by Pigeon Patrol | Jan 18, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeons in the News
BEIRUT: After weeks of warning the Lebanese over rotten and contaminated meat, the health minister raised red flags Tuesday over something seemingly more innocuous: wheat.
“Lebanese are sharing wheat with rats and pigeons,” Health Minister Wael Abu Faour said Tuesday at the end of an inspection tour of grain silos at Beirut’s port.
“There is a fence, but it’s not sufficient,” Abu Faour told a news conference with the agriculture and economy ministers. “We found a number of rats and rodents, some of them dead.”
“The presence of a huge number of birds also allows the transmission of spores,” he said from the port. “There are also pigeons, some of them dead, around the silos.”
The health minister said two other issues that need to be addressed were the cargo containers and maintenance rooms that could lead to water leakage, causing mold to thrive.
Abu Faour also said the trucks transporting the grain “were not in good condition.”
He referred the case to judicial authorities.
Abu Faour acknowledged that grain silos in the port have recently been placed under new management, noting that an administration was set up only seven months ago, and a manager was appointed two months later.
The health minister said that he “did not hold any party responsible” for the filthy conditions given that the problems in Beirut’s port have been accumulating for years.
But the agriculture minister was quick to blame the poor conditions on the government’s “historic neglect of this port.”
Chehayeb also expressed concern over the facility’s working conditions, noting that 4,000 truck drivers do not have access to a single bathroom.
Port manager Moussa Khoury expressed his support for the health minister’s campaign, but noted that investigations were restricted to areas surrounding the silos and not inside the silos themselves.
Abu Faour and Chehayeb could not access the silos because they became trapped in an elevator for 15 minutes inside the facility.
Despite the poor conditions of the facility, the manager maintained his belief that the wheat abided by health standards, noting that the grains are received and withdrawn from the silos using approved equipment. Khoury also noted that the grains are sterilized before being transferred to the mill.
Tuesday’s move was the latest in a series of actions undertaken by Abu Faour as part of his wildly popular food safety campaign last month. Abu Faour and inspectors from the ministry have been inspecting food and transportation facilities around the country, highlighting safety violations publicly.
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 | Jan 16, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News
A hawk – or hawks – once made the top of City Hall home. And, apparently, the birds of prey did yeoman’s work in keeping the pigeon population in check.
Those hawks, though, have found another place to rest their claws. No one knows why. Since then, the place has really gone to… the other birds.
With no predators around, the pigeon population proliferated. So did the amount of pigeon droppings that rain down from the ledges where they perch on the 12-story building.
The droppings have become such a problem that the city hired an animal control company to move the birds. The city has also paid to have the windows power washed three times. Some city staffers have relocated important meetings because of the unsightly office windows.
“It’s gross,” city spokeswoman Lori Crouch said. “You can’t have a meeting in your office when your windows are literally covered in poo.”
So far, the animal control and cleanings have cost $24,000, with another $6,700 job coming after the holidays, according to the city. The power washings, which likely will continue every week or two, cost $1,600 apiece.
City staffers see the humor in the ordeal. One joke involves a new nickname for the building. (Hint: It rhymes with City Hall.)
For a holiday gift exchange, Crouch received a “bird poop survival kit,” including Windex, a squeegee, wipes – and a bird ornament.
Another staffer got a bird feeder.
A company named ACME Animal Control has been trying to resolve the issue since August. But, in some respects, things have gotten worse.
ACME installed bird spikes around the top floors of the building where the pigeons roost to deter them from sticking around. While some have taken the hint, the rest have gathered on a panel just below the building’s roof.
“Every place we spiked pushed them up higher and higher,” said David Freeman, director of the city’s General Services Department.
“And as they started going higher, the poop problem started getting worse.”
Freeman described a “splatter effect.”
“It has a lot more intensity when it hits something,” he said.
The windows on the 10th and 11th floors on the north and east sides of the building take the worst of the waste.
After the holidays, the city will add another round of spikes and hope that does the trick, Freeman said. If not, it will look at other options.
“It’s been a cat-and-mouse game,” Freeman said. “We’re winning all these battles and eventually we’re going to end up winning the war.”
Of course, Freeman wouldn’t mind a little help. A hawk would be a welcome addition to the neighborhood.
“They certainly would not starve,” Freeman said. “There would be plenty of food to eat.”
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 | Jan 16, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Pigeons in the News
Thousands of pigeons have invaded a small town in Scotland – coating roofs, streets and pavements in droppings and feathers.
