The proliferation of rock pigeons (Columba livia) on high-rise buildings all over the world seems to coincide strangely with the disappearance of house sparrows. Both are synanthropic birds that crave to be around human dwellings, the sparrows indoors and the pigeons outdoors. But the patterns of human habitats and lifestyles seem to influence urban wildlife profoundly.
There are three types of rock pigeons: the ancestral rock pigeon in the wild, the domesticated ones, and the feral ones. They can interbreed; they are all but one species. Doves are different from pigeons. The wild rock pigeons live on rocky mountain cliffs and the seashore. They are said to have originated 5,000 to 10,000 years ago in the eastern Mediterranean region.
The Sumerians of Mesopotamia (what is southern Iraq today) seem to have started domesticating them from about 3000 B.C., breeding an amazingly wide diversity of fancy breeds. The Mughal emperors (who ruled from 1526 to 1858), particularly Akbar, fancied them. Akbar’s keepers reared for him about 20,000 pigeons. Of these, they used to carry along about 500 fantails, his favourites, on his camps.
Charles Darwin had a dovecote (pigeon house) in the garden of his country estate at Down House in Kent during 1850-1856. This was no hobby. He conducted breeding experiments to produce bewildering varieties (breeds) to study artificial selection and natural selection in survival and evolution. Some of the domesticated ones might have escaped as runaways back into the wild, as ferals in search of cliffs. But they seem to be returning to our cities, which are providing them ‘concrete cliffs’ on high-rises.
Air-conditioned apartments in these ‘cliffs’, with closed doors and windows, windows with broad ledge-like bases outside, window sills above to ward off rain and shine, provide excellent niches for these feral pigeons for courting, roosting, and even nesting and breeding. Unfortunately, changed urban architectural designs and lifestyles have deprived our conservative sparrows of their humble habitats of tiled houses, driving them away far from cities. Flocks of these feral pigeons comb every bit of grain and seed off the ground, as if in a feeding competition. They leave none for sparrows.
Right now, feral pigeons on apartments, heritage buildings and architectural showpieces are detested as pests or vermin. In some advanced countries they are contemptuously referred to as ‘rats with wings’. Their droppings cause defacement and stench, and many consider their constant cooing, moaning and flapping of wings a nuisance. Feeding pigeons in the open is forbidden by law in some countries.
Changes in architectural features on the exterior of high-rise buildings that often do not leave any flat ridges, and also running cables over possible perching sites keep feral pigeons away. Community dovecotes may be constructed in protected public places such as parks and playfields. Feral pigeons, unlike sparrows, are largely unaffected by pesticides, because they feed their squabs (young ones) with ‘pigeon milk’ or ‘crop milk’, not pesticide-contaminated insects as sparrows give their nestlings. Unlike long-distance homing pigeons or passenger pigeons, feral pigeons do not seem to be affected by electromagnetic radiation from cellphone towers.
Rock pigeons have incredible cognitive capacity. This, coupled with their amazing navigational skills, enable them during aerial sorties to scout for suitable cliff-like structures in cities. Pigeons can fly at speeds of 75 to 100 km an hour for distances of 800 to 1,000 km at a stretch. They are known to recognise the residents of their block by their facial features, voices and calls. They can recognise them by their photographs! That was how carrier pigeons delivered messages to soldiers on the warfront during World Wars.
If the pigeons too, like house sparrows earlier, are chased away from our habitats back into the wild, the next invaders on to our habitats in India may be the common crow or the squirrel. The choice is ours.
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.
EAST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH)– An East Haven man says his neighbor is feeding pigeons, but it’s getting out of hand, leaving behind a gross mess. In fact, the bird food is attracting so many pigeons the health department has gotten involved.
Bill Parker says three years ago his neighbor started feeding the pigeons, but his love for birds has gotten out of control.
“Probably a half a bag of bird feed on the ground and he is actually on town property over here so it’s not even his own property,” said Bill Parker.
The birds are being fed at a tree directly next to Parker’s neighbor’s property. It’s an empty lot that is now turning into a pigeon sanctuary, leaving behind feathers, feces, and food. Parker estimates that there could be two or three hundreds birds on a given day.
“I know there is a lot of disease in the pigeon droppings and he is not really cleaning up,” said Parker. “He is just feeding them and more and more are coming.”
Parker says he has been trying to get the health department to do something to make the man stop because the bird feces, food, and feathers are disgusting.
Friday, we tried to talk to his neighbor, nobody came to the door. However, we did notice a card from the health department in the doorway. We then stopped by the health department. They told News 8 they are investigating, but that there is no law against feeding the pigeons, unless, like in this case, it’s getting out of hand.
We also brought a doughnut as bait to see if we could get the birds to come down from their perch so we could see first-hand the feeding frenzy that neighbors say happens. None of the birds took the bait. Instead, they all stay perched on the power lines above his Parker’s neighbor’s home, where they know there will always be meal waiting.
Bill Parker says he is moving.
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.
When pigeons rule the roost, everything beneath them will be coated with their droppings.
And when a sidewalk runs under their perch, it’s 100 per cent certain that some of the people strolling along it will be victimized by a wet and disgusting bombing.
So if it is true that to be pooped on by a bird is good luck, then fortune must be smiling on the victims who walk along the Parkside Dr. underpasses beneath The Queensway and the Gardiner Expressway. A reader posted a complaint about it on SeeClickFix, saying pigeon droppings in the underpasses are among several things that make for an unpleasant journey.
“It’s a scary bit of roadway for pedestrians who are quite close to traffic while heading down to the (Sunnyside) pool under three overpasses,” said the reader.
“It can be very loud and big vehicles pass quickly and very close to the walkways. Hugging the walls as you walk through is not possible because of the droppings.
“I’m sure little children cry if an unknowing parent drags them through those underpasses at a bad moment.”
We went there and found that the thunder of big trucks made a booming sound that is indeed unsettling, but that’s life in the city. There’s no fix for it, other than to move to the country.
But there’s a sickening amalgam of dried leaves and bird feathers at the point where the sidewalk meets the west wall of the underpass, glued together by pigeon poop.
An attractive mural was painted along the east side of the underpass not long ago, which partly explains why the mess is limited to the west side.
Metal bird screens were installed many years ago above the sidewalks in the underpass rafters, but holes have developed along the west side, allowing pigeons to get in and do their business above the sidewalk.
