by johnnymarin | Aug 4, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Homing pigeons — those birds with the remarkable ability to find their way home over vast distances — have fascinated city-dwellers for over half-a-century.
Decades ago, the birds were an iconic symbol of New York City, with coops lining rooftops and racing clubs taking to the skies. Although less common today, pigeon fliers still exist.
We recently ran into Pete, of Staten Island’s Mulligan’s Place Loft, as he released 60 homing pigeons for their first training flight.
Fliers begin training homing pigeons a few weeks after birth. At first, they carry the birds in wooden crates a mile or so away from their home lofts, and release them to see if they can learn their way home. With each training flight, the distance the pigeons must travel is increased.
The first training flight for Pete’s pigeons will require them to travel about two miles — from Grymes Hill to their loft in Rosebank. Watch the video above to see the pigeons take flight.
Mulligan’s Place Loft started flying pigeons competitively in the early 1980s, and has garnered over 100 national awards, according to its website.
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 3, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
VENICE, Italy-Ten years after the ban was placed on public feeding, the ‘holy pigeons’ at the St Mark’s Square in this Italian city are not ready to migrate.
They are still as friendly – in fact annoyingly friendly – as they were when the authorities banned the common practice of feeding the pigeons to stop them from ruining their UNESCO city status.
There are still many visitors who in the blink of an eye throw something for the pigeons who firstly fight for the food and then “chase” the donor for more.
Security officials are on the look for the tourists who attract pigeons – with the baits – and could come up with anything from a verbal warning to a €700 fine, for the violator. The huge fines have been effective in discouraging the people from feeding the birds. The ban on feeding the pigeons was forced in 2008.
In ‘Venice: A Literary Companion’ Ian Littlewood explained the origins of the Piazza San Marco’s pigeon colony: “According to tradition, it was from the gallery (of the Basilica) where we are standing that the original pigeons were released on Palm Sunday, weighted by pieces of paper tied to their legs. Most of them ended up on the dinner table as part of the Doge’s Easter largesse to the populace, but the rugged survivors were felt to have earned St Mark’s protection. So year by year, a few more pigeons found refuge among the domes on the basilica. They have since grown more numerous, and the enthusiasm of most tourists for the birds is short-lived, but as the average visitor now spends less than twenty-four hours in the city they still have plenty of friends.”
Pigeons perching on seed-throwing tourists used to be the square’s trademark. Today, the pigeons have formed colonies throughout the city, and the estimated 100,000 birds far outnumber Venice’s 60,000 human residents.
It can be disconcerting to walk down a street and encounter several dozen pigeons flying toward you at head height. They usually miss pedestrians, but sometimes may hit.
The sellers of pigeon food were legally banned from the Piazza San Marco in January 2008, which means nobody is able to feed pigeons unless he or she is a violator of the rules.
Those trying to please the pigeons have to sometimes pay for the love. In some cases, the whole budget to spend vacations in Italy is paid in fines.
Laura Smith, a tourist from the US said that she did not agree with the ban. “I would love to feed the pigeons here but the Italian authorities have the right to force their rules. In principle, I am against it (the ban). When the places are linked with saints, pigeons are frequent visitors,” she maintained.
Antonio Russo, an Italian visitor of the site defended the decision against feeding the pigeons saying it would help keep the square clean. “(Before 2008), it was common that the tourists complained about being pooed on the head or shirt by the pigeons. All rules are meant at facilitating the people,” he remarked. Initially, there were protests by the grain sellers against the anti-feeding decision in 2098 but they have slowly opted for other businesses. The pigeons, however, remain undecided.
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 2, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
It doesn’t happen often but if pigeons escape at organised shows, most will find their way home.
Otatara pigeon breeder David Service said he had been lucky that none of his birds had broken free at shows during his 54 years of entering competitions.
“They’re a homing bird … they [show pigeons] are not that fit and it might take them a few days, but they will get home,” Service said.
Poultry and pigeon breeder David Service holds one of his entries, a brown leghorn rooster, for the Invercargill Poultry & Pigeon Show this weekend.
This weekend, Service will have eight pigeons and seven hens-roosters at the Invercargill Poultry & Pigeon Club’s show at Kennington. He’s a life member of the club, and a big part of the enjoyment for him is catching up with fellow bird lovers.
Service has taken entries to shows all over the South Island and, occasionally, to the North Island. Three weeks ago, he took eight pigeons to the Wairarapa show in Masterton and returned home with several awards, including best young bird and second-best at the show.
Some of the things judges look for in poultry and pigeons are: body type, stance, balance, legs not too close together, missing feathers and shape of the head.
As a 14-year-old in 1964, Service entered pigeons at a show for the first time. He started racing them at the same time and continued doing that until 15 years ago.
When pulling the pin on racing, he decided to remove all pigeons from his property and concentrate on hens.
“I tried to get rid of them but I couldn’t,” Service said.
“When you’ve had a hobby for a long time, it’s hard to part with things.”
Service currently owns 30 hens-roosters and 20 show pigeons. Some of the roosters crow a bit at night when there’s a bright or full moon.
Occasionally, he has been attacked by a rooster using its spurs when believing its territory has been threatened.
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 1, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
THE SIGHT of a gull eating a dying pigeon in a town centre has provoked a storm on social media and calls by a community leader for a region-wide approach to managing the seabirds.