Frustrated residents in Alva, Clackmannanshire, have hit out at council officials for failing to take action to remove the birds after they claim they have been hit be a ‘plague of pigeons’.
It is thought the birds are looking for a place to roost after the demolition of a former pub, the Alva Glen Hotel, which had lain empty for years and where they had taken residency.
A small town in Scotland has been invaded by a swarm of pigeons, which have coated roofs and pavements with droppings and feathers
But it was recently knocked down after it was discovered that drug barons had been using it as a cannabis farm in 2009.
Residents have complained that persistent problems include pigeons taking to balconies and that roofs of buildings are being covered in feathers and droppings.
Frank Cairns, 45, a local publican who lives and works in Main Street where most of the birds have settled, said: ‘It’s an absolute nightmare. It’s like we’ve gone back to the Middle Ages with street hygiene.
‘It will harm trade, no doubt about that. It gives us a harder job to keep the place clean.’
His sister Katrina Cairns added: ‘We have had to clean the gutters three times to clean out the pigeon mess. It is all getting dragged in here.
‘School kids are walking along the street, walking it into shops, the school, their houses.
‘I know the council said they are sending a cleaner along the street, but the mess is still there. The disease it brings – they are not exactly clean animals.
It is thought the birds are trying to find somewhere to roost after their previous home – the Alva Glen Hotel – was recently demolished
The pigeons can be seen in their thousands as they sit on roofs of houses. Furious residents have complained the council has not done enough to remove the birds
‘It’s not great, you have to try to avoid it in the street.’
Graham Johnston owns a watch shop and has many of the pigeons roosting on his roof: ‘It is annoying. Someone must be feeding them or they’d be away by now.
‘There is droppings all along the pavement. It’s horrible. The mess gets brought into the shop from the pavement outside. There is nothing being done about it.’
James McDonald, 64, who lives opposite where the hotel used to be, added: ‘It’s not very nice, the mess in the street is horrible.’
George Horsburgh, former secretary of Alva Community Council, who is also part of the Alva Community Action Group, said: ‘This has infuriated many residents of Alva who are worst affected, in particular residents of the flattened dwellings in The Wynd.
‘The residents there have to put up with many of the pigeons roosting on their balconies overnight and part of the day, making them unusable to the residents, some of them have resorted to fitting strawberry netting across the front of their balconies to prevent the pigeons from gaining access.
‘One older lady constantly complains that they roost on her window ledges and wonders why no action has been taken.’
Residents have complained that persistent problems include pigeons taking to balconies and that roofs of buildings are being covered in feathers and droppings
The derelict former hotel was bought and flattened by construction firm Murdoch Smith last year after it was branded an eyesore, due to its state of disrepair and problems surrounding the maintenance of the building date as far back as 2006.
Local MP Gordon Banks agrees the pigeon issue is causing distress for many people, and believes the situation has been a long time coming.
He said: ‘There can be no doubt that there are hundreds of pigeons displaced from the old Alva Glen Hotel and such populations are an obvious result of buildings lying empty and falling into disrepair, so the problem has been a long time in the making.
‘Now that their roost has been destroyed these birds are in the open and can often be seen swarming in their hundreds in the area.
‘The council’s hope that they will naturally disperse does not seem to have much support and I hope there is some way that the council will rethink their position and investigate methods for dispersal.
‘This is a problem where buildings are allowed to fall into disrepair and impacts other areas of the county as well, so I look forward to the council being more proactive on empty buildings in the future.’
Another resident said: ‘As soon as they took the roof of the Alva Glen Hotel, the town was hit by a plague of pigeons flying around wondering where their home had gone. They had all been roosting in the attic.’
The birds had been roosting in the Alva Glen Hotel (pictured) before it was recently demolished after residents complained it was an ‘eyesore’
The small town of Alva in Clackmannanshire has been inundated with the pigeons and the local council has organised extra street cleaning
Clackmannanshire Council said it had been concerned about the potential for problems from pests from the site and, in advance of the demolition, had investigated options for culling the birds.
A spokeswoman for the council said: ‘Due to animal welfare legislation we were unable to net the buildings as it would have trapped the birds inside and due to the poor state of the building we were unable to gain access to poison the birds.
‘It was expected that the pigeon population of Alva would decrease as the air temperature dropped and the pigeons are forced to find new sheltered spots for roosting at night.
‘The persistence of birds during daytime is indicative of food being put out for the birds during the day.
