by Pigeon Patrol | May 29, 2016 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting
Pigeons that congregate outside Masjid Haji Muhammad Salleh mosque have been getting an extra ingredient in their breakfast.
Every day, pigeons that flock to the area are served a corn-based feed containing a drug called nicarbazin, which stops the female birds from producing eggs or causes them to lay eggs that do not hatch.
This new “birth control” method to limit pigeon numbers is being tested by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) at a field outside the mosque in Palmer Road, near Shenton Way.
The trial, which started on Oct 13 and will last a year, comes on the back of soaring complaints about the nuisance caused by pigeons.
The AVA has already received about 3,400 pigeon-related feedback from January to October this year, more than the 2,500 received for the whole of last year and the 2,100 in 2013.
It has also seen a growth in feedback about all kinds of birds, including pigeons, from some 4,400 messages in 2013 to 6,100 in the first 10 months of this year alone.
Mr Mohamed Idris, secretary of the management board of Masjid Haji Muhammad Salleh, said pigeons have always been around, but the problem has worsened over the last 10 years.
The field outside the mosque has an estimated 400 pigeons, twice as many as two years ago.
The birds would fly into the mosque compounds, making them a nuisance to the staff and those who go to the mosque to pray.
“They leave their droppings on the floor and you walk on it… They congregate at the food areas as well,” said Mr Mohamed.
This has led the AVA to choose the mosque as the first area to try out the new method.
During a demonstration yesterday, Ms Janet Chia, executive manager of the Operations (Wild Animals) section at AVA, said it will take about a year to see a drop in the pigeon population there.
Around five mosque volunteers will be in charge of feeding the laced feed to the pigeons. The method could be rolled out to other areas in Singapore if the trial succeeds.
When tested in Italy, the method was found to reduce the pigeon population in the test area by 30 per cent to 40 per cent over four years.
The drug does not harm the birds and is not toxic to animals or humans if taken in small amounts. It would take 40kg of the feed to see toxic effects in dogs and cats, and 60kg for a child, said Ms Chia.
She also urged the public not to feed birds, as this “would encourage their population size to grow and encourage them to congregate and cause nuisance”.
Feeding pigeons is illegal and those found to have flouted the rules face a fine of up to $500. The AVA has caught 113 bird feeders so far this year, including 13 who did so outside the mosque.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | May 28, 2016 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Bird Netting
A concerned gran is crying fowl, claiming flying visitors are making a South Tyneside rail bridge a ‘health hazard’.
Joan Marsh says roosting pigeons are still a problem at the Hill Street bridge, in Jarrow, every day on her route to work despite a major revamp by transport bosses.
Pigeon problem at Hill Street Metro bridge. Joan Marsh
Pigeon problem at Hill Street Metro bridge. Joan Marsh
The 53-year-old, from Pine Street, in Jarrow, says flocks of pigeons congregated under the bridge – with their droppings on the pavement and railings an ongoing issue.
Metro owner Nexus, which manages the bridge along with Network rail, says it has installed netting above all the walkways, but Mrs Marsh says the work didn’t go far enough.
Network Rail says it was unaware of Mrs Marsh’s concerns but is happy to meet with her to discuss the issue.
Mrs Marsh, a mum-of-four and gran-of-one, said; “There are still droppings on the walkway and on the railings. The netting that is attached to the underside of bridges to stop birds from nesting hasn’t been fitted properly.
Pigeon problem at Hill Street Metro bridge. Joan Marsh
Pigeon problem at Hill Street Metro bridge. Joan Marsh
“It has only been fitted on the outside edges of the underside of the bridge. The middle has been missed.
“I counted 38 pigeons sitting on the ledges under the bridge. It will soon be back to a smelly, pigeon roosting health hazard if someone doesn’t step in and finish the work properly.
Nexus and Network rail have completed a major overhaul of the bridge, with new crash barriers installed to prevent the bridges from sustaining structural damage if any are hit by a car or a lorry.
Nexus says it has installed netting on 20% of the bridge that it manages and also put the netting above all the parts of the bridge that are above the walkways as a goodwill gesture.
A Network Rail spokesman said; “We haven’t been made aware of any concerns over netting on the bridge, but if Mrs Marsh contacts us we will send someone out and see what work is needed.