STATUS: We’ve asked Rick Helary, who’s in charge or road operations in that area, if he can arrange for the sidewalk to be cleaned and the screens replaced.
What’s broken in your neighbourhood?
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.
WENATCHEE, Wash. (AP) – A BB gun that triggered a lockdown last week at a Wenatchee medical center was meant to scare pigeons.
The Wenatchee World (http://is.gd/v20P9o ) reports that officers from local law enforcement agencies locked down the busy Confluence Health’s Wenatchee Valley Medical Center after a witness reported seeing a man with a rifle butt extending from under his coat. The incident ended after 90 minutes with no injuries or arrests.
Wenatchee Police Chief Tom Robbins says the BB gun was brought to the medical center by an employee of the facility’s maintenance department. Robbins says scaring away pigeons is not the staffer’s primary job, but pigeons had become a maintenance issue on the roof.
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.
ANDERSON, S.C. — The Anderson City Council plans to consider Monday how to deal with a pigeon problem in the pavilion at Carolina Wren Park.
The council is expected to vote on whether to hire an animal control company to install a net inside the pavilion, which is downtown.
According to the agenda for Monday’s evening, a “recurring nuisance with pigeons nesting in the rafters” has developed at the pavilion.
“There have been some attempts to cease their interest in the pavilion through cleaning and installing an ultrasonic bird repellent with a strobe light,” according to the agenda. “But those efforts have been unsuccessful.”
City staff said the pigeons and their waste can cause property damage and pose a health risk, and cleaning up after them can be costly.
The city sought bids from pest control companies, to see how much it would cost to install a net inside the ceiling of the pavilion.
Orkin Pest Control bid $28,000, Trehel Corp. bid $16,899 and the low bidder was Animal Control Experts at $11,385.
If the council approves the expenditure, the money to pay for it would come from hospitality tax revenue the city collects.
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.
WEST CHESTER >>Chester County employees and visitors to the county’s Justice Center have been greeted by squawks and screeches, chatters and chitters, cawing and cackling over the past few weeks, all in the name of pigeon-proofing the county-owned parking garage there.
Thanks to the installation of a sonic bird repellent system in the garage, those parking their cars hear something vaguely reminiscent of a bad Tarzan jungle movie sound track, or something not too far from the noise in the shower scene of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho.”
The sounds that come from the system’s speakers – one on each of the floors two through six in the multi-level structure – are designed to mimic sounds of fright from pigeons and calls of impending avian doom from predator raptors.
And as much as the system seems to be working – one county employee described seeing pigeons perched on the concrete rafters of the garage scattering like roaches after a light is turned on when the system is activated –it also has caused some consternation in the neighborhood adjacent to the garage on West Market Street.
When the unit – a Electronic Bird Repeller Model 110 db purchased by the county’s Facilities and Parks Department for $1,104 from a retailer in Frazer – was installed three weeks ago, the manufacturer advised that it should be operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the initial break-in period, a county spokeswoman said.
That did not sit well with those whose homes surround the garage.
“At first I thought it was a mockingbird,” said one resident, who asked not to be identified. The screeching noises were easily heard in the night, what with windows open in the cool, fall-like weather, and kept the light sleeper awake. “I wondered where it was coming from, and finally decided it was coming form the garage.”
The contours of the system dictate that the recorded sonic bird bombardment goes on and off at irregular intervals, lasting for a minute or so. “I could hear it all night, even after I closed the windows,” the resident said. “I lost a lot of sleep.”
Rebecca Brain, county public information officer, said last week that the system had been switched to run only during the daytime hours from now on, although what constitutes daytime is open to interpretation. One observer said he heard the artificial birdcalls begin at 6:15 a.m. Saturday.
Brain said the system was installed to attempt to control the population of pigeons that had taken to roosting in the garage. The birds were not only a nuisance – spoiling the hoods and roofs of cars parked beneath them with their droppings – but also a public heath hazard because of the amount of guano they left behind.
“We looked at various options, and this was determined to be the most cost-effective and humane,” Brain said. A similar system had been in place at the county’s former Hazlett Building on North Walnut Street, and is now installed on the tower at the Government Services Center in West Goshen.
The need for a permanent electronic system became evident when the pigeons natural predator – a Peregrine Falcon that had taken up hunting the birds last fall – went elsewhere, having diverted the pigeons away from the garage. “The falcon left its perch and the pigeon population came back,” Brain said.
The soundtrack of the system is unnerving when one first encounters it, said one county employee who was bombarded one night when leaving the office late. But others say that unless someone points it out, the noises are just part of the background hum of life in downtown West Chester.
“When you hear it during the day, it is not nearly as bothersome as it was at night,” said the neighbor whose sleep was disturbed. “Although it is still not pleasant.”
To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
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.
WICKER PARK — Members of a grassroots coalition who are hoping to revitalize the pigeon-plagued intersection of Ashland, Milwaukee, and Division known as the Polish Triangle are soliciting feedback on how to improve the transit-friendly patch that serves as a gateway to four neighborhoods.
Inaddition to polling residents about what they’d like to see on the triangle, such as food trucks and seating, the short online survey released Wednesday asks, “If possible, should the existing fountain be removed?” and “If possible, should the pigeons be relocated?”
The long talked about pigeon relocation plan, which would require financing and city permits, would involve building a structure just east of the triangle where pigeons can nest, as their eggs are replaced with fake eggs to reduce the population.
“We can’t get rid of the pigeon feeders — the people that want to feed the birds will do that. But we want to get [the birds] off the triangle and somewhere else,” said Kapra Fleming, who owns the House of Two Urns, a bed and breakfast at 1239 N. Greenview Ave., around the corner from the triangle.
Fleming is one of 12 core members of the Polish Triangle Coalition, a group of leaders from local businesses and community groups who want to improve the small but significant spot that serves as Wicker Park’s southern gateway and a bridge to West Town enclaves East Village, Pulaski Park and Noble Square.
In addition to offering an entrance to the underground CTA Division Blue Line “L” station, the transit-oriented triangle has a stop for the CTA’s No. 70 Division bus.
The neighborhood’s only cab stand is located along the Milwaukee Avenue side of the triangle.
The most pressing question in the survey involves the uncovered stairway leading to the underground “L” station. The CTA is planning to add a canopy over the entrance as part of “Your New Blue,” a $492 million project that will modernize several stations.