‘The council has investigated a number of reports and spoken to those responsible.
‘To reduce the impact off the pigeon droppings on the pavements of Alva, the council has organised extra street cleansing and also arranged for high powered jet washing of the worst affected areas.
‘Council officers will continue to monitor the situation, and consider further action should the issue persist.’
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 | Jan 16, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeons in the News
As per reports, the birds have been seen dropping dead from trees along the roads shedding saliva from their mouths.
Plenty of carcasses were seen in Brahmagiri market, Brahmagiri-Kusubenti and Delang-Brahmagiri roads. While the cause of death of pigeons have not been ascertained, possible spread of avian influenza has worried the locals.
Meanwhile, two persons have been admitted to Capital Hospital in Odisha capital for avian flu infection.
In the second week of December last year, a bird flu alert was sounded by the local administration in Chilika lake after hundreds of migratory birds were found dead in the area.
The local administration had put up posters around Chilika urging people not to catch, prey or eat bird meat or step over their excreta. The posters had also advised the locals not to let their domestic animals go anywhere near the dead birds or touch it themselves warning them that they could risk getting infected if they did so.
It may be noted that, many migratory bird had died in 2012 in similar fashion. H5N1 avian influenza was detected after swabs and blood sample collected from dead birds from seven different areas of Nalabana were studied by experts from Institute of Natural Historical Science, Mumbai and Bird Research Centre in Bhopal.
As Brahmagiri is not far from Chilika, the largest brackish water lake in India, the people in the region have reasons to worry about.
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 | Dec 17, 2014 | Pigeons in the News
When you look at a pigeon, you might see a dirty, rat-like bird that fouls anything it touches with feathers or feces, but I see a waste-scavenging, protein-generating biomachine.
You see, city pigeons are the feral descendants of birds that were domesticated by humans thousands of years ago so that we could eat them and use their guano as fertilizer. They’re still doing their part, i.e. eating and breeding, but we humans have stopped doing ours, i.e. eating them.
Numbering in the hundreds of millions, they could be a new source of guilt-free protein for locavores in urban centers. Instead, we’re still trying to kill off our species’ former pet birds, which (as any city-dweller can attest) doesn’t work.
“Killing makes no sense at all,” Daniel Haag-Wackernagel, a biologist at the University of Basel, told Der Spiegel. “The birds have an enormous reproduction capacity and they’ll just come back. There is a linear relationship between the bird population and the amount of food available.”
“This explosion of the pigeon population is due to the large food supply, because after the war food became cheap in relation to income,” Haag-Wackernagel argues.
“Since this increase in our welfare, society has produced pigeon food in abundance through our wasteful practices.”
It wasn’t always this way. In fact, eating pigeons is as American as eating pumpkin pie. Probably more so, on a net weight basis, actually.
A 1917 report to the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture details the story of the
American passenger pigeon, extinct kin to our current city birds. The birds provided our founding fathers with a bountiful feast in 1648 when, according to Massachusets Bay Colony luminary John Winthrop, “multitudes of them were killed daily.”
The report describes the many millions of birds that were killed all across the nation through the 19th century. A specialized itinerant profession even arose, the netters, who when pigeons were spotted
“learned their whereabouts by telegraph, packed up their belongings, and moved to the new location.” In one particularly fascinating section, the author describes the last great flock of New
York pigeons on the lam from marauding bands of netters who sell their meat to market.
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 | Dec 17, 2014 | Pigeons in the News
http://youtu.be/1dxDf9r6PiY
Watch as this clever pigeon outsmarts a cat! Taunting at its finest. Those pesky pigeons.
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 | Dec 17, 2014 | Pigeons in the News
A 91-year-old Bronx woman was bilked out of $1,000 after two charlatans promised her a small fortune they had found on the street, authorities said Friday.
The senior was walking along W. 235th St. near the Henry Hudson Pkwy. in Kingsbridge at about noon on Dec. 3 when a woman ran up to her claiming to have found a bag of money nearby, cops said.
Then a man — the suspect’s accomplice — approached and said he saw the woman find the bag.
He convinced the nonagenarian that the three of them could split the cash if the elderly woman gave them some money up front in an apparent show of good faith.
The senior took the swindlers to an area bank, where she withdrew $1,000 and gave it to them, cops said.
The duo promised to reach out to the victim the next day and tell her where to pick up her share of the loot, but they never called, cops said.
