by johnnymarin | Sep 3, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
At Tuesday’s regular meeting of Town Council Manager of Planning and Land Development, Ashley Bilodeau will ask council to consider passing a by-law to prohibit the feeding and attracting of pigeons in town.
In a report Bilodeau will present to council, she writes “The pigeon population is increasing in the Town – Pigeons mate for life and pair can breed up to 12 ledglings per year. Staff have increasing been receiving calls and emails from residents asking for help ith neighbours who are feeding the pigeons, encouraging the flock to flourish and remain in the area.
Pigeon feces are highly acidic and so corrosive that it can cut a roof’s average life span in half.
Resident’s property is being damaged.
Orkin Canada gives the following tips for prevention and control:
· Eliminate sources of food, including bird feeders intended for other species
· Repair and seal any damage to the exterior of buildings where they can build nests
· Place fake/statuettes of predatory birds near ledges
· Create an unwelcome environment with loud noises and/or water sprays to scare them away
To this end, Staff is asking Council to consider a bylaw to prohibit feeding and attracting of pigeons.”
Her report goes on to say “Public comments were received from two individuals; one of which was supportive of the new By-law, the other was concerned about whether it can be enforced appropriately. In order to ticket someone,
they would have to be in the act of feeding a pigeon. Her recommendation was to place emphasis on enforcing the buildings and/or structures that encourage nesting/roosting.
Staff also met with the Timiskaming Health Unit (THU) to discuss the health concerns related to pigeons. From their standpoint, pigeons are not a health problem. There would need to be several
inches of droppings in a very restricted area in order for it to pose a health concern. They insist that feeding restrictions do help, however the enforcement must be focused on the places they reside.”
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 johnnymarin | Sep 2, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
Cheating their way to a one million yuan prize, two Chinese competitors in a domestic homing pigeon race smuggled their birds on a high-speed train, taking home the top prize.
The racers, surnamed Gong and Zhang, took part in the annual competition held by Shanghai Racing Pigeon Association (SRPA) last May, Chinese news outlet Legal Daily reports. The race invited people to send their one-year-old birds in a long distance flying challenge starting from central China’s Henan Province to Shanghai in east China, a course covering over 600 kilometers.
A total of 5,850 pigeons took off from the start line in Henan’s Shangqiu City in the morning of May 1. Gong’s and Zhang’s birds were among the competitors. All participants were tagged with a tracking device that timed their flight, and their results would be announced online once the birds reached the destination.
Participating pigeons were required to wear a tracking ring. /Shanghai Morning Post Photo
At around 4:30 p.m., the first pigeon touched the finish line, with the winner breaking the existing record. The bird belonged to Zhang. Within the next hour, another three birds arrived at the goal, all belonging to either Zhang or Gong.
Shocked and baffled, many pigeon racers soon started questioning the results, especially after they discovered that Zhang’s and Gong’s birds covered longer distances with shorter times, Shanghai Morning Post reported last year.
Receiving complaints from multiple participants, SRPA initiated an investigation towards the first 1,000 birds returning to Shanghai and reported the case to the police.
Pigeons qualified for the race were stamped after SRPA’s investigation. /Shanghai Morning Post Photo
When the organization contacted Gong and Zhang, both racers claimed that their birds were already lost or dead. They later voluntarily gave up the cash prizes which totaled over a million yuan (approximately 146,000 US dollars).
The two were later arrested by the police for investigation and confessed they had cheated during the race and killed the winner pigeons.
Gong told police that they had trained the pigeons before the race to fly to a rally point near the starting line. Their plan was to collect the birds during the race and smuggle them back to Shanghai via high-speed train.
Their plan worked. But fearing their fowl play would result in serious legal consequences, Gong and Zhang chose to give up the prizes.
The duo each received a three-year suspended sentence, Legal Daily reported the court’s decision on Monday. A district-level court in Shanghai fined Gong, the criminal mastermind 30,000 yuan (4,400 US dollars) and Zhang 20,000 yuan (2,900 US dollars).
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 johnnymarin | Sep 1, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Martha died Sept. 1, 1914. She was the last of her species, the last passenger pigeon.
Passenger pigeons were once the most numerous bird in North America. Estimates range from 3 billion to 5 billion passenger pigeons in North America when the Europeans first reached the New World.
The scientific name Ectopistes migratorius combines the Greek word for wander and the Latin word for the one who migrates.
This species wandered over a huge range of eastern and midwestern forests and western prairies — from Texas into Canada, almost to Hudson’s Bay. It roamed from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River Valley and up along the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountain Front, as well as north into Canada. A few even crossed the Rocky Mountains.
Members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition recorded in their journals seeing the passenger pigeon, even eating a few, along the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers in what became Montana.
While pairs and small flocks were once common in Montana, in the East and as far west as Minnesota and Missouri, the bird once roosted and nested in the hundreds of thousands, even in the hundreds of millions.
“When these roosts are first discovered, the inhabitants from considerable distances visit them in the night, with guns, clubs, long poles, pots of sulphur, and various other engines of destruction,” bird illustrator Alexander Wilson described the scene of a slaughter in Kentucky in the first decade of the nineteenth century.
As settlers pushed westward, cutting the trees and draining the wetlands, the pigeons lost nesting and roosting sites. No matter where the birds migrated, local people and market hunters tracked and slaughtered them.
The railroad and telegraph made it easy to learn where the birds were and to bring the market hunters, both shooters and netters. The market hunters shipped the product — barrels of pigeon or coops of live pigeons — by train on a national market.
Pigeons were here in Montana when beavers still built dams that created the pools and meadows moistened the plains; before trappers removed the beavers. Pigeons were here when the trees lining the Missouri River and tributary streams were cut to fuel steamships moving up and down the river. Removing beavers and trees exposed soil to drying and eroding, and destroyed habitat used by the pigeons.