“There is nothing protecting the steps from wind, snow and ice. Installing canopies has been on our wish list. The CTA said they would listen to community input. They are looking to see if people prefer a more contemporary or traditional look for the canopies,” Fleming said.
Fleming said some of coalition’s members met with CTA representatives in September to discuss the canopies and are scheduled to discuss the topic again in November.
The survey also polls residents on whether they would like to see the Polish Triangle’s fountain removed or replaced.
“Some people like the fountain; some want to get rid of it and redevelop the entire space. We want to get broader feedback,” Fleming said.
The survey will remain online through Oct. 24. The results of the survey will be posted on the coalition’s website in November.
Early Thursday, Greg Garrod, a worker at Sweet Cakes Bakery, 1223 N. Milwaukee Ave., which overlooks the triangle, said he would like to see the area improved.
“Every time I walk by it, I think it’s a focal point, they should do something more [with it], make it more community-oriented. Yesterday was a nice day and I would like to see places to sit. I sit on the fountain edge and get bombarded by pigeons,” Garrod said.
Take the Polish Triangle Coalition’s survey here.
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.
CHENNAI: It may not be the worst idea to carry an umbrella, if you’re at the airport, wearing your Sunday best. After all, you wouldn’t want it soiled with pigeon droppings right before you board an enclosed plane with 180 or so others. Even after trying to get their ‘pigeon hole’ problem sorted out, Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials are stumped at how these birds keep finding their way into the high-rise terminals. A Jet Airways ticketing staff even laughed about how pigeons were always on night-duty and were the first to ‘meet’ them when they enter the terminal at 3.30 am every morning.
Recently, a group of pigeons were seen enjoying the bliss of the terminal near the passenger waiting area, on the soft carpets paid for by AAI. “It was quite funny actually. Some of the sweepers tried to shoo them away, but they just hopped off and continued to preen themselves on the carpet. Maybe they wanted air-conditioning,” said Reena Makhija, who posted a photo of the pigeons on a social networking site. “Personally, I’m not complaining. It was great fun for the kids to watch the pigeons up close,” she added
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After several complaints about how pigeons were dropping their ‘uric acid’ pellets on unsuspecting passengers, AAI decided to deploy nets to cover the openings in the roof — but these were found to cause a different problem. “They are dirtying our floors and carpets as well. But by closing the skylights with nets, the lighting became a problem, so we are working out a solution for the trusses,” said an official. The ceiling was cleaned a month ago and several partial nests were cleared. But this has not impeded the entry and exit of the pigeons.
AAI had even consulted an expert about this issue last year, but we’re unable to find a viable solution. Ornithologist N Sankar pointed out that the openings in the ceiling and the high beams provided a perfect place for birds like pigeons to nest. “In an airport, there are firecrackers on the tarmac nearby used to scare birds away from the planes, so this will seem like a safe place to them,” he reasoned. He added that getting them to vacate after they had nested was a difficult task.
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.
In a scene reminiscent of a terrifying Alfred Hitchcock movie, a hospital in Drogheda has had to spend almost €20,000 on specialist netting to protect its workers from flocks of angry birds.
Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital bought the equipment last year to shield maintenance workers from feathered assailants in the vicinity of rooms containing vital hospital equipment, located on the roof of the public hospital.
A total of €18,435 was spent on three specialist roof nets to protect staff from the threat of nuisance birds, according to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
The hospital is situated close to Drogheda Port and around five miles from the Irish Sea.
The netting was required to protect staff from flocks of seagulls while carrying out maintenance work on ventilation systems and other machinery.
In addition, a pest control company was employed to remove a number of bird nests from the roof in July and August last year.
Nets
The cost of the specialist nets is part of a €35,152 spend on pest control by the hospital during the past five years.
“A decision was taken to purchase roof netting by Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in order to address bird activity and nesting in the vicinity of the hospital,” said a spokesperson for the Health Service Executive.
@The roof netting has been put in place to provide safe access for maintenance staff to the hospital’s plant rooms located on the hospital roof. “The plant rooms house hospital systems such as the main ventilation systems for operating theatres and intensive care areas.”
The spokesperson added that the netting has “proven successful in providing safe access to the staff to carry out their work in the plant rooms”.
The three roof nets cost over €6,000 each.
However, the hospital is examining additional methods of bird control to protect its staff from their feathered foes.
A proposal to install an ultrasonic bird repellent is currently being considered by management. In July the spread of seagulls was raised in the Seanad where Senator Ned O’Sullivan said they had “lost the run of themselves”.
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.
We’ll never recover our reputation for being a tough, brutally “Darwinian” city after you hear what goes on at the Wild Bird Fund, tucked behind a glass storefront on Columbus Avenue between 87th and 88th streets.
It’s astonishing.
Birds, all kinds of birds, from sparrows to seagulls, pigeons to falcons, to chickens, and even, for that matter, turtles, are brought in in boxes, injured, by New Yorkers, famed for being too rushed to notice anything but their iPhones, or their next meeting or date. Not true.
Not when an injured bird is spotted.
When I arrive, an attorney, “rehabber,” and friend of the Wild Bird Fund (WBF), Helen Lukievics, has arrived with a pigeon she expertly caught, near Wall St., and brought to the Upper West Side by taxi. Soon three medics (rehabbers) are bent over the bird, whose feet are a tangled mess, and will need to have a toe amputated. I am invited to watch, and we go downstairs.
Rita McMahon, WBF’s director, dressed in black slacks and T-shirt, with sparkling blue eyes welcomes me into the team, with trust. It feels like M.A.S.H, only for birds. Just an elemental, daily fight, under less than ideal conditions, to fix what is broken, ease pain, negotiate with life, against death, and when the fight is lost, to at least make death dignified, each creature assisted with love over the bridge.
McMahon must surely be the reigning Bird Whisperer of New York—she seems to know at first glance what the birds are suffering from. She can see from the hue of a pigeon’s foot or the pattern of shades on their feathers, what exactly is wrong. From lead poisoning to malnutrition, to broken bones, to a litany of other hazards—most of which are treatable.
But first you have to catch them. Helen is a pro.
“Oh it’s an acquired skill,” she said with a smile. “You should see me in Rome. My husband pretends he doesn’t know me.”