The so-called pigeon-drop scam was the second time in a week that a trusting elderly woman fell for the con, officials said.
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 | Dec 17, 2014 | Bird Netting
At first glance the Pouter pigeon may look like a product of two too many inbreeding.
The Pouter pigeons are domesticated varieties of the Rock Pigeon, Columba livia, characterized by a very large, inflatable crop. There are many varieties of pouter with little in common except for the nature of the crop. The origin of the breed is unknown, but Pouters have been bred in Europe for at least 400 years. Pouters are among the tallest of pigeons and these slim birds can stand around sixteen inches tall on their very long legs.
Fun Fact: Edwardian fashion of the early 1900’s modeled their so-called “pigeon pouter blouses” in regards to the poofed breast of the bird.
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 | Dec 16, 2014 | Bird Netting
It is a well-known and documented fact that pigeons tend to destroy roofs– even collapsing ceilings with their droppings. But did you know the calamity extends to your home garden?
Pigeons are major pests of all cabbage family plants, peas, raspberries, gooseberries and blackcurrants.
You may not see the pigeons actually attacking plants, as they often visit in early morning. This is some of the damage they cause:
- Torn leaves caused by the pigeons pecking and ripping off portions
- In severe attacks, most of the foliage is lost, leaving only the leaf stalks.
- Heavy pigeon grazing prevents brassicas and peas from growing and so no crop is produced
- Pigeons also eat the fruit of cherries and currants
Typical damage to Brussel sprouts caused by pigeons pecking and ripping off leaves.
Pigeon Damage to Cauliflower
Cabbage damage by pigeons
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 | Dec 16, 2014 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Pigeon Patrol's Services
Affectionately known by most people as rats with wings, sky rats, gutter birds and flying ashtrays, pigeons must be one of the most unloved birds around.
The hatred can be extreme, with extreme pigeon fearing labelled as peristerophobia, but it is so widely shared several clothing manufacturers produce “I hate pigeons” T-shirts.
The mayor of New York’s latest operation in the Pigeon War, he is defending his ban on feeding in court. He opened hostilities several years ago, throwing money and some interesting tactics at the problem – a pair of Harris hawks being just one.
Pigeons are seen as the disease-ridden source of myriad droppings.
We will poop on everything you love
But when it comes to hating pigeons, the focus of most people’s dislike is the feral pigeon. It is a domesticated rock dove that has returned to wild or semi-wild conditions. It is usually grey and can be seen in most villages, towns and cities across the UK – and Europe.
They are known to be susceptible to some diseases like tuberculosis, although no more so than any other bird species or wild animals. But the fact there are so many of them means people have good reason to raise the point, argue critics. There are millions.
We share the UK with an estimated 18 million feral pigeons and they can breed up to up to six times a year. They are one of the few birds recognised by the government as a nuisance pest and can be controlled using humane methods and with a licence.
The sheer scale of numbers has resulted in two other commonly cited criticisms – they damage property and drive out other bird species.
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 | Dec 16, 2014 | Pigeons in the News
Pigeons have lived alongside man for thousands of years with the first images of pigeons being found by archaeologists in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and dating back to 3000BC.
It was the Sumerians in Mesopotamia that first started to breed white doves from the wild pigeon that we see in our towns and cities today and this undoubtedly accounts, certainly in part, for the amazing variety of colours that are commonly found in the average flock of urban pigeons.
To ancient peoples a white pigeon would have seemed miraculous and this explains why the bird was widely worshipped and considered to be sacred. Throughout human history the pigeon has adopted many roles ranging from symbols of gods and goddesses through to sacrificial victims, messengers, pets, food and even war heroes– ultimately to what they are known as today, ‘the rats of the sky’.
Ever so many pigeons
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 | Dec 16, 2014 | Pigeons in the News
Although there are many types of white doves, the ones released in ceremonies, white rock doves, are actually white racing pigeons. Doves and pigeons are part of the same bird family, but people tend to disassociate the two birds; one is thought of as beautiful, the other foul. Whether you refer to them as white racing pigeons or white rock doves, releasing these birds at ceremonies and events carries symbolic meaning.
For centuries, people have viewed the white dove as a symbol of peace and love. The ancient Greeks and Romans exchanged doves as wedding gifts. White doves are also present in the Bible as a symbol of holiness, and they sometimes represent the Holy Spirit, saints or guardian angels. Christianity isn’t the only religion that incorporates the white dove as a symbol; Chinese people view the bird as a symbol of peace in the next life. When released during ceremonies, doves carry these meanings with them.