In September 1881 “numerous” pigeons were reported in several locations in Custer County, and the following September the Army telegraph operator at Fort Benton returned from a day’s hunt with 12 passenger pigeons.
Then the birds disappeared from Montana.
In 1892 the state’s largest newspaper, The Anaconda Standard, reported that the passenger pigeon had been “utterly exterminated” in Montana.
Market hunters get a lot of the blame. But accessories were the organizers of shooting competitions who bought pigeons by the coop off the national market, up to 25,000 live birds, for major shoots out East. Organizers in Montana bought fewer birds, but they bought live passenger pigeons; for example, the Montana Territorial Fair of 1873 featured a trapshoot with live birds.
As the passenger pigeon declined in number, gun clubs turned to shooting newly invented glass balls and later clay pigeons, particularly Remington’s popular “blue rock” brand, as well as live pigeons raised in coops rather than wild passenger pigeons.
Extinction is forever. As The Anaconda Standard reported in 1899, “Gone, forever gone — the wild pigeon, a fable and a romance.”
Let’s conserve the remaining wild flora and fauna of Montana. Let’s do it for ourselves and future generations.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 31, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
The borough mayor of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve says there are no plans to remove a family of pigeons living inside a traffic light outside a bustling Metro station.
The birds have built their nest in the window of the traffic light that alternately flashes the walking sign and the stop sign. The traffic light is in between a Metro station and a bus station and attracts a lot of foot traffic.
It’s unclear how many pigeons are living in the nest, however, they have been there since at least July 2. The nest appears to have grown so large that some of the materials used to build the nest are spilling out onto the sidewalk.
The borough mayor says there are “no specific plans” to remove the birds.
“I like [the nest] quite a lot,” Mayor Pierre Lessard-Blais told CBC via text message.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 30, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
Chicago pigeon racing fans won’t see their birds come home to roost as fast as they hoped.
An ordinance to let breeders of homing pigeons keep them in lofts in Chicago was held in committee Monday. The measure’s sponsor, Northwest Side Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, said opponents of the idea made their voices heard after he introduced it last month.
“I’m going to have a meeting with both sides and hopefully come up with a compromise,” Villegas said.
Pigeon racing is “deeply loved in Poland,” Villegas said when he brought forward the plan. He was joined in sponsoring it by fellow Northwest Side Aldermen Ariel Reboyras, 30th, and Nick Sposato, 38th.
The ordinance would let breeders of “pedigreed rock doves” keep the birds at their homes in lofts “that are inspected and certified on a regular basis to ensure the birds are kept in clean, sanitary and healthy conditions.”
The City Council outlawed homing pigeons in residential areas in 2004 after people living near residents who kept the birds complained about getting “splattered” when they tried to hang out laundry or sunbathe. At the time, pigeon supporters said their pets are unfairly derided as “rats with wings.”
Members of Chicago racing clubs went to federal court, but in 2005 the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge upheld an earlier district court ruling that found the city was within its rights to ban racing pigeons as pets.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 29, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
Thousands of Teesside racing pigeons took flight for an unusual commemoration of the end of the First World War .
During the 1914-18 conflict, pigeons were used to fly crucial messages back home from the fields of conflict.
And at the weekend, about 9,000 North-east pigeons – including 2,500 from Teesside – recreated those journeys by winging their way from Ypres in Belgium to their home lofts back in Britain.
After being “liberated” at 6.30am on Sunday, July 22, the fastest of all 9,000, flying home in 6hrs 45 minutes, was a pigeon belonging to the Bowden brothers, Mick and Trevor, of Skelton Green . And the winning bird’s name? Brexit – of course!
The race was organised by the Hartlepool-based Up North Combine, which is the UK’s largest racing organisation.
And president John Thompson said the Ypres event was a fitting way to recognise the invaluable contribution pigeons made in the First World War.
He said: “Thousands of pigeons played a crucial role in the Great War – carrying life-saving messages over enemy lines and later even being awarded medals for bravery.
“A number of pigeons were honoured, including one of the most well-known, Pigeon 2709, who, in 1917, was sent to deliver a crucial message back to headquarters when he came under enemy fire and was shot in the leg. A 20 mile flight took 21 hours, but he got the message home before dying the next day.
“With the advantages of communication technology today, it is easy to forget that homing pigeons were often the difference between life and death for First World War service men and women.”
Said to be one of the toughest birds on the planet – voluntarily flying more than 20,000 miles a year – the birds used their natural instincts, following landmarks by aerial recognition, as well as their sense of smell, to ensure messages were safely delivered.
And it was that natural instinct which ensured about 80% of those taking part at the weekend reached home the same day, with the rest landing on Monday.
Sunday’s race came four years after a similar event held to mark the centenary of the start of World War One.
Winners, nationally and regionally, were awarded medals and diplomas symbolising the Dickin Medals for gallantry handed out to 62 animals – including 32 pigeons – during World Wars One and Two.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 28, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
Last week’s editorial correctly states that, unlike the national tabloids, the Sussex Express has preserved an even-handed approach throughout these turbulent times. However I must take issue with the editor’s statement that those voting Leave ‘voted knowing that they would be worse off but clearly decided that was a price worth paying’. This is demonstrably untrue – every time the deleterious consequences of leaving the EU were pointed out the immediate response was – Project Fear! No attempt was ever made to respond to these legitimate concerns. Instead the Leave campaign pictured a rosy fantasy of an impossible future which is now dissolving in the light of reality. The words “pigeons” “home” and “roost” come to mind.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 27, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
PIGEONS who have made themselves at home under Clemens Street railway bridge will be flying the nest if campaigners get their way.
The bridge was previously fitted with netting but birds kept becoming trapped and dying after holes were not repaired.
After a public outcry some two years ago, the netting was removed.
But the Green Party says those walking or cycling under the bridge have being dodging pigeon poo ever since.
Now it is calling on Warwick District Council and Network Rail to fix the problem and is campaigning for change.
Amy Evans, who is spearheading the campaign, said: “This has gone on long enough. For over two years we’ve been pushing the council and Network Rail to sort this out, possibly by putting a metal mesh in place, but they’ve failed to take action.
“People should be able to walk up this busy street without risk of pigeon poo.”
A spokeswoman for Network Rail said the company plans to install metal netting next year.
She said: “Wherever possible Network Rail works with local authorities to discourage pigeons from perching or nesting on railway bridges.
“We plan to install netting to the railway bridge in Clemens Street by summer next year. We have to prioritise our work to keep the railway running safely and reliably. We understand the inconvenience to pedestrians and will install the netting as soon as possible.”
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 johnnymarin | Aug 26, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
The pigeon waste situation on West 231st Street and Broadway is not only unsightly, it could be a health hazard.
It’s either someone invents diapers for pigeons, or those responsible for cleaning up that area near the elevated tracks do a much better job of cleaning up that unsightly mess.
People bringing that stuff, which may cling to the bottoms of their shoes, could be brought home and deposited on the floors or carpet, and cause serious health issues.
If you don’t believe me, Google it!
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 johnnymarin | Aug 25, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
A tiny, blue chick from the biggest species of pigeon in the world has just hatched at Chester Zoo.
The Victoria crowned pigeon baby is already walking alongside its blue-and-purple mother in its enclosure.
Posting footage of the little chick on Facebook, Chester Zoo said: “Bright blue, rocking the best mowhawk and already strutting its funky stuff!”
Mark Vercoe, assistant curator of birds, said: “Along with the Nicobar pigeon and the tooth-billed pigeon, the Victoria crowned pigeon is a descendant of the dodo – a bird that has been famously lost from the planet because of the actions of humans.
“Hopefully this chick can help us to highlight how important it is that we act for wildlife now; we cannot possibly let these beautiful birds go the same way as their extinct cousins.”
Native to Indonesia and New Guinea, the chick already boasts a crown of lacy feathers on its head.
The species, which is listed as vulnerable to extinction, is supposedly named after Queen Victoria, who had a penchant for wearing elaborate, feathered headwear.
The baby pigeon will be similar to the size of a turkey when fully grown.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 24, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
A 41-year-old garage owner threatened to burn his next door neighbour’s house down after he believed their cat had attacked one of his beloved racing pigeons, a court heard.
Behzad Shuwani used racist language against his neighbours in Gloucester during his tirade of abuse.
Judge Michael Harington heard from prosecutor, Robert Morgan-Jones, that there had been ‘historic tensions’ between Shuwani and his neighbours in Jersey Road before the incident on February 8 this year.
Shuwani was subject to a suspended jail term at the time of this incident, the prosecutor explained.
He had been sentenced in September last year for running what was described by the judge as a ‘cannabis factory’ at his car workshop on Jersey Road.
Shuwani pleaded guilty to racially aggravated public order and simple public order offences during the incident in February.
He also admitted that by committing those offences he was in breach of the earlier suspended sentence imposed for drug cultivation at his business.
Gloucester Crown Court heard that the victim, 70-year-old Abdulkadir Susiwala, was at his home when he heard noises outside at about 10.30am.
When he looked out of the first floor window of his property he could see Shuwani next door with a can of paint thinners shouting about Mr Susiwala’s cat attacking one of his racing pigeons.
The court heard Shuwani said: “I am going to burn all of you, and your house, and your cat!”
The police were called, and they could hear shouting in the background of the 999 call, the prosecutor said.
When they arrived Shuwani was ‘immediately aggressive’, and shouted towards racist language towards Mr Susiwala’s home.
Mr Morgan-Jones said the thinners were seized from the property and Shuwani had a lighter on his person when searched.
The court heard a victim statement from Mr Susiwala, who said he believed Shuwani would carry out his threats.
The family said they are worried about going outside their property, and are concerned about any further future problems with Shuwani, who arrived in the UK in 1997 from the Kurdish region of Iraq.
Representing Shuwani, Mark Sharman described it as ‘an unfortunate situation’.
“They do not get on. They do not see eye to eye,” the barrister said.
However he accepted “his words and behaviour were utterly inappropriate”.
Mr Sharman argued this was the first incident despite tensions over the last five years, and there had been no repeat.
“The defendant believed the complainant’s cat had attacked one of his pigeons,” Mr Sharman said.
“He owns approximately 100 racing pigeons. That is very important to him. That reaction though, was deeply inappropriate.”
“For obvious reasons the [racist] language he used was not acceptable,” Mr Sharman told the judge.
Mr Sharman argued it was a “spur of the moment reaction to something that had been bubbling under for some time”.
“I make it clear, I lay no blame at the door of the complainant,” Mr Sharman said, and urged the judge to consider a further suspended sentence.
The judge said: “I am persuaded it would be unjust to activate the suspended sentence you are subject to.
“The old offence was planned, and this was heat of the moment, and entirely different.”
Shuwani was given 15 months jail suspended for two years and ordered to attend 20 rehabilitation activity sessions and complete 120 hours of unpaid work for the benefit of the community.
A restraining order to protect Mr Susiwala and his family was imposed for five years.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 23, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
In between the serious task of judging Waikato’s best pigeons, Kelly Bray found time to rewrite history.
“The Bible talks about Noah throwing out a dove, but a dove would have buggered off,” Bray reckons.
“It would have been a homing pigeon.”
Hours before the doors opened on the Waikato Poultry & Pigeon Club’s 116th annual show, Bray and fellow judges were busy attaching labels to the winning birds’ cages.
While judging prized poultry and pigeons is all about how the birds look and present, the show itself is a smorgasbord of sounds – and smells.
For anyone unaccustomed to being surrounded by hundreds of birds in one space, it can be quite an experience.
Bray travelled from Queenstown to help judge this year’s pigeon line-up at the Hamilton Gardens Pavilion.
Spend a few minutes talking to any of the show’s judges, however, and you soon realise the job is anything but a chore.
“I entered my first show as a 12 year old in 1971 and I’ve been hooked ever since. As a kid, I always loved birds, but there was something about pigeons that just drew me to them. Breeding pigeons is a very tactile experience. You’re always holding them.”
About 100 fanciers entered chickens, ducks and pigeons into this year’s show.
Poultry and pigeon breeding is also subject to trends.
A popular breed at the moment is the Silkie chicken, due to its friendly, placid nature and expert mothering skills, club president Fiona Taylor said.
Among the dazzling array of pigeon breeds on display, the majestic Jacobin threatened to steal the show.
The breed, which originates from Asia, is notable for the feathered hood over its head. It was a personal favourite of Queen Victoria.
Taylor keeps Jacobin pigeons and said the breed’s numbers were on the increase after nosediving about a decade ago.
“Shows like this are our shopfront and we do a lot of work promoting breeds and the hobby to the general public,” Taylor said.
“We’re no longer allowed to bring new birds into the country, so if a breed falls into the hands of too few, we risk losing them forever. All these birds are essentially heritage breeds and it’s up to us to encourage and inspire people to own and breed them.”
With the show’s judging complete, a male black-splashed Jacobin was deemed the best in his class.
Bray said the young bird’s feathered hood was especially impressive.
“The feathers are thick and uniform. The bird also has a presence and shows itself well. Often when you’re judging pigeons, you’re trading off faults between birds. This is a beautiful bird and clearly it’s quite happy to hold it all together.”
Taylor said the annual show was moved to the Hamilton Gardens in an effort to attract a wider range of visitors.
The show had also been shifted to July to coincide with the school holidays.
The show runs from 9am to noon on Sunday.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 22, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
The first aerial photograph was taken in 1858 by Frenchman Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, also known by his alias Nadar, from a tethered gas balloon suspended over Paris. While the images captured on this flight have since been lost to time, there are plenty of surviving examples of aerial photographs shot during the latter half of the 19th century. In addition to balloons, kites and rudimentary rockets were used to send cameras skyward. Even Alfred Nobel was drawn to the practice, with one of his last patent applications being for a method for rocket photography. It’s hard to grasp how challenging this was at the time. We need only load up Google Earth to see our house from space, or buy a hobbyist drone to capture our own aerial panoramas. Long before satellites and quadcopters, though, Dr. Julius Neubronner started strapping cameras to pigeons.
Julius Neubronner was an apothecary, which to his time was the equivalent of a pharmacist today. It was a family business, and homing pigeons were counted amongst its employees. Just as his father had done before him, Neubronner used pigeons to send and receive medicines and messages. As the story goes, sometime around 1903 Neubronner sent one of his pigeons out on assignment only for it not to return. The bird wasn’t taken ill and preyed upon, however, eventually turning up a month later in suspiciously good condition.
Neubronner grew curious about the movement and habits of his pigeons when they were away from home, and being an avid photographer, he saw how his hobby might be useful in answering some of his questions. Inspired in part by the Ticka Watch Camera and the quality of test photos he took on a speeding train and a sled ride, he began devising his own miniature camera that could be attached to pigeons via a harness. What he ended up with was a light wooden camera and pneumatic timer that engaged the shutter at set intervals. He filed the first patent for his invention in 1907 with the German patent office and its counterparts in France, Austria and the UK. The German bureau initially refused to grant it, believing what he described to be impossible. A camera was far too heavy for a bird to carry. This changed the following year when Neubronner provided the patent office with photographic proof from his flying friends.
Between 1908 and 1909, Neubronner’s pigeon camera was covered in various newspapers, including the New-York Daily Tribune, The Columbian, the Los Angeles Heraldand Northern Star (based in New South Wales, Australia). The inventor gained further notoriety in 1909 when he appeared at the International Photographic Exhibition in Dresden and International Aviation Exhibition in Frankfurt, as well as the Paris Air Show in 1910 and 1911. He won various awards at these events, but also seized a commercial opportunity. Visitors could watch the arrival of his flock, and from his horse-drawn dovecote and compact darkroom, he would develop the images his pigeon cameras had just taken and sell them as postcards.
Not only was it a strange spectacle, but a notable advancement in aerial photography. Previous methods were elaborate, requiring complicated equipment and setup. The pigeon camera was small, elegant and mobile. To Neubronner, it wasn’t just a hobby or a commercial novelty; he saw potential military applications in reconnaissance and surveillance as well. Despite some logistical issues, most notably getting pigeons to return to a dovecote that by necessity had to move around, Neubronner gained the interest of the Prussian War Ministry.
In order to demonstrate their worth, Neubronner photographed a waterworks in Tegal, Germany, using only his birds, and was due to negotiate a state purchase of his invention in the summer of 1914 after a trial run in Strasbourg for the military’s benefit. But just weeks prior, World War I broke out and he was forced to turn over his pigeons and cameras to the state before striking a deal. The birds were initially used for reconnaissance, apparently with some success, but were soon demoted to message carriers, which was seen as a more valuable post during the drawn-out conflict. Neubronner’s dovecote was present at the Battle of Verdun, and proved so useful that pigeon messengers were drafted in in bigger numbers at the Battle of the Somme.
After the war, however, the military told Neubronner it wasn’t inclined to pursue the invention on account of it having limited value. While still pretty ingenious, pigeon photographers weren’t without their shortcomings. You had no control over what the cameras captured, nor could you guarantee the birds would return, whether that be down to moving the dovecote location or a well-placed bullet. And though it was only a decade and change since the Wright brothers first took flight, during World War I aerial combat and surveillance through photography had evolved rapidly. Though sending pigeons behind enemy lines was better than sending people, we’d already found a better way.
Incidentally, camera-equipped pigeons were going to be added to Battlefield 1 through a DLC expansion, but never made it into the gameafter the spotting mechanic was deemed overpowered.
Neubronner apparently developed a dozen or more designs of his pigeon camera, including versions with multiple lenses and a panoramic model, which is on display at a few museums in Germany. His final iteration weighed just over 1.4 ounces (40 grams) and was good for 12 exposures, but after dedicating more than a decade of work to his pigeon cameras, they never became more than a celebrated oddity.
His legacy doesn’t end there, though. Around the time of Neubronner’s death in 1932, the German army revisited the idea, creating a pigeon camera that could take 200 pictures per flight. The French had a concurrent program that used not one, but two animals. Pigeons carried the cameras, and dogs ferried the birds behind enemy lines before releasing them on their mission.
A Swiss clockmaker, Christian Adrian Michel, also went about improving upon Neubronner’s designs in the early 1930s, specifically adapting his panoramic model to use 16mm film and creating a clockwork exposure timer. He patented his innovation in several European countries in 1937, but only roughly 100 cameras were produced after his plan to sell it to the Swiss Army fell through. There’s little evidence to suggest pigeon cameras were used a great deal in World War II, but the Soviets came across abandoned German trucks in 1942 containing pigeon cameras and dogs trained to ferry the birds in baskets.
You would think that by 1970, aerial surveillance techniques would have rendered the pigeon camera obsolete, but trust the CIA to revive the invention decades later. The agency developed a battery-powered version, though the operations it was involved in remain classified. It’s said they weren’t employed with great success, however, leading the CIA to abandon the lo-fi spying project.
Camera and aircraft technology had come on significantly at this point, and soon after in the 1980s, the first unmanned drones fitted with cameras were developed. And by this time, there were already orbiting satellites capable of sending back real-time imagery. Now, of course, all of this technology is available to the public, not to mention the YouTube videos of eagles flying around with GoPro backpacks. In a happier timeline, though, perhaps pigeons are still entrusted with the job, going about their daily hunt for sidewalk fries while also updating photography for Google Maps.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 21, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Over the last several years, Liz Beukema and her 15-year-old son Garrett have spent many early mornings together in their backyard, on the road in their family car and at ice cream shops throughout the St. Croix Valley. Those long hours have been spent bonding over their mutual love for pigeons, which the pair race and breed at their home southeast of New Richmond.
“My grandfather sent me pigeons for my birthday (when I turned 8), since I was really into Harry Potter and I wanted an owl to bring me my mail,” Garrett said. “I really enjoyed racing and everything that went with it. That got me into the breeding side of things.”
At the age of 9, Garrett was releasing pigeons at weddings, but he only got into breeding pigeons in 2012.
“Quite by accident, I was taking a class through Extension and met a lady from Frederic, Wis., and we got chatting … and she and her husband are racing pigeon breeders. It turns out they are one of the premiere breeders in the world and they are right in our backyard,” Liz said.
The Frederic couple invited Garrett up to their facility and gifted him seven pigeons to start up his breeding operations and racing team. Garrett joined a local pigeon racing club in 2012. He started racing pigeons in 2013, with Liz following her son into the racing world in 2014. According to Liz, pigeon racing is one of the oldest sports in the world and is big in Europe, which is where most of the racing pigeons come from.
“It has been pretty fun and interesting to find which of our birds produce the best offspring. It has taken a lot of time to do that since you can’t just judge how well a pair will do based on how their offspring do one year. You have to put that pair back together again the next year. If they produce good babies then again, you know that pair is good together, so we will continue to breed that pair,” Garrett said.
In total, the Beukemas have 200 pigeons, including show varieties, which Garrett shows for 4-H. They have a 70-bird young team and 51 birds on their old bird team. Garrett has shown both Racing Homer and several breeds of fancy show pigeons at the last six St. Croix County Fairs, while his little sister, Lillian, has shown her Valencian Figurita pigeons at the fair the last two years. Garrett has won Grand Champion pigeon for two years at the Wisconsin State Fair.
“We knew that Garrett was hooked on birds when we took him to Harry Potter World and, while our daughters were going nuts about everything around them, Garrett pointed out a recessive red, which is kind of rare, to me,” Liz said. “We knew he had it bad then.”
According to Liz, her whole family has the bird bug, given that her father is a peacock breeder in upstate New York and her brother breeds heritage breed chickens in Vermont.
“Pigeons are absolutely amazing animals and are one of the top 10 smartest animals in the world. When they lay eggs, they co-parent, which means the males and females each sit on the eggs to incubate them the same amount of time,” Liz said. “The males and females also take equal part in feeding the young. We say humans could learn a lot from pigeons. They even go and feed other babies if they are left alone and are crying. It is just really crazy to watch their behavior.”
According to the Beukemas, there are short distance and long distance racing pigeons, since races can be anywhere from 100 to 600 miles in length. There are two seasons of racing: young birds — which are birds that have hatched that year — which are generally flown in races of no more than 300 miles, and old birds — which are over 1 year in age. The old bird season goes from April to July, while the young bird season starts shortly after old bird season ends.
“Your birds that excel at 200 miles aren’t necessarily going to be the birds that are going to excel at 600 miles. People breed for different distances, with certain strains, body types and wing shapes that are good for long distances and some that are good for sprints, or short distances,” Liz said. “For those short races for the young birds, you don’t really need a distance bird for that. You want a sprinter that is going to mature quickly and perform in its first year.”
Finding their rhythm
With several years of racing and breeding under their belts, Liz and Garrett said they are finally hitting their stride in the sport, with Garrett currently owning the top three champion birds on the Wisconsin side of the river in the Heartland Federation.
There are three tiers of competition in pigeon racing for the Beukemas, including their local club, the Indianhead Combine, which includes all of the Wisconsin clubs; and the Heartland Federation, which combines the Minnesota and Wisconsin results. Race winners have the best average speed (measured in yards per minute) rather than the pigeon that makes it home quickest, given that the owners all live in different areas and the birds have different distances to cover to get home. The results are then calculated starting at sundown the second day.
“It is fun, it is a whole community of people and it is a great family sport,” Liz said. “The whole family is out here wanting to know if mom or Garrett won. Garrett and I spent so much time together in the car and the loft.
“Five or six years into it, we are still trying to implement everything new we are learning every day and making sure that it works into our system. So it does take some time for things to come to fruition and to see the success.”
The Beukemas started to see success after switching to an all natural system for their birds last year, which includes more natural supplements and probiotics between races and less medication. The change resulted in the pair having one of their best seasons to date in both the old and young bird categories.
“All of these years up to this point, we have been working to find a system that we liked and worked for us. And now we have found that system and we have been doing really well,” Garrett said.
In addition to owning the top three champion birds on the Wisconsin side of the river, Garrett is also winning quite handily in the average speed category, which includes races under 300 miles. The next closest speed average behind him is 38 minutes behind him, Liz said. He also has a handy lead in champion bird, which is not a position the pair have ever found themselves in before.
“We are not only trying to finish out the season well, but we are also trying to keep that bird and the team average up the rest of the season. We are planning which races we are going to choose and which birds we are going to send on the team every week,” Liz said. “We have never had to strategize like this before since we have never won this much before.”
A typical day for Garrett and his mother during the school year sees the two of them getting up at 5 a.m. or earlier to get the birds into crates so Liz can take them to work with her and let them fly home from there. On some days, Liz can driver farther out and release them to give them more of a challenge.
On the day of a race, the pigeons are released all at once half an hour after sunrise the next morning. The owners then wait for their birds to return the next morning.
“It is kind of like a marathon where you do a 12-mile run one day and then go and do a 20-mile run the next. We don’t ever drive 300 miles to train, but we go to Ellsworth a lot, which is 22 miles from here. It is 37 from Prescott and 12 from my office. We kind of work them through a training regiment,” Liz said. “And it has to be sunny for them to fly so we have to watch the weather to plan out the rest of the week.”
Garrett plans to continue racing and breeding pigeons until he heads to college. After he gets out of college, he plans to take the sport back up as soon as he can and sees himself racing and breeding pigeons with his own children in the future.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 20, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
SINGAPORE – Residents of Block 390, Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 have raised concerns after some 15 birds were found either dead or dying at their void deck on Thursday (July 19).
Residents told The Straits Times the birds that were still alive were fighting to move and gasping for air. Policemen had arrived and cordoned off the area last night.
The birds included pigeons and other species.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) is investigating.
Madam Julie Harichand, 57, a housewife, said she was on her way home at about 3.30 pm when she saw the birds scattered around the void deck. Some were still alive. She said she and a group of 10 residents then carried the birds and placed them together.
She said: “I think someone must have poisoned the birds. Those that were alive kept trying to fly and failing. We gathered the birds together so we could give them water, and while doing so we found what looked like whiterice in their mouths.
“The birds started dying one by one. Only a few left were moving.”
She added that another resident had called the Choa Chu Kang Town Council and AVA for assistance some two hours before. AVA personnel started removing the birds around 7pm, she said.
Mr Manoj Kumar, 47, a businessman who was visiting his parents, said at least eight policemen were at the scene at around 6pm.
“The birds seemed to be fighting for their lives; the small sparrows looked like they were gasping for breath,” he added.
“If the birds were poisoned, how could someone do such a thing? They are so pitiful.”
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 johnnymarin | Aug 19, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Aldo Leopold famously said “to keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering” when talking about preserving threatened and endangered species. When a species is lost, though, should we try to re-create that cog or wheel?
In this week’s episode of Wildlife Matters, the Masked Biologist introduces us to de-extinction and an ambitious project to bring the passenger pigeon back from the dead.
As a biologist, I got a big kick out of Jurassic Park, a blockbuster movie that was released 25 years ago. The premise was basically bringing extinct species back to life using DNA extracted from blood that was drunk by mosquitoes that were subsequently trapped and preserved in tree sap. The pieces of information missing from damaged DNA strands was replaced with that of a living animal, in this case a frog, and was used to turn an unfertilized ostrich egg into a dinosaur egg.
So why am I talking about science fiction dinosaur movies? Because I had this episode in the works for some time, and I wasn’t sure how to kick it off, but in all honesty the more I read about it, the more I can’t help but draw parallels to Jurassic Park. I am talking about the emerging science of de-extinction. However, the real-life application does not involve setting up a live dinosaur exhibit at a theme park; de-evolution is being looked at as a potential solution to environmental issues and challenges here in the U.S. and abroad. In Siberia, there is currently an effort underway to use herbivores to restore a desired habitat condition, a project called “Pleistocene Park.” There is currently an effort underway to bring the woolly mammoth back from extinction, using our closet living species, the Asian elephant. Closer to home, there is a project to bring back the passenger pigeon.
The passenger pigeon is probably the best known example of an extinct American species lost because we thought it could not be destroyed. These birds once darkened the Wisconsin skies with spectacular migrations. They were shot in countless numbers and used for everything from feathers to hog food. The last passenger pigeon died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. A monument was erected to this bird in Babcock, Wisconsin. At the monument’s dedication ceremony, naturalist Aldo Leopold spoke of the significance of the recognition of our error. “For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun,” Leopold said. “We grieve because no living man will see again the on-rushing phalanx of victorious birds, sweeping a path for spring across the March skies, chasing the defeated winter from all the woods and prairies of Wisconsin.”
Is it possible that Leopold was wrong, that we may yet again see these birds darken the skies? I’m trying to reserve judgement. I know just enough biology and genetics to grasp the most basic concepts here, especially when they supply colorful charts and illustrations. You can find plenty of details on their website, reviverestore.org. There is an extensive plan to bring this ambitious plan to fruition. basically, they want to re-create viable passenger pigeon DNA that they can inject into some eggs of band-tailed pigeons. Much like Jurassic park, de-extinctionists are obtaining DNA samples and in filling the gaps in the genome mapping using the DNA of a similar extant species, the band-tailed pigeon. They would hatch as band-tailed pigeons, but when they reached sexual maturity and bred, their eggs would be passenger pigeon eggs. The hatchlings would be raised in conditions that would allow them to breed more passenger pigeons, and let them learn to act like a passenger pigeon. Then when the population reaches 10,000 birds, they would start to release them in a couple of locations around the country and train them to migrate using trained carrier pigeons. A lot can go wrong with this process, but if everything goes right, de-extinctionists estimate we could have passenger pigeons released in test flocks between 2030 and 2040.
I have so much I want to say about this concept, but I’m afraid it will have to wait. This is just a first peek at the de-extinction of the passenger pigeon. I look forward to additional discussions on this subject in the near future.
Striving to make new things familiar and familiar things new, this is the Masked Biologist coming to you from the heart of Wisconsin’s great Northwoods.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 18, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
PITTSBURGH – The National Aviary in Pittsburgh just completed a $1.2 million renovation of the historic Tropical Rainforest habitat, and for about 70 endothermic vertebrates that make their home there, that’s just ducky.
While they were re-homed for the past three months during construction, the resident birds, including Victoria crowned pigeons, laughing thrushes, hyacinth macaws, bufflehead ducks and great argus pheasants, have been slowly introduced to their new digs.
A 15-foot waterfall with three pools dominates the space, surrounded by new non-slip flooring, lighting, custom perches and tropical plants and trees.
“It’s all about the birds,” said aviary Executive Director Cheryl Tracy, who unveiled the habitat Friday.
More than 3,100 panes of original glass – 19,600 square feet – were replaced with bird-friendly glass designed to prevent collisions both inside and out. The new dome also maximizes ultraviolet light transmittance to help the wildlife and plants thrive.
The old glass, said Tracy, was failing, resulting in energy loss and water leaks. Luckily the framing, constructed in 1952, was in good condition and able to be restored.
The habitat was designed to mimic a real rainforest, and to encourage nesting and other natural behaviors.
The critically endangered palm cockatoo makes its home in the habitat, as does Wookiee, a two-toed sloth, and Guam rails, which are extinct in the wild. The aviary is leading the effort to breed the birds and reintroduce them to the wild. In addition to the birds who previously lived in the rainforest habitat, about 13 new species will be added.
The project was funded by Colcom Foundation and the Allegheny Regional Asset District, which funds regional assets from one-half of the proceeds of the 1 percent Allegheny County Sales and Use Tax. Over the past 23 years, the district has provided $26 million to the aviary, which is the only independent indoor nonprofit zoo in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to birds.
The completion of the Tropical Rainforest coincides with the 25th anniversary of the aviary’s national designation and renaming as the National Aviary.
“(The renovation) was a labor of love for every single person at the aviary,” said Tracy.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 17, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
A remarkably resilient pigeon has defied the odds and survived being trapped down a Cambridgeshire home’s chimney.
The distressed bird was heard to be clawing and flapping for days after it fell and got stuck behind a gas fireplace.
After receiving little support from wildlife experts, the house’s owners turned to a local handyman for help.
The sooty pigeon was released apparently unharmed after a seven day ordeal and flew off to the nearest high tree.
Allison Jackson, in her 60s, and Joan Jackson, 91, of Fulbourn, heard the loud thud of the pigeon plummeting down their chimney earlier this month.
“We heard clawing and we thought it could be mice or a rat. We never had any idea it was a bird,” explained Allison.
“It wasn’t singing a song or anything like that. He was clawing the whole time.”
The two ladies speculated what sort of “monster” had dropped down their chimney and called for help.
“You’re imagination goes wild,” joked Allison.
Technicians from the gas board turned off the supply to the fireplace, but advice from wildlife experts was useless, claims Allison.
No-one seemed to know how to remove the fireplace and there were even recommendations to call the fire service.
“It was just clawing and there was also a banging noise. I suppose it was just trying to get out again,” she added.
She and her mother turned to local handyman David Peat to see if he could rescue the bird.
“They phoned me up and said there’s a noise going on in one of the chimneys,” David explained.
“We didn’t know what it was. It was just making a bad noise.”
A gas technician came to the property and confirmed that a bird was inside the chimney, but still its wait for release went on.
David added: “Days had gone by. I said ‘whatever is in there is going to be dead surely. It couldn’t last that long without food and water’.
“They said: ‘We haven’t heard anything in two days. We’ve given up hope’.
“I went round and rattled the fire from side to side and low and behold he started again.”
David estimated the bird was stuck inside a shoe box-sized space.
“Once he got down the bottom he couldn’t flap his wings inside to get out,” he said.
“How long does a pigeon last like that? It must have been terrible in this heat.”
Eventually David was able to get a electrician to help show him how to remove the fireplace and get the bird out.
“We said he wouldn’t be alive and boy did he put up a fight,” said Allison.
“They got him in the end and he flew up the highest tree.
“It’s such a great relief, thinking about that poor bird down there.”
David added: “There he was all perky. There wasn’t anything wrong with it. We took it round the corner and away it flew.
“The bird was black, it had sooty stuff on it but it looked unscathed.
“I said: ‘It’s going to the nearest lake for a drink and a wash’.”
According to guidance from the RSPCA about ‘living with pigeons’, wire frame structures can prevent the birds settling on chimney stacks.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 16, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
The roof of Sylvia Whittall’s home in Glenridding Drive, Barrow, has been the temporary home for a white racing pigeon since it landed on her eaves on Saturday.
The bird is believed to be one of a number tasked with racing across the English Channel from Belgium on Saturday in a bid to mark the centenary of the First World War.
During the war thousands of pigeons were used across all theatres of the conflict, often the only way vitally important messages could be relayed to and from the battlefield.
Our advice would be to leave it alone and eventually it will decide it is ready to continue on its flight and it will return home
When released the birds will make their way home to their individual lofts found across Cumbria.
However one of the birds, which Mrs Whittall has traced to an owner in Silloth, has stopped off in Barrow and has been gathering its energy after being forced to take a pit stop.
“It’s a beautiful bird but it was very tired and weary when it first arrived on Saturday,” Mrs Whittall said.
“It has improved since it arrived and we’ve been putting out some food for it.”
A spokesman for the Royal Pigeon Racing Association explained that if a bird becomes too tired during a race it will take a break until it recovers sufficiently to continue.
“It can be quite common, especially at this time of year when the weather is warmer and there’s a lot of grain in the fields, for some pigeons to become exhausted and stop for a while,” the spokesman said.
“This might be for a few hours or even a few days but as long as they have access to water, and grain, and they are able to fly down to it, then our advice would be to leave it alone and eventually it will decide it is ready to continue on its flight and it will return home.”
The pigeon on Mrs Whittall’s roof is registered with a WHU prefix, used by the Welsh Homing Pigeon Union, but further enquiries established its owner is based in Silloth.
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 johnnymarin | Aug 15, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
In a new study, a team led by University of Utah biologists has discovered that different versions of a single gene, called NDP (Norrie Disease Protein), have unexpected links between color patterns in pigeons, and vision defects in humans. These gene variations were likely bred into pigeons by humans from a different pigeon species and are now evolutionarily advantageous in wild populations of feral pigeons living in urban environments.
The U biologists analyzed the genomes of domestic rock pigeons (Columba livia) to determine the mutations that govern the four fundamental color patterns on pigeon wing feathers. They compared the default, ancestral “bar” pattern, named for the horizontal black stripes near the wing tips, against the slightly darker “checker” pattern, the darkest “T-check” pattern, and the lightest “barless” pattern.
They found that a DNA sequence near the NDP gene was very different between bar birds and both T-check and checker birds. In addition, some of the T-check and checker pigeons have more copies of a stretch of DNA near the gene, resulting in even more pigment in their feathers. In all cases, the gene sequence itself is unaltered. In contrast, the least pigmented barless birds had a mutation in the gene sequence itself, which could affect its function.
“That’s pretty wacky. It’s the same gene, but it’s modified in different ways to get completely different results,” said Mike Shapiro, professor of biology at the U and senior author of the paper.
This is the first time NDP has been associated with pigment variation. Pigeon breeders have reported that barless birds have had vision problems for decades. This study discovered that the exact same NDP mutation found in barless pigeons is also found in two human families with hereditary blindness, suggesting that this part of the NDP gene is important in eye development.
Previous research has shown that the darker checker and T-check birds have an advantage in urban environments; they have a longer breeding season and fledge many young out of the nest. The new U study found that the genetic changes associated with checker and T-check patterns probably resulted from humans breeding the domestic rock pigeon with the African speckled pigeon (Columba guinea), a wild pigeon species common in sub-Saharan Africa. A version of the NDP gene was introduced into domestic pigeons several hundred years ago, long after pigeon domestication. The implication is stunning.
“Humans may have transferred a trait to another this other species that they had domesticated, and that trait is now out in the wild, where it is now advantageous specifically in human-created habitats,” said Shapiro. “It’s nuts.”
The study was published online on July 17, 2018 in the journal, eLife.
Human-driven diversity
Since domesticating the rock pigeon over 5,000 years ago, humans have bred more than 350 pigeon varieties in different colors, patterns, shapes and sizes. The humble street birds aided Alexander the Great in battles and helped Charles Darwin explain natural and artificial selection in “On the Origin of Species.” Today, hobbyists drive most of the diversity within the species by competing for cash prizes and glory in breeding competitions all over the world.
The researchers worked with the Utah Pigeon Club, the longest continuously running pigeon club in the western U.S., and the National Pigeon Association to get the blood samples necessary to investigate the molecular mechanisms driving diverse pigmentation patterns. In the early 1900s, geneticists first recorded that four fundamental color patterns were likely determined by variations at a single region, or locus, on a chromosome. Hobbyist have likely known about the basic genetics for much longer.
“Pigeon breeders know what a bird might look like if you bring two different combinations together. Without knowing about the molecules involved, they know which physical traits are dominant, and which are recessive,” said Anna Vickrey, doctoral candidate at the U and lead author of the paper.
Vickrey and colleagues sequenced the genomes of the four varieties, testing candidate genes that might regulate different color patterns. They found that barless pigeons have a mutation in the NDP gene sequence itself that impedes pigment production. Then, they determined that the darker-feathered birds had more copies of a probable regulatory DNA sequence, which dials up expression of NDP in checker and t-check birds.
“To see both changes in how much of the pigment gene is expressed, and changes in gene sequence in one suite of physical characteristics is kind of unique. It’s definitely exciting,” said Vickrey.
“It turns out that how many copies of that DNA region you have determines how dark your wings are. So, this is a mechanism for evolution of traits like pigmentation by simply duplicating stretches of DNA. It’s not really evolving something from scratch, it’s taking what you’ve got and making more copies,” added Shapiro.
The human connection
Although unknown in the bird world, the NDP gene is well studied in humans. Dozens of mutations in the gene result in blindness, deafness, schizophrenia and motor and intellectual problems. Yet the mutation in barless pigeons only affects their pigmentation and eyesight. At least two families in Japan with the same mutation in NDP experience only hereditary blindness. It points to at least part of the gene being important to vision.
“We discovered this gene that hasn’t been implicated in pigmentation traits before. It has these really interesting links to eye disease, so that implicated a common link between pigmentation and eye development that’s worth following up,” said Shapiro.
The researchers are collaborating with the Moran Eye Center at the U to study the veins and arteries behind barless pigeon retinas for insight into the NDP mutation’s effect on eye development.
Additionally, checker and T-check pigeons seem to have other reproductive and physiological changes that let them thrive in urban habitats. The biologists are investigating whether linked traits raise the possibility that NDP is changing not just pigmentation patterning, but also other important fitness traits.
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