The WBF opened its doors in 2012, as New York’s first and only “wildlife rehabilitation and education center,” providing medical care, rehabilitation, surgery, detox and even physical therapy, to thousands of injured animals (mostly birds) a year.
Rita McMahon, Co-Founder and Director of the Wild Bird Fund, prepares to give a Canadian goose a bath on Aug. 28, 2014 (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)
Flyway
New York City, being on the North-South Atlantic flyway—a major migration path—is home to over 350 bird species, many stopping over in New York City on their way. For visiting birds, the expanding city is fraught with perils.
It all began about 10 years ago when Rita McMahon—formerly a television market research consultant—happened upon an injured wild goose on her way home from Connecticut. She took it to an animal hospital and paid out of pocket. It died the next day. “They knew nothing about birds,” McMahon said.
She had stumbled upon a huge void. New York City was the last major city in the United States not to have a wildlife rehabilitation center. She began treating and rehabilitating birds in her home, as did her friend, attorney Lukievics—once they were licensed to do so.
There were bird vets at the Center for Avian & Exotic Medicine, right across the street, which Rita and the other founders originally worked with, until they were able, after an “angel” donation, to open their own wildlife rehabilitation hospital.
Asked about some of the hazards for New York City’s birds, apart from the obvious ones, Rita says: “Hair extensions. That synthetic hair is so strong, it’s unbreakable. In some neighborhoods, this is becoming a huge problem for the birds. There’s also a repellent glue called Tanglefoot, that is supposed to be spread in a very thin layer on windowsills, but which people overuse.”
“They come in here just covered in it, immobilized,” she said. Birds also present frequently with lead poisoning, which requires weeks or even months of chelation therapy, respiratory infections, and of course, broken bones.
Bird Bigotry
I’m invited to witness the toe operation, and as we descend the stairs to the place where most of the birds are kept (waterfowl, complete with an eight foot pool, and the “nursery” of baby birds are upstairs) Helen, who loves pigeons, asks me to consider, in writing this, what I now call bird bigotry.
There are many kinds of wildlife here, and some of the birds are exotic and cherished. But pigeons are the main patient group. They rest in cages downstairs, their feet tagged with their names—the same as the name of the person who brought them in. They fly across the room, and the boys chase the girls in mating dances on the floor.
Helen warned me that pigeons—were I to emphasize them—could put people off, “ever since Woody Allen called them rats with wings.” (It was a character in “Stardust Memories” who said that.)
But then she started telling me, in tones of awe, why she loves them. “You know they dance. The males dance for the females—every time they see a female they start dancing. There was this male pigeon I will never forget. Well this guy, it was a snowstorm, a really bad snowstorm, and he was down by the Chelsea Pier, and he had no feet, just stumps, but he just started dancing this really wild dance for a female nearby him. It was as if he was saying, ‘Hey baby, come on, we’re all going to die anyway, let’s dance.’ It was just amazing. Pigeons are very stoic, exceptional animals.”
It wasn’t until I got home and did deeper research that I realized the abject moral failure in stigmatizing pigeons, and decided to lead this article with them, rather than try to sneak them in mid-text between cardinals and falcons. By the time I had done an elementary Google search, I was ready to get down on the ground and salute them.
Rita McMahon, Co-Founder and Director of the Wild Bird Fund, holds a Ring-billed gull at the center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on Aug. 28, 2014 (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)
Heroic Birds
For starters, homing pigeons helped us win World War II.
The British PDSA Dickin Award honoring animals in war has been given more times to pigeons than any other animal. The medal was awarded 54 times between 1943 and 1949—to 32 pigeons, 18 dogs, 3 horses, and 1 cat. The first recipients of the award, in December 1943, were three pigeons—White Vision, Winke, and Tyke—all serving the Royal Air Force, and each of them delivered messages that rescued ditched air crews.
Then there was Gustav that on June 6, 1944, brought the first messages from the Normandy beaches. (Pigeons played a vital role at Normandy, as radios were too risky.) A single pigeon named G.I. Joe is credited with saving 100 lives of U.S. soldiers. (He served with the United States Army Pigeon Service.)
Flying Dutchman delivered messages from agents in the Netherlands who were missing in action, while Scotch Lass flew with 38 microphotographs strapped to her leg across the North Sea, despite being injured. The list goes on.
To this day, war historians and code-breakers are trying to crack the code found on a pigeon that got stuck in a chimney in Surrey and perished, while on a mission, in 1944. The bird was posthumously given the Dickin Medal and is thought to have been a member of the secret wing of the National Pigeon Service, which maintained a squadron of 250,000 pigeons during the war.
Messenger pigeons go back at least 3,000 years, and were used to proclaim the winner of the Olympics. India only dismantled its police pigeon messenger service in 2002, “due to the expanded use of the internet.”
There are competing theories about how pigeons navigate. They have iron particles on their beaks that align with true north, but they also use smell, hearing, and light refraction.
They came to New York City around 1600. Next time you see one, issue a quiet thank you for the freedoms we enjoy partly due to these “hated” birds.
Surgery
Downstairs in the cramped operating room, Rita, Helen, and a third rehabber get to work on the pigeon, sedating the bird, watching her vital signs, and performing the amputation. There is a moment of ER alarm as their voices rise. “I don’t like the way she looks,” Helen said. “I think she’s overwhelmed.” But the bird quickly recovers. “This is one of the few birds who seems to know I was trying to help her,” Helen said.
Rita applies “suture” glue, then binds the injured foot in tiny sky-blue bandages that she winds as expertly as a master surgeon, explaining precisely how a pigeon’s foot has to be set to heal properly.
A second pigeon comes in virtually paralyzed, and is quickly tested for lead, which comes up “high.” This one goes in for several weeks of chelation therapy to get the lead out. Lead poisoning is one of the most common afflictions for the city’s birds, especially pigeons.
WBF is working with Magellan, the company that makes lead testing machines, conducting a study on 300 pigeons to see where in the city lead is elevated. The results will be presented to the New York City Health Department in hopes of staving off children being affected as well.
She raises an eyebrow, “If this can happen to the lowly pigeon, what about the children playing in these areas?”
(Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)
Raptors
“Please tell your readers we are so grateful, but we don’t need seed,” Rita said with a grin. “We need donations for medical equipment, more space, and more staff. More and more birds are coming in every day. We survive solely on donations.”