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 | Dec 13, 2014 | Bird Netting
There’s a photo making the rounds that might give you second thoughts about eating at a food truck in New York City.
In this particular case, there were a couple of pigeons that were also dining there.
“I’m actually a food scientist,” Midtown resident Sara Rodich said. “So this kind of freaked me out especially.”
So when 23-year-old saw the two pigeons feasting on their fellow fowl — grilled chicken at a falafel cart — the only thing she could think of was all the bacteria on their feet.
“There’s salmonella…it’s disgusting, the range, what it could do to your system,” she said. “So it’s pretty gross.”
The picture, taken two weeks ago along Sixth Avenue near Radio City Music Hall, shows an unattended foot cart with the unwanted visitors and is a clear health department violation.
Yum…
“I just hope that vendors who this ever happens to pay more attention,” Rodich said. “Because a lot of people trust the safety of the carts on the street.”
Of all the vendors set up along Sixth avenue, there was a big empty spot Thursday.
“People are supposed are supposed to have good food, have healthy food,” vendo Amin Marey said. “That’s nasty to see it like that.”
Other vendors echoed Marey’s sentiment.
“The pigeon is standing on the grill, that means the grill is off,” vendor Magdy Shahin said. “How is he serving the people with the grill off?”
The Department of Health issued a statement, saying, “Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We will investigate this incident, and New Yorkers are reminded to call 311 to report unsanitary mobile food vending conditions.”
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 | Dec 13, 2014 | Bird Netting
Written in 1918, This classic American cooking reference includes 1,849 recipes, including everything from “after-dinner coffee”—which Farmer notes is beneficial for a stomach “overtaxed by a hearty meal”– to braised pigeons!
Here’s an excerpt for the recipe of potted pigeon:
“Draw and clean. Break the legs just above the feet; leave enough below the joint to die down to the tail. Wash and wipe. If old and tough, cover them with vinegar, spiced and flavored with onion, and let them stand several hours. This makes them tender. Drain and wipe; stuff if you like, with cracker crumbs highly seasoned and moistened with butter. Dredge with salt, pepper, and flour. Fry several slices of salt pork; cut one large onion fine, and fry in the salt pork fat. Put the crisp fat in the stewpan, add the fried onion, then brown the pigeons all over in the fat left in the pan. Put them in the stewpan; add boiling water or stock enough to half cover them; add a pinch of herb tied in a bag. Simmer from one to three hours, or till the pigeons are tender. Remove the fat from the broth, season to taste. and thicken with flour and butter cooked together. Strain over the pigeons, and serve hot.”
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 | Dec 13, 2014 | Bird Netting
Once the most plentiful bird on our planet, the passenger pigeon is now extinct. The last of the Passengers, named Martha, died in Cincinnati zoo in 1914.
Molecular biologists are looking into ways to regenerate the species, but are running into opposition from conservationists who are worried this will lessen the urgency when it comes to saving endangered species.
Let’s hear your opinion: Should we bring back the passenger pigeon?
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 | Dec 13, 2014 | Bird Netting
In a bizarre case, a pigeon has hatched a chicken egg on the balcony of a Bur Dubai resident.
Fready Samuel, an Indian ad man and entrepreneur, said that the pigeon had been homing in on his balcony for a few weeks before it laid two eggs in the corner of a plant holder.
“I was observing the bird and she spent four days sitting on the eggs. But sadly the eggs got spoilt because of the water in the plant holder. I felt so bad for the pigeon and wanted to do something about it,” said Samuel.
He said his immediate objective was to replace the spoilt eggs in the plant holder with new pigeon eggs.
“I tried very hard but couldn’t find any pigeon eggs. So I decided to keep two chicken eggs which in any case would have been consumed for breakfast. My only aim was to comfort the pigeon which had lost its eggs four days into its hatching cycle.”
As it turns out, the pigeon did take comfort.
Samuel said he read up about the hatching patterns of pigeons and hens, but was in for a complete surprise.
“I researched about both their hatching patterns and learnt that pigeons hatch eggs in 14 days while hens take 21 days. I expected the pigeon to sit on the eggs for only 10 days as she had already spent four days on her own eggs. But she actually spent 21 days on the new eggs. What’s more, one of the eggs hatched to our utter surprise and we had a beautiful ‘dove chick’ on our balcony. It was a truly amazing experience.”