The herring gull, was seen dragging the injured pigeon out of the road on to the pedestrian crossing opposite the B&M store and the SeaQuarium on East Parade in Rhyl.
The incident was photographed by Mark Challoner, deputy manager of the nearby Apollo Bingo, who shared the image on the 5,000-strong Facebook group, Rhyl Forum.
It led to 304 responses, with differing views on how to deal with the gulls.
Mr Challoner said: “I was just at the top of High Street when it happened, so I can’t be sure the seagull attacked it, but you could see it dragging it on to the footpath and the pigeon was defenceless against it.
“I shared it on social media because I just felt I needed to get things off my chest.
“In the space of that day, I saw three people on different occasions walking down high street and the birds swoop down and took food from people’s hands and in one case a little toddler in a pram.
“I had one swoop down on me and I didn’t even have any food. These are vicious creatures now.”
Rhyl town councillor Tony Thomas, who is also Denbighshire County Council’s lead member for housing, regulation and the environment, said: “On behalf of the [county] council, I have written to Welsh Government about seagulls in respect of what can be done across North Wales and we are awaiting a response.
“I am currently pushing through a bylaw for the public not to feed the seagulls, but this will take 12 months.”
Cllr Thomas added: “Seagulls are a protected species but as we all know, their desire for a food source is insatiable.
“I live by Splash Point in Rhyl and as soon as a car pulls up on the front the seagulls are there waiting for any leftovers which are often tossed out to them.
“Culling would prove fruitless and any action to sort out the situation would be expensive and only temporary.
“Realistically there is no easy answer, but public education can reduce the problems.”
Some Rhyl Forum users said this was a typical sight in the town as the herring gull is known to eat other birds and carrion as part of its normal diet and they called for strong action to deal with the birds.
Martin Barker wrote: “By the Blue Bridge, we see the seagulls nudge the pigeons into the water then dive down and drag them to the shore to eat.”
Lynda Fisher posted: “They are disgusting dangerous vermin and one actually killed and ate a bird on the roof opposite my house last week.
“We are over-run with them and culling is overdue. At least prick the eggs.
However, the majority of the comments have rallied to the defence of the seagulls.
Sandra Bassett wrote: “It’s eating to stay alive; it might not be pleasant to watch, but it’s nature.
“Would you be so offended by a lion eating a deer? People have made them the way they are.
“We over fish from the seas and dump our rubbish and overflowing bins all over the land and then get annoyed about birds that have every right to be there.
Allyson Jones agreed: “It’s a seaside town. You’re going to get seagulls, they are struggling to eat so attack people with food.
“They were here before people. Animals eat animals. That’s how the world works.”
Joseph Coleman wrote: “Who would clean up that pigeon otherwise? Environmental health would probably take weeks to sort it and RSPCA won’t touch it. The seagull is actually helping clear up the mess.”
Responding to the feedback, Mr Challoner said: “I’m surprised there is more in favour of the seagull than against it, but personally I feel there has to be something done in the town to try and control things.
“I have been to many other seaside towns and there is visibly more gulls around here in Rhyl and they are more vicious.
“I agree its their environment and they have a right here as much as us, but I don’t remember it being this bad a few years back.
“Do we see this in Colwyn Bay, Llandudno or Blackpool? No, not half as bad”
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 | Jul 31, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Living in the city, pigeons are part of our everyday life. In others, they are disgusting – “rats of the city” they call them – others give sweetness. Whatever it is, it is part of our lives. But what if they are monitoring tools of what we do?
According to reports, this is already happening in China. At least 30 military and civilian services use the robot birds. Details of the technology that has been in place for some years now gave a source that it did not want to be named in the South China Morning Post.
Spy pigeons move their wings to make maneuvers mimicking the movement of birds and are so silent that when they flown a flight over a flock of sheep in Inner Mongolia, the sheep – which are scattered with the slightest – did not get news!
The program, code-named “Peristeri,” is led by Professor Sung Bifeng of Northwestern Polytechnical University in Hsian (he has already worked in the construction of the J-20, the Chinese stealth fighter aircraft).
The opening of their (artificial) wings is about half a meter, weighing 200 grams each, flying at a speed of up to 40 km / h for about 30 minutes at most. They are equipped with high-resolution camera, with GPS, and are capable of communicating with satellite.
Last April, in an interview with the Chinese Aeronautical Manufacturing Technology Review, Song confirmed that they are already being used in Xinjiang province (the Chinese Uighurs, with subdued separatist tendencies), but also in other provinces in China.
In the near future, “Pigeons” can have “the same or greater intelligence than nature’s creatures,” promised Professor Song Bifeng.
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 | Jul 30, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
Did you know the feral pigeon is a very common resident of Alberton that was introduced to South Africa?
The feral pigeon is a wild living form of the domestic rock dove that is found in Europe and North Africa. They are the descendants of homing pigeons brought to South Africa early in the 1800s. The feral pigeon is highly variable in colour. Different breeds of feral pigeons are all the same species and can reproduce with all the different breeds. Many of the colour forms range from dark grey to pure white. The main colour form in South Africa is largely grey with a brush of iridescent green and pink on the neck.