Rita is extremely gracious and doesn’t lord her knowledge or compassion, like so many animal saints do, as a means to cause people to feel ashamed. I notice this over and over. She and the others as well are extremely classy people. Sane, warm, smart, and efficient.
A male teenage kestrel falcon arrives in a box, brought in by a man named Charles, who offered not much information.
“How old is he, do we know?” Rita asks a rehabber in training.
“Nope,” she said.
“Yes we do,” Rita said, flashing her characteristic grin as her blue eyes sparkle. She points to his head. “See the baby down on the top of the head, the fuzz?”
It’s barely perceptible, but it means the bird is just left the nest—a fledgling.
Rita dons special “raptor gloves” and lifts him out, speaking to him tenderly. “Mind your head. Come on out.” Mesh screen covering the window serves to test both flight and perching skills.
“Looks good,” Rita said. “His weight is good for a youngster.” He is tested for hydration and given a clean bill of health. Most birds and other creatures are brought back to where they were found after they are rehabilitated, but not the raptors.
They’re extremely unpopular in Central Park with the other bird moms, as they eat the babies. Charles will go to a specialized facility in New Jersey called The Raptor Trust, which works closely with WBF.
Rita McMahon, Co-Founder and Director of the Wild Bird Fund, holds a Kestrel falcon at the center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on Aug. 28, 2014. (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)
Death
On a typical day here, upward of 20 injured birds will be brought in, and roughly 50 percent will die or have to be euthanized, meaning there is no earthly way they can survive with their injuries. The staff do try everything, spending up to several months on a single bird if need be.
A woman sits in the lobby with a mourning dove in a box, which has just been examined by the vet. Not good news. “Splayed legs,” she tells me, and Rita explains how this, which is fatal for a bird, can happen. A dove will have two eggs, and one may roll away or die, which means the parents place their entire weight on the remaining one.
That sometimes causes these splayed legs. This is something they can’t fix unless the bird is under two weeks of age. The woman is given the sad prognostic news, and the vet asks her: “Would you like some time with him?” She nods, tears dripping off her nose.
“I finally had to steel myself,” Rita said. “You get used to it.”
Downstairs, amid rows of cages, birds, mostly pigeons, fly from one side of the room to the other. A cardinal sits perched on a computer. I return to the operating room to look for my notepad.
“You can come in,” Rita said, “but this is not a happy time.” I understand what she means.
One of the baby sparrows is being lifted from his small cage.
“His feet are dead”” Rita explained. The feet are very important. Landing gear, for one thing, or, in the case of a sparrow, what they use to grip.
“He’ll never survive,” she says, cradling him in her hand, as she places him under the glass dome that will put him first to sleep with gas.
“Turn the light off, it’s calmer,” she says. In the darkened room, my heart pounds.
“I gave him his favorite worms and he ate them all,” the assistant says to Rita, who smiles. I bite my lip, as we watch his tiny head droop under the glass dome.
Rita takes him out, turns him over, and injects something into what seemed to be the heart area.
I see that his feet were a mess. His feathers look clammy.
“I’m sorry, I’m getting my sweat all over you, sweetheart,” Rita said tenderly.
“It’s painless,” she explains, moving the bird into a box. “It’s like falling asleep, only they don’t wake up.”
Broken wing bones, as well as injured feet, can be fatal, especially to diving birds like seagulls, and raptors like hawks. They need every bone in their complex wings working right or they can’t fly right. If one of those birds breaks a wing bone it can mean death. Pigeons rely less on their wings for food.
Recovery
In the waterfowl room, there are two large chickens that were found walking down a street in Astoria, and a herring gull with a stripe of pink neon paint down his back, which came in very sick but is doing better now. (There is no such thing as a “seagull,” not even the famous Jonathan Livingston. “Pacific gull,” or “herring gull,” this kind or that kind of gull—but no such thing as a “seagull.” )
The gull is taken from his cage and happily released into the waterfowl pool. “This pool makes such a difference for the waterfowl, psychologically, ” Rita said. “As long as they are in water, the world is okay with them.”
This fellow had been suffering from a series of problems, respiratory distress and possible poisoning, but Rita and the team nursed him back to health over several weeks and now he is the picture of health, and slated to be returned home.
Now that I have peered closely into a pigeon’s eye and seen the color of the iris—a vivid root beer shade—and seen up close how a sparrow’s feet bones are delicate as mere threads, I can no longer bear the thought of an oiled bird, or a glue-covered pigeon.
That very night I walk to the supermarket and I see a pigeon on the curb who doesn’t look quite right. I spend an hour with a box and crumbs trying to catch him. Or her. I fail, as she retreats under an SUV time and again. Haunted, I return the next day and there she is. To my delight, probably dreading the sight of me as I approach again to try to catch her, she finally flies.
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.
A campaign to rid a town centre of its pigeon problem has launched to help improve the area for visitors and businesses.
People are being urged not to feed the birds in and around Harrow Town centre as part of a project launched today.
The Harrow Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID) launched the campaign as part of its ongoing work to increase footfall to St Anns and Station Roads.
Louise Baxter operations manager for the Harrow BID said: “The day has been all about education of the public, explaining what we are trying to do and how we can improve the area.
“One of the biggest issues for businesses in the town centre, and the people who visit it, is the pigeons.
“A lot of the feedback we get tells us that people are put off from visiting because of the flocks of birds flying around and making a mess.
“We really want to make Harrow a vibrant place and a destination for people. And sorting this problem is a big part of our plan.”
Also at the launch was James Bradbury from BH Environment pest control with his Harris Hawk Max, demonstrating how his company goes about removing pigeons from town areas.
Jay Patel, who runs the Chocolate Room and is on the board of Harrow BID said: “This is a huge issue for all the businesses here.
“To me they are rats with wings and they make the area look scruffy which means people don’t want to come to the town centre.
“We want everyone to work together to make Harrow a more inviting place.”
Fellow trader Deivid Silva, of the Silver Rivet clothes shop said: “Some mornings we have had to clean the front step to our shop because of the bird mess.
“I understand if you want to feed birds in a park, but the town centre is not an appropriate place. They spread disease and are a general health hazard.”
The Harrow BID campaign is being supported by Harrow Borough Council which has also warned people that putting food on the ground constitutes littering and they could face an on the sport fine of £75.
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.