A Nexus spokesman added: “As part of our modernisation programme on the Hill Street bridge, we have installed pigeon netting above all of the walkways. We have also installed pigeon spikes to stop them from landing and have cleaned up both of the footpaths.
“The netting and the spikes have been put in place to prevent pigeons from roosting on the structure.
“All the work was carried out following feedback from local councillors and residents.
“We share the ownership of the Hill Street bridge with Network Rail. Nexus looks after about a fifth of the bridge structure, but the netting above the footpaths has been erected all the way along the bridge as part of the upgrades.
“We would encourage Mrs Marsh to get in direct contact with us so we can discuss this issue with her in more detail.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | May 27, 2016 | Bird Netting, UltraSonic Bird Control
The North Platte City Council may close the coop on North Platte’s pigeon problem.
The council will discuss authorizing an agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to “reduce the numbers of pigeons roosting and loafing in the city,” according to a copy of the agreement included in the agenda for the Jan. 5 meeting.
The agreement would create a wildlife damage management program to control the populations of pigeons, European starlings and English house sparrows within the city. The agreement states that use of a pellet rifle is effective in population control for all three bird species, as is trapping and euthanization, use of pesticides and nest removal.
The program would run in partnership with private businesses and entities agreeable to sharing the cost of the agreement. The private entities are not determined at this time.
Cost of the service is estimated at $7,499.
n The council will consider an extension request for Community Development Block Grants used for improvements in three areas of northwest North Platte. A letter from Tom Werblow, city engineer, to Judy Clark, city grants administrator, recommends an extension to Oct. 15. The city contracted with Cement Products on paving projects on 18th Street from Sheridan to Jackson avenues, 13th Street from Carr to Madison avenues and 15th Street from Custer to Sheridan avenues.
“We recommend caution in allowing Cement Products to bid on the next Block Grant project,” Werblow wrote in the letter.
His warning was because of Cement Products’ performance with the CDBG and NDOR projects, according to the letter.
n A vendor for Verizon Wireless, Unite Private Networks, has requested the city authorize them to use city utility poles. The company wants to attach “small cells” to the poles, which are intended to enhance cell phone networks and reduce the need for traditional cell phone towers.
An overview of the service from the company explains that small cells are used in an area already covered by a cell tower to assist in high bandwidth areas such as schools, shopping centers, airports and special events.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | May 26, 2016 | Bird Netting, UltraSonic Bird Control
It’s 10 minutes before noon and Ustad Anil Sood is ready. Dressed in a crisp white shirt and trousers, he puts on a black sleeveless jacket, a golden bracelet and watch, and rushes all the way up a spiral, dingy flight of stairs in his five-storey building. He is headed to the roof — his playground, like that of over a thousand other “kabootarbaaz” in this part of Old Delhi.
He has been on this roof, flanked by the historic Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Jama Masjid, “jab se maine hosh sambhala hai (since I gained consciousness)”, says the 45-year-old. The family has a construction business, which takes care of their “khaana-peena”, but kabootarbaazi is what gives them their “josh (zeal)”, Sood says.
In Agra last week, a six-day contest of kabootarbaazi was stopped following objections from the Animal Welfare Board of India, on grounds of cruelty to pigeons.
Over here in Old Delhi, in the midst of the peak December-March season, Sood is unflappable as he prepares his pigeons for their contests of the day. Kabootarbaazi was popularised in India by the Mughals, and Sood’s family, as per his estimation, has been participating in it “for over hundred years”. “It’s a passion,” he repeats, “a part of purani Delhi tradition.”
There are eight enclosures in all on the roof, holding about 100-150 pigeons each, from Hyderabad, Lucknow, Patiala and Delhi. Sood walks up to the enclosures and, for the next few minutes, talks to his pigeons — some “baat-cheet”, he says, to prep them.
A ‘shagird’ stands at the gate of the enclosure holding the Hyderabadi pigeons. Around 12.30 pm, Sood raises his left arm, the shagird flings open the gate, and the batch of 150 Hyderabadi pigeons — ivory-coloured with a few specks of grey, each with a name, and with tiny, special ghungroo (anklets) on their feet — are off, in a not-so-pretty rush.
At the same moment, from the roof of another building, two lanes away, an ustad releases his batch of “Lakhnawi” pigeons. The first kabootarbaazi game of the day is on.
This is a race, with the ustad whose pigeons fly the farthest from his roof to be declared the victor.
Sood isn’t worried. “In Kinari Bazaar, there are 12 ustads. My pigeons win most contests,” he smiles.
There is no money involved in these daily competitions, he clarifies. “But many ustads organise professional contests from time to time where the winner gets anything between Rs 1,000-50,000.”
One is crowned an ustad at an elaborate ceremony, involving the tying of a pagdi (turban). Sood’s brother, 42-year-old Arjun, is still a khalifa, a rank between a shagird and an ustad. Shagirds train under an ustad, and Sood has six with him today.
Sood points out the single black pigeon in his flock, now already some distance away. “That is my trademark. By it, people know these are my birds.”
All eyes now on the two rival flocks, Sood picks up his tool — a “chapka (wooden stick with a net)” — while the shagirds and khalifas get their sticks with red cloth tied to them. Then they begin the shouting. “The idea is to ensure that the pigeons don’t return to the roof and fly further away. Also, they must fly opposite to the wind, otherwise they are disqualified,” says Sood, making loud, throaty cries.
There are broad smiles as Sood takes another look at the sky and tells you which part of the city his pigeons are in — Sadar Bazaar. That is 2 km away.
On the other roof there is growing anger, as the Lakhnawi pigeons have started returning. The aggression palpable now, Sood and his team start shouting expletives to keep the pigeons away. “They (the pigeons) are like children, they need to be trained. It’s like accelerating a vehicle,” says a 14-year-old shagird.
Around 1.30 pm, Sood’s father Ram Kishan (75) comes to the roof. As he takes out his more robust tools — a big steel plank and an iron rod — one of Sood’s pigeons suddenly appears on the railing of the roof.
Kishan begins thumping the plank. Alarmed, the pigeon zooms off. Kishan says that was Chandna. “Usko badhazmi ho gai hai, thodi sust bhi hai (Her stomach’s upset, she is lazy too), but this is a strict sport.”
Few know pigeons better than Kishan, who makes two trips a year to markets across India to purchase the birds for his “team”. “The jungli (wild) pigeons come for as little as Rs 100, but each of my pigeons cost me nothing less than Rs 1,000.”
Elaborating what they look for, he adds, “The beak must be of one colour, even the body shouldn’t have mixed colours. We like the Hyderabadi and Irani breeds, all white and beautiful.”
The “training” begins when the pigeons are around three years old. “The pigeons are at their fittest and fastest then,” says Sood.
Later, after the game, Kishan holds Chandna’s feet and shakes them, and puts a net on top of her for a few minutes. “This is how we punish them. It’s like pulling a child’s ear,” he explains.
By now, the sky is full of pigeons. “Those near Jama Masjid belong to Muslim kabootarbaaz. We have competitions with them too, there is no religious rivalry,” says Sood.
His contest won, Sood raises his right arm and shrieks “Aaaoooo” — a cue for the pigeons to get back. In a twinkling of ghungroos, the birds fly in, and go straight for the mix of almonds and walnuts, grains and ghee that Arjun has sprinkled on the floor.
“They need a special diet, they are racers. This diet ensures they fly far and fight the winds,” he says watching with pride.
Explaining the anklets, Sood says, “They are just to enhance beauty. They come in many varieties too. The ones from Delhi have pearls, the Hyderabadi ones have metallic beads…”
The pigeons are still eating when, minutes later, Sood signals to one of the khalifas to fling a shoe in their middle. The stunned pigeons fly up again. “This is real training, so that they know I am the master,” says Sood.
His pigeons take on rival flocks two more times in the next one hour, winning each time. Satisfied, Sood finally calls the racers back.
At 3 pm, the tired pigeons get their “energy drink”. Sood grinds raw turmeric, dry ginger and other “jadi bootis (medicinal herbs)” together on a stone platform, and mixes their juice into a pot of lukewarm water for the birds. “Every ustad has a secret recipe,” he says. “We go to a hakim (unani doctor) to get the mix.”
After they have had their fill, the Hyderabadi pigeons are led into their enclosures — and they go in unprotesting.
However, for Sood, the second part of the day is only just beginning. For this, he takes out his “Patialas”— brown and grey pigeons, bigger and tougher, and “not as beautiful” as the Hyderabadis. As the birds are released with special sounds again, the rules are different. This flock’s aim is to take on the one from the neighbouring roof. The mission: to ensure your birds are not scared on to the opponent’s roof.
Arjun believes what happened in Agra stemmed from this. “An ustad lost 400 pigeons in fighting and complained to the police.”
The other side has pitted Hyderabadi pigeons against his Patialas. After a 10-minute bout, Sood shouts out “Ho!”, a signal for the birds to return. Suddenly an eagle appears in the mix, and his team’s fears come alive. One of Sood’s team members shouts “lagiya” — signalling that one of their pigeons was moving towards the other roof. Quickly, the screams get hoarser and Kishan begins beating the steel plank even more frantically. The contingency plan works, the pigeon flies back.
“Izzat ka sawal tha (It was a question of honour),” Sood smiles relieved. There are two more such 10-minute bouts in a game.
Arjun says it’s not the eagles that are the biggest threat. “It is the Chinese manjha (the string used for kite-flying that injures birds). This is the season of patangbaazi (kite-flying) too.”
The rounds of kabutarbaazi continue till pigeons in all their eight enclosures have had their time in the sky.
As they begin to pack up, Kishan dismisses suggestions that the sport may be dying. “My father, grandfather, each one was a kabootarbaaz. In Old Delhi, the excitement around the sport is growing.”
He can also tell you why. “After school, I know where my children will be — on the roof, playing with pigeons. It is better than smoking or drinking.” Sood smiles sheepishly and says his children are at tuitions.
As he looks down below, at the cacophony and rush that mark the narrow lanes of Kinari Bazaar in Chandni Chowk, where time has long stood still and down which his children will soon be returning, Sood tells you what he and his pigeons find on the roof on such sunny winter afternoons: “freedom”.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | May 25, 2016 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting
COPEVILLE, Texas — The pigeons returned soon after the tornado swept through and destroyed their home.
Willard Hill of Copeville took us to the back of the property where three pigeons sat in the field.
Sadly, there are fewer pigeons than before. Hill told News 8 that they come and go, but he can tell you a lot more about the man behind them: Jerry Brazeal.
WFAA
Victims of the North Texas tornadoes
“They’re waiting on him to feed them. They think he’s supposed to be here,” said Hill.
Alice McKinnon of Garland is Brazeal’s sister. They were only three years apart.
She learned Jerry died the night the tornado tore through Copeville. She first got calls from another brother and Jerry’s long-time girlfriend about her brother’s passing. She would later get confirmation from a detective at 2 a.m. Sunday morning.
Alice said she talked with the first responders who saw his final moments.
“The last words that he heard was ‘God’ and that makes me kind of have more peace,” she said.
A new disaster center opened in Collin County as Copeville mourns those lost in Saturday’s tornado. Jobin Panicker has the story.
Alice said her brother always moved around, but the longest place he’s stayed was in Copeville. She said he loved to be in the outdoors and loved his chickens and pigeons.
“I grew up with him sitting in a pigeon coop,” said McKinnon.
The cleanup continues in Collin County. Farming cities like Copeville, Farmersville, and Blue Ridge are still reeling. But if compassion could fill a room, it would look like what is happening at the First Baptist Church of Farmersville.
At the Collin County Disaster Resource Center, there are rows and rows of every imaginable clothing in every size.
A new disaster center opened in Collin County
A new disaster center opened in Collin County (Photo: WFAA)
Neighbors in Copeville tell News 8 that Jerry did odd jobs. He liked the country and lived out of a pop-up camper. It’s where his pigeons have returned.
“He’s watching over them,” Hill said, looking at the pigeons.
The Resource Center will be staged at the First Baptist Church of Farmersville (124 South Washington Street, Farmersville, TX 75442). Before delivering supplies to the Resource Center please contact the Collin County Emergency Management Department at 972-548-4383.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