He said he plans to leave the chick, now one week old, at his cousin’s Al Quoz villa where she could be in the company of other hens and chickens.
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 | Nov 24, 2014 | Bird Deterrent Products, Pigeon Patrol's Services
The feral pigeon mates for life and can breed up to 8 times a year in optimum conditions, bringing two young into the world each time. The frequency of breeding is dictated by the abundance of food. The eggs take 18/19 days to hatch with both parents incubating the eggs. Young dependant pigeons are commonly known as ‘squabs’.
Aww… Look at those squabs…
Both parents feed the young with a special ‘pigeon milk’ that is regurgitated and fed to the squabs. Each squab can double its birth weight in one day but it takes 4 days for the eyes to open.
“I will peck the soul from your face to feed my squab squad”
When squabs are hungry they ‘squeak’ whilst flapping their wings and as a result they are also commonly known as ‘squeakers’. At approximately 2 months of age the young are ready to fledge and leave the nest. This much longer than average time spent in the nest ensures that life expectancy of a juvenile pigeon is far greater than that of other fledglings.
Exponential growth as evident in the legion of pigeons.
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 | Nov 21, 2014 | Bird Netting
The pigeon has side-mounted eyes, unlike humans and owls which have forward facing eyes. As pigeons have monocular vision rather than binocular vision they bob their heads for depth of perception. The pigeon’s eyes function much better with stationary images and therefore as the pigeon takes a step forward the head is temporarily left behind. The next step jerks the head forward again and so on. This allows the bird to correctly orient itself.
Visual presentation of a pigeon bobbing it’s head
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 | Nov 21, 2014 | Bird Netting
Gamblers are real bird-brains in the way they are tempted to take risks, scientists have found.
Research has shown that both human gamblers and pigeons are 35% more likely to take greater risks when there is a chance of a big win.
Dr Elliot Ludvig, from the University of Warwick’s Department of Psychology, said: “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.”
Human volunteers and pigeons were tested with four options: two that led to high-value rewards and two that led to low-value rewards.
While humans were rewarded with points, the pigeons were rewarded with food.
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 alike were found to be 35% more likely to take a gamble on the high-value rewards.
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 Institute.
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 | Nov 21, 2014 | Pigeons in the News
One of nature’s most fascinating phenomena is the collective behaviour of animals. A shoal of fish, a swarm of locusts, and a colony of ants can all act as superorganisms, where the group as a whole makes collective decisions.
Equally interesting are smaller groups that also have this peculiar behaviour, such as a flock of migratory birds that forms a “V” in the sky. Researchers have observed and studied this particular grouping of animals for many decades, yet little is known about their social structure. Do they have leaders? If so, are their roles similar to humans in anyway?
The lack of understanding of this behaviour intrigued Máté Nagy, a zoologist at University of Oxford. He thought that studying at least one species may shed light on the occurrence of this behaviour in the rest of the animal kingdom, including humans.
In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nagy and his colleagues studied the behaviour of domestic pigeons (Columba livia). Their aim was to study social dominance in one task and use the results to analyse the behaviour of leaders (if there were any) in a new task.
Pigeon formation.
For this, they tagged three groups of ten pigeons with a barcode and programmed computers to follow the movements of these pigeons using a video feed. In the first task, designed to study social dominance, the three groups of pigeons were left with a feeding cup. The group tracked three types of behaviour: feeding-queueing (a measure of an individual’s access to food), approach-avoidance (a measure of the interactions between individuals) and pecking order (measure of aggression displayed through fighting and chasing).
After some number-crunching that took the three types of behaviour into consideration, the simple feeding task showed that a social hierarchy existed among pigeons. Nagy was able use that data to identify the socially dominant individuals within each group.
Next, each group was let free so that Nagy could determine if the socially dominant pigeons took on the job of leaders when the pigeons flew as a flock. This time, the pigeons were fitted with a GPS tracker, which allowed Nagy to track the positions of each individual relative to the rest of the flock.
Here Nagy found that the leaders in flock-flying were different from those that were socially dominant during the feeding exercise. These results are unlike what you would see with gray wolves or chacma baboons, where the socially dominant individual may also lead the group. The leaders did have some common features, though. The socially dominant individuals were more aggressive than average flock member and had a comparatively larger body.
Because of the complications involved in flock-flying, it is possible that a somewhat less aggressive, and possibly better informed individual takes the leading position. However, there was no relation between leadership and age, so it wasn’t that the more experienced flyers lead the flock.
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)