A Cleveland man has been left angered after his pigeons were savagely attacked in their loft.
Sean Wardle, of Carlin How, visited his allotment just off Westray Street at around 10.30am yesterday to discover four of his tumbler pigeons without heads as well as four chickens lying headless on the grass.
Sean, 45, said: “When I first saw the chickens I thought it must have been a fox.
“Then when I saw that the wire mesh on the front of the pigeon loft had been damaged but the padlock was still on I knew there was more to it.
“I couldn’t believe it when I found the birds lying there with no heads. They were still warm and one of them was still flapping so it can’t have happened long before I got there.”
Sean has maintained the allotment for the past 25 years but has only kept the 45 pigeons their in the loft for the past two and a half years.
Despite never showing the birds professionally, Sean, who looks after the birds with his girlfriend Louise Neate, puts a lot of time and effort into their care.
He said: “The birds aren’t worth a lot but they mean a lot to me. I am doing something for a hobby and not harming anyone. I just can’t understand people.”
Sean Wardle of Carlin HowSean Wardle of Carlin How
Sean shares his allotment with a friend, Ryan Taylor, whose four chickens were also killed during the attack.
Ryan, 18, who only got the chickens about a month ago said: “I couldn’t believe it when I heard what had happened. They had just started laying eggs and I was planning on getting more.
“I also thought about getting some ducks and a goat for the allotment but now I will be thinking twice about it.”
Louise, 36, said: “I think it is an absolute disgrace that somebody could do this.”
Sean added: “The rest of the birds now won’t go back inside.
“They’re obviously scared about what has happened. I just think it is sick and I don’t know what someone would get out of doing this.”
Cleveland Police confirmed that an investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information should call 101.
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.
PIGEONS roosting beneath a Redhill bridge have ruffled the feathers of residents and commuters.
Many birds have made their home under the bridge next to the town’s railway station, resulting in pigeon poo smattering the pavements and busy A25.
The Mirror was contacted about the issue by Reigate reader Sarah Ballingal.
She said: “It is usually bad enough, but when I walked under there on the morning of August 23 I couldn’t believe how bad it had become.
“The amount of feathers there was extraordinary.
“It was as though every pigeon in the town had been plucked there.
“It’s disgusting, a major health hazard and an appalling blot on Redhill’s already shaky reputation.”
She said new visitors to the town would not stay too long when they saw how bad things had become there. Other residents also feel aggrieved.
Gareth Hughes, who has lived for 20 years in nearby St Anne’s Drive, said: “It’s such an eyesore.
“There’s pigeons’ mess all over the footpath and road. It’s unhygienic as well as looking ugly.”
Mr Hughes said protective netting was needed to deter the birds.
Malcolm Collins, of Redstone Hill, said: “I’ve never yet been hit by pigeon droppings but its probably only a matter of time. There are up to 20 pigeons roosting under the bridge.
“I think some metal pigeon proofing strips were put up there in recent years, but things have got worse recently.”
Chris Denham, spokesman for Network Rail which owns the bridge, said: “Pigeons can be a menace.
“We usually schedule pigeon proofing for when other work is also planned as logistics like road closure orders are expensive and sometimes difficult to get.
“We tend to go for anti-pigeon mesh these days as it lasts longer and is more effective than the old nets.
“We will liaise with the local council and then decide on what measures, such as spikes and netting, will be implemented.”
Richard Dewar, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council’s outreach manager, said: “It is the responsibility of Network Rail to ensure pigeons do not colonise railway bridges and, as such, most bridges in the area have had pigeon proofing added.
“However, as the local authority, it is our role to report complaints about pigeon fouling to Network Rail.
“And where residents notice this problem under railway bridges, we would encourage them to report it to us online.”
Complaints can be recorded via the council’s website www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk. Alternatively call the authority on 01737 27600
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.
Foot deformities are ubiquitous in urban pigeons – why? As you’ll know if you’ve spent any time watching the pigeons of towns and cities, something like one in every ten (or more) has missing or partial toes, or swollen toes, or other pedal deformities of some sort. And then there are really extreme individuals – the ones that are missing feet altogether.
Poor footless urban pigeon, encountered close to Kew train station. The right foot is completely absent; the left one had at least one toe, curled round such that the bird was walking on the toe’s lateral side. Photo by Darren Naish.
I’m talking here about the domestic form of Columba livia, the so-called Rock pigeon or Rock dove. And, while I’ve only noticed deformed pigeons here in the UK, it certainly isn’t a UK-only thing, as continental European and North American [UPDATE: and South American] people will confirm.
The bird in the photos here was able to fly around and feed itself, and it might be broadly described as ‘healthy’. However, note that it’s in pretty poor condition. The feathers on its head and neck looked terrible and its rectrices (the big tail feathers) were frayed and shabby. I reckon this is partly due to an inability to groom and scratch itself: obviously, birds use their feet to reach parts that they can’t get to with the bill.
The impact of this is more than cosmetic, since birds with a poorly maintained or unrepaired plumage are disadvantaged in flight relative to tidier individuals, and less able to keep themselves warm and waterproofed. And a bird that isn’t able to groom parts of its plumage is also at risk of being unable to keep on top of parasites like ticks and feather mites (see the ‘pigeon’s eye view’ Tet Zoo article linked to below). And, as has been demonstrated through various experiments, birds with shabby-looking plumage are less attractive as mates (Clayton 1990), so a bad-looking pigeon is likely to be a non-breeding pigeon. It’s also worth noting that (like many animals), pigeons preferentially use one foot more than the other as goes the way they land and perch and sit and so on (Fisher 1957), so individuals that lose or damage their preferred foot might end up being doubly disadvantaged (imagine being right-handed, and then having to rely only on your left hand for evermore). I don’t know how concerned people are about the emotional well-being of animals like urban pigeons (or how far they’re prepared to go in admitting that non-human animals have feelings and states of mind), but I think we can be fairly confident that the most severely deformed of these birds are – at least at times – miserable, unhappy and frustrated.