Feral pigeons retain the nesting habits of their ancestors, which nested largely on cliffs. With the increase in human settlements, a new breeding location became available to the pigeons: buildings. The pigeon makes use of the ledges and roofs of manmade structures to build their nests on. The feral pigeon is therefore largely dependent on humans for its survival.
Feral pigeons are able to breed throughout the year due to an adaptation known as crop milk. Crop milk is produced by the parents and fed to chicks which lessen the need for bringing food back to the nest. The pigeon is one of only three species of bird that produces milk.
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 | Jul 29, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
Ducks, hens and pigeons are all on show at the Auckland Poultry and Pigeon show.
More than 160 birds have been dropped off to Kumeu Showgrounds, for the last minute preparations before judging day on Saturday.
The Poultry and Pigeon Association dates back 134 years to 1884.
The silverware is what everyone wants, but there’s less people vying for it as the years go on.
“In another thirty years most of them could be gone,” said Jay Smith, President of the Auckland Poultry and Pigeon Association.
“These are our heritage birds and we need to protect them. We need to have more people taking them on and breeding them and showing them.”
The documentary, Pecking Order, helped put the spotlight on the hobby, but organisers need more people.
So that it’s not just the birds on the chopping block.
“Those who don’t win first prize I’ve told them if you don’t win you’re pigeon pie,” pigeon owner Paul Decker said.
The pigeons are fighting for gold and quite possibly survival too.
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 | Jul 28, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
URGENT action must be taken to tackle an epidemic of pigeon mess under bridges in Renfrewshire, a councillor has warned.
Bird droppings are causing chaos with the Linwood Toll, Paisley, a particular hot spot for mess falling on cars and the footpath below.
And now Councillor John Hood, who represents Johnstone South and Elderslie, is demanding Renfrewshire Council takes action to combat the rise in pigeon fouling.
Cllr Hood insisted the problem had been getting worse over the last few years.
He said: “There are places in the area where you can’t walk because the mess is six inches deep.
“The birds are roosting on bridges and people are then having to walk through it to get to their destination. It is a joke.
“This has been a bug bear of many people for a long time.”
Despite the efforts of Renfrewshire Council and Network Rail to prevent the mess piling up, pigeons are continuing to return all around the area.
Cllr Hood, who is a frequent walker in the area, added: “I became fully aware of the problem when I was walking along South Campbell Street a few months ago and a chick egg fell on me and hit me on the head. That was the final straw.
“This has been getting worse over the last few years. People are actually having to go out onto the road to avoid the mess.
“We need to make these bridges secure so that the pigeons don’t roost in them.”
The problem has been made more complicated by a legal dispute between Railtrack, who used to own the railways, and the old Strathclyde Regional Council in 1995.
After a lengthy legal dispute, it was confirmed Railtrack was not responsible for droppings from wild birds and the management of pigeon nuisance is the council’s responsibility.
The council’s infrastructure boss, Councillor Cathy McEwan, said: “We recognise birds fouling onto footpaths under railway bridges causes a problem and have agreed to bring forward a comprehensive report so we can review all options.”
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 | Jul 27, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Two men, aged 62 and 68, were fined in court on Wednesday (Jul 3) for pigeon feeding.
V Rajandran, 62, was fined $450 for one count of pigeon feeding.
The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) had been alerted to a case of pigeon feeding in February, and investigations found that V Rajandran had been feeding pigeons with bread crumbs at the void deck of Block 145 Potong Pasir Avenue 2.
He had previously been fined on four occasions for a similar offence.
In a separate case, Abdul Aziz S/O Saik Mohamed, 68, was fined $1,500 for five counts of pigeon feeding, and another six counts were taken into consideration during sentencing.
Investigations found that Abdul Aziz had been feeding pigeons at a grass verge at Block 825 Woodlands Street 81, near a “No feeding” signboard on multiple occasions between Dec 2017 and May 2018.
He had continued to feed pigeons despite several warnings from the AVA, and had previously been fined on two occasions for a similar offence.
Pigeon feeding in any premises or public place, including at HDB estates, is an offence.
The presence of feeders provides a regular source of food which may lead to pigeons congregating in the area. Feeding also encourages pigeons to breed, which results in an increase in their population.
Pigeons contaminate the environment with droppings, and leftover food from pigeon feeding may attract other pests including rats, that carry diseases and pose a risk to public health.
Anyone caught feeding pigeons can be fined up to $500 under the Animals and Birds (Pigeons) Rules.
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 | Jul 26, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
The number of fines issued by councils under controversial powers that let them penalise shouting, feeding pigeons and even collecting for charity has increased eightfold in a year.
Campaigners say that some town halls are “criminalising everyday life” by using antisocial behaviour laws to levy thousands of penalties of up to £100 for activities that are not illegal or harmful, but may be seen as distasteful or out of keeping with the area.
Councils in England and Wales used “public space protection orders” to issue at least 8,638 fines in 2017, up from the 1,004 since 2016, a freedom of information request by The Times revealed. The powers were created under the Antisocial Behaviour Act in 2014, allowing authorities to ban any activity deemed “detrimental to the quality of life”.
Some 152 councils have used the powers to ban drinking in public, while 29 have banned people from car racing. Antisocial behaviour is defined as anything that could cause harassment or distress and councils have used the orders to ban swearing and shouting, drawing on pavements with chalk, feeding birds, carrying a golf bag in a park and collecting for charity. Loitering, wearing hoods, busking, keeping chickens, riding hover boards and playing ball games have also been banned.
Councils can issue orders after public consultation and then issue fines. In most cases, they act only if behaviour is shown to have caused distress. Last year, councils implemented 960 orders, up from 519 in 2016.
Some have attracted controversy, such as banning protests outside an abortion clinic in Ealing. A proposal in Stoke-on-Trent to bar rough sleepers from using tents was dropped after criticism. However, at least 11 councils have banned the homeless from spending the night in tents, cars or the open air, while 34 have banned begging.
Almost 14,000 people have faced fines worth around £1.4 million to councils. Some authorities could not provide figures because fines are issued by police, and 17 failed to supply details.
“Councils are criminalising everyday life by banning things that aren’t antisocial or even unpleasant,” said a spokeswoman for the Manifesto Club, which highlights excessive regulation. “There is no distinction between what is harmful and what is not.”
Simon Blackburn of the Local Government Association said councils were acting to stop problems such as public drinking, racing in cars and aggressive begging.
He said: “Councils are determined to protect their communities from behaviour that ruins their quality of life, harms business or means people are scared to visit public places.”
has increased eightfold in a year.
Campaigners say that some town halls are “criminalising everyday life” by using antisocial behaviour laws to levy thousands of penalties of up to £100 for activities that are not illegal or harmful, but may be seen as distasteful or out of keeping with the area.
Councils in England and Wales used “public space protection orders” to issue at least 8,638 fines in 2017, up from the 1,004 since 2016, a freedom of information request by The Times revealed. The powers were created under the Antisocial Behaviour Act in 2014, allowing authorities to ban any activity deemed “detrimental to the quality of life”.
Some 152 councils have used the powers to ban drinking in public, while 29 have banned people from car racing. Antisocial behaviour is defined as anything that could cause harassment or distress and councils have used the orders to ban swearing and shouting, drawing on pavements with chalk, feeding birds, carrying a golf bag in a park and collecting for charity. Loitering, wearing hoods, busking, keeping chickens, riding hover boards and playing ball games have also been banned.
Councils can issue orders after public consultation and then issue fines. In most cases, they act only if behaviour is shown to have caused distress. Last year, councils implemented 960 orders, up from 519 in 2016.
Some have attracted controversy, such as banning protests outside an abortion clinic in Ealing. A proposal in Stoke-on-Trent to bar rough sleepers from using tents was dropped after criticism. However, at least 11 councils have banned the homeless from spending the night in tents, cars or the open air, while 34 have banned begging.
Almost 14,000 people have faced fines worth around £1.4 million to councils. Some authorities could not provide figures because fines are issued by police, and 17 failed to supply details.
“Councils are criminalising everyday life by banning things that aren’t antisocial or even unpleasant,” said a spokeswoman for the Manifesto Club, which highlights excessive regulation. “There is no distinction between what is harmful and what is not.”
Simon Blackburn of the Local Government Association said councils were acting to stop problems such as public drinking, racing in cars and aggressive begging.
He said: “Councils are determined to protect their communities from behaviour that ruins their quality of life, harms business or means people are scared to visit public places.”
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 | Jul 25, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
A Chicago alderman wants the city to lift a nearly 15-year ban on pigeon racing.
Alderman Gilbert Villegas says pigeon racing is a sport that receives little attention in the U.S. but is “deeply loved” in Poland. Villegas’ ward is home to many Polish residents he says are working with his office to change the city’s law.
The sport features specially trained pigeons that are released from specific locations and race back to their homes.
Villegas’ proposal would lift the ban for people in good standing with a national professional organization that requires minimum standards of care for “pedigreed rock doves.” Each bird would have to be registered with the organization.
The city banned homing pigeons in residential areas in 2004 after complaints from residents.
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 | Jul 24, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
The idea of raising barn pigeons as racing pigeons made sense, at least to me. So growing up, I built a coop (with help) behind our garage, then raised and trained barn pigeons as though they were racing pigeons.
I only trained them over a few miles, not the hundreds of miles that racing pigeons (homing pigeons) can do. But my training and buried knowledge in the barn pigeons worked: They came home to my chicken-wire coop.
Memories rushed back this week when I read Fran Spielman’s Sun-Times story on Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) introducing an ordinance at the City Council meeting Wednesday to lift the Chicago ban on pigeon racing. Two other Northwest Side aldermen, Ariel Reboyras (30th) and Nick Sposato (38th), co-sponsored the ordinance.
I would love to see the return of racing pigeons — legally — in Chicago. They’re remarkable creatures.
Barn pigeons, the country cousins of city pigeons, are not as remarkable. The difference between barn or city pigeons and racing pigeons is like the difference between me and Julius Peppers.
Barn and city pigeons are descended from domestic pigeons. Domestic pigeons, such as racing pigeons, descend from rock doves.
The homing instinct is mysterious and remarkable in racing pigeons.
As a kid, my dad would drive me into the city (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) and its edifice of a massive library. I read every book on pigeons they had, but I devoured the books on racing pigeons.
I read of the exploits (some were war heroes) and looked at the photos of them — erect and firm specimens, unlike the creatures pecking grain and corn kernels out of manure on farms or the city pigeons picking up bread crumbs.
Racing pigeons required a very special mix of feed. I even found the place that supplied racing food.
On the sports pages of the daily Intelligencer Journal, the agate section (as somebody who did two staff stints as a lowly agate clerk for the Sun-Times’ sports section, I love that part) would include a small piece of fine print from the Red Rose Pigeon Club, now gone as members aged and younger people did not join.
I quickly reached what I could do in terms of training barn pigeons. I learned how to handle them and to get them to fly to me to eat grain from between my lips.
So I dug out a number for the Red Rose Pigeon Club, then found the nerve to call. The guy I reached knew a club member willing to give me an old mated pair. That was a big deal. In those days, a top racing pigeon was worth more than my dad made in a year working in a stone quarry.
There was a good reason for an old pair. While they didn’t mean much to the owner, they meant the world to me. Second, the pair would be imprinted with the old coop, but their young would be imprinted with my chicken-wire coop.
I would love to tell you I grew into a proud junior member of the club. No. While I became good at training and raising racing pigeons, soccer and girls (or the idea of girls) took over my life.
Here’s hoping some young man or woman has the chance to train racing pigeons in Chicago.
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 | Jul 23, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
Here lies Pippa the Pigeon, beloved mother to 28 chicks, scavenger of crisps, befouler of statues, buried here at the age of 63 (in bird years).
If this sounds unfamiliar, it is because there are no pigeon cemeteries in British cities, nor are there any pigeon crematoria, which rather begs the question: where do pigeons go when they die? According to one estimate, there are up to one million pigeons in London alone. With a life expectancy in the city of as little as four years, this suggests that several million dead pigeons should have piled up around us, but where are they all?
An expert in animal physiology has felt moved to provide an answer to the mystery. Steve Portugal, an ecophysiologist at Royal Holloway, University of London, said: “Foxes, rats, gulls, crows and ravens all do a wonderful job of cleaning up any carrion they come across, including deceased pigeons.
“Alongside these native janitors, domestic cats are equally happy to take care of a dead or injured pigeon . . . this network of surreptitious street cleaners will usually whisk away any pigeon corpses long before they’re seen by human eyes.” Dr Portugal added that when pigeons are ill or injured, they often hide. He wrote on The Conversation, a news website: “[They] instinctively retreat to dark, remote places — ventilation systems, attics, building ledges — hoping to remain out of reach and unnoticed by predators. The predators don’t see them but neither do we: often when pigeons expire they are in hiding.”
He added: “Dying of old age is not a luxury afforded to most pigeons. As soon as they shows signs of slowness or sickness, many are snapped up by peregrine falcons, sparrowhawks, or other predators.
“Whether snatched midair by birds of prey, entangled by man-made obstacles or alone in a remote corner of a skyscraper’s roof garden, there are many ways that pigeons pass on from this world. But they all take place within an internal urban ecosystem, that, for the most part, is hidden from our sight.”
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 | Jul 22, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
WASHINGTON — Court records obtained by WUSA9 show the accused shooter who killed five journalists from the Capital Gazette newspaper on Thursday spent years filing lawsuits, petitions and motions against a long list of people who came in his line of sight.
Anne Arundel county prosecutors have charged Jarrod W. Ramos with five counts of murder in the first degree.
WUSA9 sifted through more than 300 records, diving into Ramos’s history inside and outside of the courtroom.
The documents obtained by WUSA9 begin in 2011, when a woman Ramos attended high school with asked law enforcement to file charges against him for harassment. The victim told prosecutors Ramos began contacting her via the internet in 2009.
In a handwritten statement seeking a peace order, the victim told the court “initially the nature of these emails was friendly,” but said later they became “increasingly alarming, vulgar, and incoherent.” She alleged Ramos told her to harm herself and called her place of employment with a disparaging remark.
The court granted her request for a peace order in 2011, the first of at least two the victim filed and granted against Ramos.
He eventually pleaded guilty to one count of harassment on July 26th, 2011. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation, which included a responsibility to attend counseling and have no contact with the victim,-a condition he’d later seek to “clarify.”
On July 31, 2011, a reporter for the Capital Gazette, Eric Thomas Hartley, described his case in a column about internet harassment.
The story enraged Ramos.
Court records show months after the story ran, Ramos requested reconsideration of his sentence. In November 2011, a judge struck the guilty finding from the record and allowed for probation before judgment, a conditional probation before sentencing.
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 | Jul 21, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
It was spring, and the young Red Oak tree was proud to say it was growing tall. Its lovely red leaves were unfolding and spreading out, and it longed to grow as tall as the bigger Red Oaks, that elite group of its “seniors” whose branches made a beautiful red canopy above.
They whispered and giggled and told secrets to each other, their leaves rustling in the wind. The young Red Oak usually missed out on these conversations, because it had been too small and too much of a sleepy head. Now that it was awake and growing each day, it was almost the size of the older Oaks, and it was looking forward to being a part of the “club”. “Welcome, Kid”, said a good natured Red Oak tree that stood a little away from where it was. “We’ve been watching you grow. You’re lucky you made it this far!”
“Lucky?” said the young Red Oak, a little puzzled. “Why do you say that?” The older Oak tree shrugged. “Ah, you wouldn’t know. Do you see those Great White Oak trees, growing tall above us?” The young Red Oak squinted upwards. It saw for the first time that there were several bigger trees that towered tall over the beautiful Red Oaks, atleast a hundred feet in height. They were more in number as well. “Oh!” gasped the young one, “These are numerous! And huge! But what does that have to do with us?”
“Well, you’ll see quite soon”, said the older Red Oak. “Now that you’re tall enough, and aware of your surroundings, you’ll see what keeps us Red Oaks from prospering in this land”, it said mysteriously. No sooner had it finished speaking when there was a curious rumbling sound that reverberated through the North American forest. The sky seemed to darken as if thunder clouds were looming over the horizon. The rumble soon grew into a cacophony that became louder and louder, and soon the young tree could make out the source of this noise: an enormous flock of pigeons, so many in number that they covered the sky like a dark blanket blocking out the sun, was making its way towards them.
The flapping of the wings of thousands of the pigeons seemed to sound like the flapping of the giant wings of a single unearthly monster. The hungry pigeons attacked the Red Oak trees with a force that surprised the young tree. It was still small, and didn’t have acorns yet— the fruits that Red Oaks usually bore, but that didn’t stop the birds from settling on its tender branches, weighing them down heavily. The rest shuffled through its leaves and branches, and not finding any food, contented themselves with trying to gorge on the acorns of the bigger Red Oaks.
The young tree glanced at the older Oak that was trying to fight them off, trying to toss its branches about a bit. But the stubborn pigeons stayed on, feasting on its acorns and nestling in great numbers on its branches, all the while cooing and pecking and tittering away. Elsewhere, they heard a loud crack, the sound of a branch breaking due to the weight of the birds. A while later, when they had had their fill— or rather, when they’d eaten up everything they could find, the pigeons flew away, again a hurricane in the distant horizon. “Passenger pigeons!” the older Red Oak said in disgust.
“Do you see what they do now? They lay the Red Oak trees bare with their appetite. They are too many, and too greedy! Our acorns carrying our seeds for the next generation of Red Oak trees, all eaten up by those gluttons!” Some of the other Red Oak trees murmured their agreement. The young Red Oak looked up at the White Oak trees. They were untouched. “Why don’t they forage in the White Oaks for food?” it asked. “The White Oaks have acorns that germinate during autumn, and the pigeons breed then”, said the older one. “They are safe for now. But this is what goes wrong for us Red Oaks. And just look at the amount of droppings on the forest floor! If a fire breaks out, we’re done for!”
“Why, what about the White oaks?” said the young Red Oak. “Won’t they get hurt too, in a forest fire?” “They’re resistant to fire”, said the older Red oak. “Aren’t these the birds that I heard, are used by humans to carry messages?” said the little Red Oak, trying to recollect what he had overheard somewhere from someone. “Oh, you’re getting confused!” said the older Oak, “those are carrier pigeons, or messenger pigeons. Those ones can find their way back home alright. Much more sensible. And intelligent. Not crazy like these ones. Now you’ll see the native Red Indians coming to kill some of these silly birds sometime soon.
Sometimes I wonder if they are as crazy as the birds. They hunt the birds for the meat, then offer the meat to their deity, and then there’s this elaborate ritual, it’s quite funny actually—” But before they could say anything more, the sound of a gunshot rang through the forest. “What was that?” asked the little Red Oak, but it couldn’t ask anymore as several gunshots were fired into the stillness of the forest, and the wild pandemonium caused by fluttering wings and bird squeals reached them. “Looks like it’s the White people who’ve moved in around here newly— they have something that’s used to fire at the birds. All you have to do is, point it upwards and press something, the birds are so many that atleast one will be hit and killed”, muttered the older Oak tree. “I hope they finish them all”, it added, under its breath.
In the following days and months, the little Red Oak tree grew taller and stronger, and as it did, it started noticing that the Passenger pigeons were no longer coming in flocks. Their number had come down drastically, while the number of hunters had gone up. The older Oak tree and the other Oaks that stood some way away in the distance were overjoyed by this development. Several new Red Oaks were taking root in the forest, thanks to the acorns being left alone by the dwindling number of Passenger pigeons.
Only the little Red Oak tree missed them bit. It had not seen enough of them, and it seemed like it had taken root at the dawn of a new era with the disappearance of the Passenger pigeons. It grew to be one of the biggest Red Oaks in the region, with numerous other Red Oaks all around, having managed to outnumber the White Oaks after all!
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 | Jul 20, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
“Pigeon racing” may conjure images of robust, healthy birds zipping across finish lines in quick succession. But what it really means is releasing strategically bred pigeons far, sometimes hundreds of miles from their homes, to see which one makes it back the fastest.
Many of them don’t make it back at all.
The news that three Northwest Side aldermen are trying to legalize pigeon racing as a sport is alarming to the bird enthusiast community and should be to the entire city.
Here’s what those aldermen may not know: Racing pigeons are domestically raised birds that don’t have the survival skills to make it in the wild. The pigeons we see on the street were raised by their parents to survive in an urban setting. But when humans selectively breed birds and feed them from hatching, they don’t develop the scrappy resourcefulness that wild pigeons have.
They don’t know how to find food or avoid predators, and they haven’t been produced by natural selection, but rather by selection by humans for certain qualities.
An investigation by PETA released in 2012 found that more than 60 percent of racing pigeons don’t make it back to their home lofts.
And the birds that don’t perform to the standard of their pigeon-racing owners are subject to abandonment and culling, the killing of weak or undesirable specimens in a group of animals.
The aldermen stipulate that standards will be enforced regarding the conditions in which the racing birds are kept, the containers that feed will be stored in and the registration of individual birds. But none of this regulation will protect the birds, at all, once the race begins. PETA lists common methods of culling as suffocation, drowning, decapitation, neck-breaking, and gassing. If pigeon racing is legalized in Chicago, will there be regulations in place for which manners of culling birds are considered humane?
And while the aldermen say that the ban will only be lifted for members of pigeon racing organizations in good standing, how beneficial is it to be in good standing with an organization wherein culling and abandonment are commonplace?
When I gave word to Annette Prince, the director of the bird rescue organization Chicago Bird Collision Monitors about the potential legalization, she said the organization responds to hundreds of calls every year for banded pigeons and doves that have been attacked by predators, injured, abandoned and starved.
Those birds need rescue and care. Homes and medical treatment need to be provided for endless numbers of rescued racing pigeons because, in most cases, owners do not want the lost birds back.
Pigeon racing, legal in many U.S. cities, is already affecting local bird rescue organizations even before the city considers legalizing it.
In November of 2017, as previously reported by the Sun-Times, Chicago Bird Collision Monitors rescued about 75 of more than 100 banded pigeons dumped in a parking lot in Ravenswood. The rest succumbed to predator attacks or were found frozen to death. Those that lived had to be treated for avian pox, likely a result of having been kept in poor conditions before they were dumped. It was a rescue effort that spanned more than a week and involved multiple wildlife rescue agencies and many volunteers who came out in the cold to catch the birds with boxes, with nets, and with our hands.
If the city legalizes pigeon racing, it will be this organization and other bird advocacy groups that will be called upon to capture, treat and place the birds after they’re found emaciated and bleeding — at the expense of the organizations. Their resources are already stretched thin. And the birds that are rescued will be the lucky ones — many more won’t have a chance.
Birds have an internal navigation system that’s still largely a mystery to us. Pigeons are intelligent birds that can recognize individual human faces. Domestically raised pigeons are affectionate companion animals and rewarding pets, not objects to be used for sport and then dumped like garbage.
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 | Jul 19, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Another great classic has found its way onto my TV, and as I watched “On the Waterfront” I was reminded once again why all of these movies made their mark. Like classic rock, they have stood out as the terrible or forgettable films of the day fell to the wayside, and these stood the test of time. I watch them as a regular audience member, not a studious purveyor of classical work, not a film critic with notes in hand, searching for faults or reasons for me to whine about modern films compared to older ones. And still, these movies are classics for a reason, and watching them reminds me of why they have survived all these years. They’re just straight up good — so before I get into my literary exploration of this film (and others to come), know that I just plain old enjoy them too.
“On the Waterfront” follows Terry Mallow (played by Marlon Brando), a talented ex-prize fighter who works on the docks alongside a slew of poverty-stricken workers struggling to make ends meet. Terry is one of many thugs who work for the ruthless union boss, Johnny Friendly (played by Lee J. Cobb) They are all part of killing a would-be whistleblower who tried to speak out against the brutally enforced corruption in the upper echelons of the union. However, the sister of the murdered man catches Terry’s eye, and the two of them fall into a complicated romance that pulls him between two worlds — one of empathy and another of brutality. With the help of a local priest, some of the union members get in their heads to stand up against Friendly, and Terry doesn’t know where he ought to stand.
For the duration of the film, Terry spends much of his free time tending to pigeons on the roof of his impoverished apartment complex. He used to be a tenacious prize-fighter, deadly in the ring, but Friendly had him lose a few fights on purpose to win some bets, and that lost him his chance at the big leagues — the softer side of him finds solace in tending to the delicate birds on his rooftop. His love interest, Edie Doyle (played by Eva Marie Saint), has joined him and is watching him with longing eyes, at the rough man takes care of animals with great care and affection.
He begins to speak of hawks and pigeons, and how he has to protect the pigeons from the hawks who come from bigger, more expensive (and taller) buildings. If he doesn’t, they’ll swoop down and eat the pigeons alive.
This is quite obviously a metaphor for the powerful, predatorial union bosses taking advantage of the dock workers. The “pigeons and hawks” motif is referenced several times in the film, and the obvious question (as I outlined before) is where Terry stands. Does he stand with the pigeons, who get mauled and eaten alive but with their souls intact? Or does he stand with the hawks, who survive but at the cost of their own consciences?
Everyone is worrying about what side they are on, or which identity they belong to. Terry wrestles with this for the whole film — following his conscience only ever got him hurt, but following men like Johnny Friendly only ever hurt the ones around him. His lover wants him to stand up to them, but when that doesn’t work she wants him to run away with her. His own brother wants him to survive and look out for himself, and to work his way up the ranks of the union/gang.
In a world like that, you’re either predator or you’re prey.
Terry winds up ditching the whole metaphor entirely. After all his inner turmoil and outer conflicts, it’s as if he says, “You know? Screw all these categories and people trying to tell me what I can and can’t do. I’m not a hawk, I’m not a pigeon — I’m a man. And a man does what he’s gotta do.”
