconry to deter small birds that can collide with planes or helicopters. The repeated presence of birds of prey is an effective solution against nuisance birds
Airports use falconry to deter small birds that can collide with planes and helicopters, and beaches use it to keep seagulls from carrying off trash or trying to take food from diners’ plates, for example.
‘The goal is not to kill the prey, but scare the prey so it doesn’t come back,’ Coulson told the Journal.
In addition to offering an effective and humane solution to the factory’s pigeon problem, El Charro’s presence at the facility has been a hit with staff, Teran told the outlet.
Many employees ask to take photos with the hawk whenever it is with its owner, the manager said.
The factory plans to continue enlisting El Charro’s help for the foreseeable future, as the bird of prey has proved itself to be an invaluable guardian against pigeons.