Several ideas have been put forward to explain the many foot problems seen in urban pigeons. Some probably lose toes after getting them tangled in litter or anti-pigeon netting, or after they’ve injuries received from anti-pigeon spikes installed on signs and ledges. Fine wire, string, cotton thread and even human hair can all cause problems for birds when caught on or around digits, and some people say that interaction with fine thread and string and so on is the primary cause of pigeon foot damage. It’s also sometimes suggested that the deformities result from infections received after standing on excrement, and also that the birds become damaged through interaction with chemicals used on roofs and building stone. But the ‘chemical injury’ idea is unlikely to be correct, since (A) exactly what sort of chemicals are we talking about here, and why have they been used on buildings in the first place?, and (B) a chemical would basically have to be a powerful acid or alkaline agent (hydrochloric acid, or a very strong bleach) before it might damage a bird’s feet. For completeness, note that hereditary deformities like those reported for some captive populations of other pigeon species (Flach & Cooper 1991) might also explain some of the abnormalities observed in urban pigeons.
Other hazards that might affect an urban pigeon. At left: voracious park-dwelling pelicans! (photo: PA). At right: deceased Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) following encounter with motor vehicle; note ‘terror-moulted’ lack of rectrices. Photo by Darren Naish.
Pigeons are not, of course, the only birds that end up with damaged feet. You might recall the foot-lacking Rock pipit Anthus petrosus I featured here recently…
I’ve been photographing pigeons a lot lately, but pigeons of a different species from C. livia. More about that another time. For previous Tet Zoo articles relevant to some of the subjects covered here, see…
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.
ANDERSON, S.C. — The Anderson City Council plans to consider Monday how to deal with a pigeon problem in the pavilion at Carolina Wren Park.
The council is expected to vote on whether to hire an animal control company to install a net inside the pavilion, which is downtown.
According to the agenda for Monday’s evening, a “recurring nuisance with pigeons nesting in the rafters” has developed at the pavilion.
“There have been some attempts to cease their interest in the pavilion through cleaning and installing an ultrasonic bird repellent with a strobe light,” according to the agenda. “But those efforts have been unsuccessful.”
City staff said the pigeons and their waste can cause property damage and pose a health risk, and cleaning up after them can be costly.
The city sought bids from pest control companies, to see how much it would cost to install a net inside the ceiling of the pavilion.
Orkin Pest Control bid $28,000, Trehel Corp. bid $16,899 and the low bidder was Animal Control Experts at $11,385.
If the council approves the expenditure, the money to pay for it would come from hospitality tax revenue the city collects.
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.
A senior Coast Guard officer urged anyone planning to use fireworks, flares or Chinese lanterns to contact the marine rescue centre in Valentia, in advance.
“We would encourage people to advise Valentia of what they intend to use, and to give them the details of where, when and what duration their event will be,” said Dermot Sheehan, deputy officer in charge of the Goleen Coast Guard unit.
He was speaking after the unit spent 90 minutes scouring the rugged coastline at the southern tip of the Mizen peninsula, on Saturday morning, after reports that a flare had been sighted.
It was later discovered that the flare had been released to mark a racing pigeon ‘liberation’, near Barleycove.
The alarm was raised around 11am, when a person with a holiday home near the scenic Three Castle Head, a few miles west of Barleycove, reported seeing a trail of smoke and a flare, and that its trajectory suggested that someone was in distress near the coast, or or just off shore.
The marine rescue centre, at Valentia, tasked Goleen Coast Guard, and its members were deployed along the coastline, from Barleycove to Dunlough Bay.
As the operation continued, the occupants of several yachts reported to Valentia that they had seen nothing unusual. Coast guard members eventually spoke to a backpacker, who solved the mystery — they had seen a flare being set off as hundreds of pigeons were released from a truck, parked on The Causeway, near Barleycove.
The search operation was stood down.
Mr Sheehan said the holidaymaker did the right thing by raising the alarm.
“The person should be commended for being so observant and civic-minded,” he said.
“You should never be afraid of making that call. If you are in doubt at all, our advice is to alert the authorities and let us check it out. And don’t hesitate. Minutes can be vital.”
He also said that those involved in released the racing pigeons may not have been aware of the protocols around the release of flares, especially near coastal areas.
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.
People who enjoy gambling have something in common with pigeons.
That is according to research, which suggests human gamblers and pigeons are 35% more likely to take greater risks when there is a chance of a big win.
Is it worth the gamble? Credit: Nel Pavletic/PIXSELL
Birds are distantly related to humans, yet we still share the same basic psychology that drives risk-taking. This may be due to a shared common ancestry or similar evolutionary pressures.
When people gamble, they often rely on past experiences with risk and rewards to make decisions. What we found in this study is that pigeons used these past experiences in very similar ways to guide their future gambling decisions. Any big wins we’ve had in the past are memorable and stand-out when we are making our decision to gamble again.
– DR ELLIOT LUDVIG, FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK’S DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
The pigeons and human volunteers were testing with four options – two that led to high-value rewards and two that led to low-value rewards. Humans were rewarded with points and the birds were rewarded with food.
The study, published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, was conducted in collaboration with the University of Alberta, Canada, and part-funded by the Alberta Gambling Research InstituteCredit: John Walton/EMPICS Sport
For each high or low reward level, one safe option resulted in a guaranteed fixed reward, and one risky option yielded a 50/50 chance of a better or worse outcome.
Both birds and humans were found to be 35% more likely to take a gamble on the high-value rewards.
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.
Some employees at GM’s Delta plant sent us pictures of dead pigeons and their feathers scattered around the facility.They want to know what is killing the birds and what could be left behind.
6 News Nick Perreault talked with General Motors about the issue.
General Motors spokesperson Erin Davis confirmed a facilities manager did find a dead pigeon on the grounds and adds Rose Pest Solution has been brought in to address the problem.
Again a facilities manager found one pigeon not hundreds, but employees disagree.
6 News was told by a former Rose Pest employee there have been hundreds of pigeons in the past few years that collect around ceiling fans near the paint part of the plant.
The company would leave out material for the pigeons in hopes of preventing them from returning.
Though that former employee said that material is not intended to the kill the birds, but says General Motors has been a client for years addressing this problem.
Aside from the obvious health concerns to employees, being around feces and potential dead birds, Erin Davis says this could cause a delay in work.
If mechanical equipment is cover in bird feces, they’d have to wash down all their equipment and wait some time before they can resume working.
Rose Pest Solutions and General Motors along with environmental engineers are handling the issue and hope this doesn’t spread any more.
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.
The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System has a problem. The myriad mirrors that reflect the sun’s searing rays onto towers that generate electricity also create a death ray that fries anything in its path, namely poor innocent birds flying through the desert. But don’t worry. They’re working on it.