He ditches the philosophy of the pigeons; he ditches the philosophy of the hawks. He uses the strength of his hawk-like character, the perseverance and the physical brute force of a prize-fighter who grew up in poverty, as well as the empathy and compassion of the pigeons. Terry needed the encouragement of the good woman and he needed the inspiring words of the priest; he also needed his indomitable spirit and strength that he gained from the a life of hardship on the streets — at the end of the day, he needed to soften his heart and harden it at the same time in order to do what is right.
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 | Jul 18, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
On Saturday, the first yearling pigeon races of the 2018 season took place from Vrede (135km) and Paul Roux (180km). 78 Ladysmith pigeons were sent to Vrede and 140 to Paul Roux.
The first Vrede pigeon was clocked by Paul Manuel at 10:01, 17 minutes ahead of the second pigeon clocked by Lappies from Labusch Lofts. The pigeons from Paul Roux arrived at 9:50, but were still very energetic.
Most people struggled to get their pigeons in because they were flying around at home.
Jimmy Hanlon clocked the winning pigeon, beating Tiekie Crouse by 37 seconds into second place.
The winning pigeon from Vrede flew an average speed of 66km/h and from Paul Roux, the average speed was 99km/h.
The full results are as follows:
Vrede: Paul Manuel 1,21; Labusch Lofts (Lappies) 2,7,8,12,16,17,19,20,24,26; Tiekie Crouse 3,4,6,9,10,18,23,27; Mark Clayton 5,11,13,14,15,22,25.
Paul Roux: Jimmy Hanlon 1,11; Tiekie Crouse 2,9,18,28,29; Lewis Hay 3,4,5,6,7,8,14,21,24,25,26,27; Mark Clayton 10,12,13,20,23,30; Labusch Lofts (Lappies) 15,16,17; Imraan Kader 19; Paul Manuel 22.
The previous weekend, Tiekie Crouse won the KZN race from Middelburg by five minutes. Congratulations to him.
The open series continues this weekend, with races from Middelburg and Dealesville.
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 | Jul 17, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
While many Chicagoans might think pigeon racing is rushing to their bedroom windows at 4:30 a.m. to chase away the birds and their infernal cooing, aldermen have introduced a proposal to bring back the sport of racing homing pigeons.
It’s a pastime beloved by many people of Polish descent, so Northwest Side Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, took a plan to the City Council this week to legalize it in the city. It was banned more than a decade ago.
“Pigeon racing is a sport that receives no attention in the United States but is deeply loved in Poland,” Villegas said in a statement. “A number of residents in my ward have brought that love to their new country and would like to bring the sport to Chicago.”
Villegas’ proposal says the pigeons must be kept in enclosures “except for limited periods necessary for exercise, training and competition” between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. and “such pigeons shall not be released for flying which have been fed within the previous four hours.”
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.”
Pigeon fans then said aldermen and other critics were erroneously confusing their birds, which are registered and vaccinated, with common street pigeons that can transmit diseases.
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 | Jul 16, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
Residents in a Victorian building in south west London are being ‘cooped’ up in the sweltering heat, because pigeons keep invading their homes. They’ve been warned not to open their windows in a desperate bid to keep the birds out. One resident at the block of four flats in Wandsworth said she found a pigeon sat on her hob when she went to make a cup of tea. Other residents have reported pigeons watching them in the bathroom and pecking at windows to be let in. HEY! (Picture: SWNS) One resident said: ‘I don’t know what’s gone on in our building in the past, but these birds definitely have an uncanny interest in it. What makes things stranger is that you never see any other birds in the area.’ A 24-year-old court clerk who lives in the block said she found a pigeon in her kitchen this morning. ‘As I walked into the kitchen, I couldn’t believe my eyes – this massive fat pigeon was sat right on the middle of my hob. I could see the bird eyeing me up through the glass panes in the door.’ The pigeon only left when her boyfriend came to shoo it away with a broom. ‘There’s another pigeon too that keeps sitting on the windowsill in our bathroom and stares at me when I’m in the shower. It’s really unnerving – if I hang a towel over the window, it just pecks the glass. I’m terrified it’s going to break in one day,’ she added. One resident found a pigeon sitting on her hob (Picture: SWNS) The situation seems to have now reached breaking-point as a sign has been affixed to the communal notice board warning residents not to open the windows. A 27-year-old, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘They’re getting really bold at the moment. ‘One nearly got in yesterday, but I managed to shoo it just in time. It’s so hot, and it would be great to have the windows wide open. But the pigeons are keeping us cooped up in here.’ A sign has been fixed to the communal notice board warning residents not to open the windows (Picture: SWNS) One of the pigeons made its way inside the building (Picture: SWNS) In a video taken by the resident, another pigeon can be seen staring through the bathroom window. He said: ‘I noticed the pigeon while I was brushing my teeth. It was probably there for a full minute in total. I know this sounds silly, but I found it really arrogant.’ His flatmate added: ‘It’s a power struggle. I really do not like them, and the issue is that they defecate everywhere which is really an unsanitary way to live.’ Wandsworth Council, who are in charge of pest control in the area, have been approached for a comment.
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)