Following a rather alarming Associated Press report about the fried bird problem, I reached out to BrightSource Energy, the company that operates the Ivanpah solar plant, to find out exactly how they were going to stop killing so many birds. According to the AP, the plant’s death ray zaps one bird every two seconds. The AP also reports that BrightSource is spending $US1.8 on a mitigation fund that could be used to spay and neuter cats. Because maybe fewer cats mean fewer cat-related bird deaths which somehow offsets the solar death ray bird deaths? Whatever.
They have other (read: better) ideas, too! NRG Energy, the majority owner of the Ivanpah project, is working with local wildlife organisations and investigating a number of avian deterrent efforts, including the same kinds of systems that airports use to keep birds away. Some of the options under consideration include anti-perching devices, waste and water containment systems to keep birds from looking for food near by, replacing conventional lighting with anti-bird LEDs, and sonic deterrent methods. The company’s communications director Jeff Holland explained the progress of these efforts in an email:
As to the efforts currently underway, the waste and water containment is actively being done daily and the heliostat repositioning is complete. The sonic deterrent has been purchased and is in the process of being tested on site. The lighting on the towers are now being turned off at night and bids to replace the current ground level lighting with LED were returned this week and will be purchased and installed.
To its credit, NRG appears to be taking the wildlife problem pretty seriously. Holland told me that his company has spend “$25 million for our desert tortoise program, and in developing a high quality, scientifically valid, and robust avian plan.” And let’s not forget that solar energy is a very good thing and this facility is producing quite a lot of it. Bummer about the dead birds, though.
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.
A bird control spike, also called an anti-roosting spike or roost modification, is really a device composed of lengthy, needle-like rods employed for bird control. They may be mounted on building ledges, street lighting, and commercial signs to avoid wild or feral birds from perching or roosting. Birds can establish large amounts of unsightly and unclean feces, plus some birds have very noisy calls that may be bothersome for nearby citizens, especially during the night. Consequently, bird control spikes are utilized to deter these birds without leading to them harm or killing them.
Bird control deterrent spikes are usually around 1 feet (30 centimetres) lengthy, and work by reduction of the region readily available for birds to find. This forces bigger types of birds, for example seagulls, pigeons, crows and vultures, to land elsewhere. Because the birds don’t touch the spikes, the birds go unscathed.
Referred to as “the very best (kind of) stand-alone bird deterrent”, bird control spikes can be put along ledges, walls, on the top of business signs, closed circuit television cameras as well as in rain gutters, to be able to prevent birds from perching around the surfaces. Bird control spikes are most typical in city centers and seaside areas, where feral birds tend to be more common and more prone to enter into conflict with humans. In addition to being accustomed to control wild birds, bird control spikes see limited use within stopping bigger climbing creatures for example squirrels, raccoons and snakes from crossing a place.
Some bird control deterrent spikes are electrified, utilizing the same principle being an electric fence to improve effectiveness, and also the distress call from the shocked bird can scare others in the region. However, such products cause unnecessary injury to birds, and therefore are therefore illegal in certain areas, like the Uk. Sharp-expected bird control spikes are illegal in a lot of the relaxation around the globe, and therefore are unacceptable for areas that are regularly available for humans. Consequently, some companies manufacture special blunted spikes to be used where sharp spikes are harmful or illegal. However, the blunt spikes are less efficient at removing birds, and can’t block climbing creatures.
Pigeon spikes have totally changed the. Those are the best, safe preventives from roosting pigeons. After first bursting to the scene in 1995, these amazing pigeon spikes are actually the standard.
Pigeon control is indeed a problem for a lot of companies and home owners. Pigeon waste can cause any adverse health hazard and nesting pigeons could affect your company as well as your home value. Though you should control pigeon nesting, it’s essential to get it done inside a safe, humane way.
Nearly invisible once installed, the incredible pigeon spikes deter pigeons from nesting in your roof, ledge, and fence or elsewhere they’re installed. Pigeon spikes really are a strip of dense spikes constructed of stainless that prevent pigeons from nesting in your yard without doing harm to them.
Pigeon spikes are economical and the very best protection readily available for pigeon control. Pigeons can transport a variety of illnesses varying from salmonellosis, t . b etc. Pigeons, apart from their threat to humans and domestic creatures through disease, their waste, nesting materials and dead carcasses may cause mite and insect contaminations which create further hazards for humans and animals.
Building proprietors are too acquainted with the harm that pigeon waste may cause for their structures along with other property. The waste, nesting materials and pigeon down also block gutters and rain pipes and can result in harm to your building consequently.
The nuisance and dangers natural in almost any area where pigeons are nesting is apparent and real and that’s why many property proprietors are utilizing pigeon spikes to manage the issue without doing harm to the pigeons. This humane method of pigeon control may be the only effective way of relieving your condition without downloading copyrighted movies or harming the pigeons physically.
Many large structures and complexes have used pigeon spikes for quite some time, formerly, they weren’t designed for home owners. The pigeon spikes offers highly economical, simple to install pigeon spikes for companies and home owners alike.
Now you can safeguard your home, your employees, your family, buddies and business contacts with these pigeon spikes and freeing yourself from the health problems and also the damage to property connected with nesting pigeons. These pigeon spikes are simple to install and can securely finish your condition with undesirable pigeons along with other nesting birds.
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.
Right now, feral pigeons on apartments, heritage buildings and architectural showpieces are detested as pests or vermin. In some advanced countries they are contemptuously referred to as ‘rats with wings’. Their droppings cause defacement and stench, and many consider their constant cooing, moaning and flapping of wings a nuisance. Feeding pigeons in the open is forbidden by law in some countries.
e high-rise terminals. A Jet Airways ticketing staff even laughed about how pigeons were always on night-duty and were the first to ‘meet’ them when they enter the terminal at 3.30 am every morning.
t in to address the problem.
nergy, the majority owner of the Ivanpah project, is working with local wildlife organisations and investigating a number of avian deterrent efforts, including the same kinds of systems that airports use to keep birds away. Some of the options under consideration include anti-perching devices, waste and water containment systems to keep birds from looking for food near by, replacing conventional lighting with anti-bird LEDs, and sonic deterrent methods. The company’s communications director Jeff Holland explained the progress of these efforts in an email:
