“As an old Beijinger, I think the whistle of the pigeons and the singing crickets are the lifeblood of a city.”
So said Shen Xu, the person who is in charge of a huge pigeon loft that was recently opened at the Beijing Garden Expo Park. The pigeon loft takes up two hectares at the park. In recent years, many pigeon dwellings built outside residents’ houses were demolished, and the pigeon loft has become a main choice for pigeon owners to keep their pigeons. The newly-opened loft can hold over 12,000 pigeons. In the loft, there is a hospital, bathroom, canteen, sun room and shower. Shen said that he hopes this loft can provide a chance for pigeon lovers to continue their pigeon-keeping.
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.
Minnesotan Fredrick Harrison Becker was sent to France when America entered into the ongoing worldwide conflict. He was one of a class of 13 U.S. Naval Air Service pilots trained for coastal patrol duty to watch over and protect convoys at sea along the coast of France.
Becker was born in Dodge Center and for a time, he was a resident of Grafton Township in the northwest corner Sibley County. His grave is in New York state.
Sibley County Museum at Henderson has one of the French-made fur-lined flight suits worn by Becker during his time in the service.
His duties included dropping bombs on German submarines bent on torpedoing the convoys.
The air ships assigned to Becker’s group were Tellier single-engine biplanes. Each cost $16,000.
They were “flying boats with Hispano engines of 220 horsepower, geared to a big wooden propeller” wrote Becker in a Feb. 15, 1949, article for the magazine “The Sportsman Pilot.”
Becker thought the air ships were beautiful.
In the article, he described the problems he and his observer, Dan Carey, faced — rough seas on takeoff or landing, a primitive radio, an erratic compass and a fuel supply of only 160 gallons.
Four homing pigeons were aboard. The birds were used to send messages when all other methods failed.
Evidently, Becker’s pigeons were not very well trained and they were most reluctant to leave the ship. He would shoot a pistol to scare a pigeon and “persuade him to make an honest effort to find his way home.”
The article included accounts of the five times Becker and Carey ditched at sea. They were rescued each time.
The planes went out two at a time, usually flying about 1,000 feet over the convoy they were watching. If forced down, the plane was usually in sight of one of the ships and rescue was speedy.
Bad weather or malfunctions caused most ditchings.
Becker and Carey came close to dying in the fifth dunking. They were in Tellier No. 5, one of a dozen ships assigned to their station.
On that occasion, they had followed a French submarine on a dash to Spain and were well outside the usual shipping lanes when their engine failed.
Down they went. The boat overturned, but the two men found a protruding breather pipe they grasped by their fingers.
“We clung to the plane for a long, long time … squalls came and passed … the hull was filling with water and sooner or later it would go down … we wore life belts but they were no protection from the cold … the end seemed not far off. A sound came to me over my left shoulder … Dan caught it too. It seemed about a week later when a strong sailor grabbed me by the neck, the most welcome feeling ever to come to me … he got us both into his boat … to a big ship. The doctor removed our wet clothes. The boys rubbed me so hard they made me dizzy.”
Becker’s sister and her husband, Esther Daisy and Arthur Sander, lived in rural Arlington. He gave his flight suit to his brother-in-law during a visit to Sibley County, probably in the 1920s.
Art Sander wore the suit while doing chores in the winter.
After her husband’s death in 1959, Esther Sander donated the suit and a photograph of her brother to the museum.
The flight suit is now part of the World War l display under development on the main floor of the museum.
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.
With feathers preened and bills buffed, nearly 800 pigeons took part in Jordan’s largest beauty contest for birds.
The event in Amman was established over two years ago to ensure that pigeon rearing, popular with elder men, doesn’t die out.
Pigeons from across the Levant in a variety of sizes, some with bright, arched beaks, others all white birds, were aligned next to each other in mesh cages and evaluated for their beauty and poise, among other qualities.
“We love pigeons, and this is a hobby, just like those who love horses, camels, goats or falcons,” event organizer Mohamed Al-Masri told Reuters.
Around 1,500 people attended the spectacle as 500 pigeon breeders put their birds on show.
“People come from everywhere in Jordan and brought their birds that they love and care for …in order to show this beauty in front of everyone,” said Abu Rakan Al-Daaja, one of the breeders at the event.
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.
Winona residents have easy access to one of the most beautiful, scenic farms in the county! The farm belongs to Dick and Sue Gallien and the Minnesota Land Trust and is known as the Winona Farm on East Burns Valley Road (about three miles from mid-Winona). With its natural surrounding of woods, bluff land, pastures, fields, ponds and a creek, this Winona farm would be an ideal place of refuge and shelter for ducks and geese to live in peace — a sanctuary!
As a forward-thinking environmentalist and out-of-the-box conservationist, Dick Gallien may be open to this sanctuary idea. With clipped wings, nourishing food and water, plus a monthly stipend, he and Sue may open their picturesque farm to these feathered friends and to those youngsters who would enjoy feeding and visiting them.
As a neighboring farmer and teacher myself, I have appreciated years of wisdom and mentorship from the Galliens. I’ve enjoyed many a class field trip where we hiked the trails; caught wild birds and rodents and identified them; sent messages with homing pigeons; learned about raising cattle, horses, goats, sheep, poultry, pigs, and children; learned about the East Burns Valley one-room school and retraced the paths those early settlers took to get there. (Some children walked or rode horseback up to five miles for an education!)
Having acquired the legendary Walt Disney flock of white pigeons, Dick’s lovely birds are seen flying the countryside.
As a visionary, Dick Gallien has mentored, inspired, and sometimes frustrated many of us who attempt to fully understand him. However, in this situation — the need of a sanctuary for our ducks and geese — the Galliens and the Winona Farm with its spectacular landscape would be a near perfect solution to an over-populated problem at the lake.
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.
PETA has uncovered what La Crosse is doing with pigeons and the group is not happy about it.
Mayor Tim Kabat says he’s responded to a letter from the animal advocacy group’s cruelty investigations department. La Crosse is working with the USDA on a process to bait, net and remove the pigeons,which is what PETA has complained about.
Kabat assured the group the latest effort comes only after a long string of other, non-lethal methods. Working with the USDA is really just the latest step in pigeon control that has included contraceptive feed, bird barriers and no feeding rules, among others.
In December, the city entered into the $23,000 pigeon removal contract, after spending more than $33,000 to clean pigeon poop out of the Main Street parking ramp.
“I think we have employed a pretty comprehensive approach over the last several years,” Kabat said, “and the city did quite a bit of review and analysis before taking the next step to contract with the USDA.
“I think we’ve been pretty deliberate in our approach and our conversations with the contractor, I mean, we’ve received reassurance that they do everything in their power to treat them as humanely as possible.”
Kabat says the city will stick with the new method for now.
“Obviously, we want to see it succeed and do what it’s supposed to do, so we do need to run its course just a little bit and if we need to make adjustments, we will do that,” Kabat said.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
HAIFA, Israel (Press Release) — Pigeons played an important role in turning the Byzantine Negev into a flourishing region 1,500 years ago. This is the conclusion of a new study held at the Institute of Archeology at the University of Haifa that was published Monday in the prestigious journal PlosOne. The study, which concentrated on the ancient settlement of Shivta and Saadon, found archaeological evidence showing that the Byzantines in the Negev raised pigeons not as a source of food, but in order to fertilize the loess soil and enhance its suitability for intensive agriculture. “Pigeon droppings are rich in phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen, which are vital for agricultural and are lacking in the loess soils of the Negev,” the researchers explained. “The pigeon bones we found are much smaller than those of pigeons bred for the meat industry. Together with the nesting materials we found in the compartments and their location in the middle of agricultural fields, the findings show that the pigeons were raised without significant intervention. The role of humans was mainly confined to providing protection for the birds.”
In recent years, extensive research has been undertaken in the Byzantine settlements of the Negev, led by Prof. Guy Bar-Oz of the University of Haifa. Among other goals, the researchers are interested in understanding how the Byzantines managed to maintain a broad-based agricultural system in the desert 1,500 years ago, and what led to the sudden abandonment and eventual collapse of these flourishing communities. In a study published several months ago, the research group presented important archaeological evidence to the magnitude of agriculture in the Negev in this period, based on the bones of a rodent called Tristram’s jird, which lives only in wetter environments and is not found in desert areas. The current study, led by Dr. Nimrod Marom of the University of Haifa and Tel Hai College, in cooperation with Prof. Bar-Oz and Dr. Yotam Tepper of the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa and Dr. Baruch Rosen of the Volcani Center, focused on the study of the bones of pigeons from the compartments discovered in agricultural areas close to the Byzantine settlements.
The researchers explain that pigeon droppings are a well-known source of important minerals for agriculture, such as phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen. Until recently, pigeons were used in many parts of the world to improve and fertilize soil. However, over the centuries pigeons have also been raised for other purposes, particularly for their meat. In order to determine the purpose of pigeon raising in the Negev, the researchers examined the bones found in the compartments, as well as the chemical composition of their droppings.
The large quantity of bones found in the excavations enabled the researchers to determine the average wingspan, body structure, and skull pattern of the pigeons from the Byzantine period. These were compared with data for various species of pigeons in the modern era. The comparative analysis was based in part of a comparison between the pigeons from the Negev and the pigeons collected and investigated by Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution. The bones of Darwin’s pigeons are today housed at the British National Museum. The most important finding reached by the researchers was that the pigeons from the Byzantine period were small, muscular, and “athletic,” and did not differ in their dimensions from wild pigeons. According to Dr. Marom, the smaller body size is not only clear evidence that they offered less meat. The smaller the birds, the more rapid their metabolism. To put it simply: smaller doves produce more droppings relative to the quantity of food they consume.
The chemical tests conducted at the laboratory showed that the droppings are indeed rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. “Together with this fact, the location of the pigeon compartments in an agricultural area remote from the settlements reinforces the hypothesis that the pigeons were raised in the compartments in order to produce high-quality fertilizer that accumulated on the floor of the compartments and was used to fertilize the fruit trees and vines in the vineyards and orchards. We also exposed rich botanical findings in the compartments themselves, including grape seeds, olives, peaches, and various kinds of wild plants – all remnants of the food eaten by the pigeons – as well as a large quantity of remnants of branches. All these findings provide further evidence that the Negev during the Byzantine period was green and flourishing,” the researchers concluded.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
When Colin Hill was eight years old, a friend gave him a pigeon. ‘I brought it home and put it in the aviary with Mum’s budgies, but when my father came home he let it out and it flew straight back to my friend,’ he recalls.
‘When I appeared with it a second time, my father relented and built me a little pigeon loft at the bottom of the garden.’
It wasn’t long before Mr Hill acquired more birds and the obsession he calls ‘the pigeon bug’ bit harder when he realised it was possible to race the birds.
In the past, Mr Hill has owned up to 80 pigeons, but he currently has 28 – it takes roughly three hours a day to clean them out and exercise them.
‘I set up a deckchair in the garden and wait for them to come back. That’s the most exciting part, seeing them arrive and thinking of the distances they’ve covered,’ says Mr Hill, who’s raced pigeons from as far as Thurso on the north coast of Scotland and Pau in southern France.
Having recently been instrumental in setting up the ‘Pigeons at War’ exhibition, currently on display at Bletchley Park, Mr Hill points out that ‘not many people know that messenger pigeons saved hundreds of lives in the Second World War and 32 were awarded Dickin medals for gallantry’.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
The kalyani (pond) in Sankey Tank has turned into city’s own Trafalgar Square, with hundreds of pigeons flocking the place everyday. While it looks picturesque, especially when the birds take wing together, some regular walkers are apprehensive about their presence. For, they ask, where are the other birds? Have the pigeons driven them away?
What has attracted the birds to the tank in such large numbers is the kindness of a few people who every morning and evening feed them without fail. But the pigeons are loved by some and considered a menace by others.
“A few people bring a sack of foodgrain and feed the pigeons near the pond. Sometimes, it is difficult to walk through the place as it is full of bird droppings. Encouraging the practice, a vendor sells pigeon food to those interested in feeding the birds,” said Priya R. (name changed on request), a regular walker.
Pigeon feeding is largely a religious practice, wherein people believe that it is akin to doing good deed and will bring prosperity. Some do it on humanitarian grounds.
“These birds thrive and breed because of the easy availability of food. One cannot even spot crows in the area now,” she said.
However, others say the presence of pigeons does not bother them. “They don’t come near the walking area and remain on the steps of the kalyani. The only worry is the bird droppings, which we hear can cause allergies and breathing issues,” said Ramakanth, who has been regularly walking around Sankey Tank for three years now.
The Sankey Tank Walkers’ Association has also been receiving complaints from a few walkers about the presence of the birds. “The number of pigeons has definitely gone up in the last few years and some people have complained about this. But, there are others who are for the practice. We cannot take a stand on the issue, it is up to the civic body to decide on this,” said Anand A.R., of the association.
However, ornithologist M.B. Krishna says that it is unlikely that pigeons can drive away other birds. “Pigeons are quite harmless, though a nuisance at times. The reports about them spreading diseases is also not proven. Cross-species infection is not as prevalent as some people make it out to be,” he said, and added that by designing our buildings better so that they have sloping ledge not a flat one, the number of pigeons can be controlled.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
A spokesman for Active Northumberland, which runs leisure centres in the county, said: “A hawk is currently being used to deter pigeons, which have been causing issues at the centre. “A professional company has been hired to fly the hawk around at different times over a week to scare the birds off to find a new home.” The use of the hawk has certainly surprised some Willowburn users. One gym-goer, who did not want to be named, contacted the Gazette to say: “It looks like it’s been drafted in to frighten off the pigeons which are nesting above the entrance. “The spikes on the parapets have had no effect whatsoever. “I thought the hawk had been brought in to make sure we do our exercise programme – although it could never match gym manager Jackie for that!” Meanwhile, another reader said: “As I was walking past the door of Willowburn, I noticed two gentlemen – one up a ladder and one carrying a large hawk on his wrist. “I should think that they were there to kill the nuisance pigeons that have made the beams under the roof a nesting place.” The Gazette asked how much the hawk was costing, but did not get an answer before going to press.
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.
From Monday 9 April 2018, it will be an offence to feed pigeons in Waterlooville Town Centre and doing so could result in being issued with a fixed penalty notice for £80.
A Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) is being introduced in the area as pigeons are causing significant problems for shoppers, businesses and residents of flats in Waterlooville Precinct.
Pigeons – that are awaiting food – have been roosting on residential balconies that surround the precinct despite preventative measures such as netting, sound boxes, spikes and decoy birds of prey being introduced. These pigeons have impacted the quality of life in the area and have effectively prevented residents from using their balconies and opening their windows.
Local businesses and cafés are also suffering and are frequently having to clear pigeons mess off tables and chairs.
Sophia Goodwin from JDI Property Holdings, who manage a block of flats in the precinct, said: “Pigeons are the number one problem for our residents. We have invested a considerable amount into preventative measures for the building, however our residents are still suffering. We hope this extra measure will improve the situation”.
Councillor Tony Briggs, Deputy Leader of the Council, said: “The problem of pigeons is of real concern to residents of local flats and it’s not fair that people have to live like this. By preventing individuals from feeding them, we hope we will reduce their numbers and the associated impact on businesses and residents.
“Our officers have spoken to a number of individuals feeding pigeons asking them to stop and explaining the associated impact. Local businesses have approached people feeding pigeons and signage in the area and a wider media campaign has been rolled out. Despite these effort individuals continue to regularly feed pigeons leaving us no other option but to follow the PSPO route”.
By limiting available food, the number of pigeons at the precinct is expected to decline with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Pigeon Control Advisory Service (PiCAS) advising this as best practice.
Pigeon activity causes ill-effects on the local community with:
buildings being covered in fouling which looks unpleasant, can smell and projects a poor image of a business and the area
bird droppings are acidic and can corrode or erode building materials
nesting materials birds use can block chimneys, flues and guttering, causing possible issues with carbon monoxide and damage to buildings as water overflows from blocked gutters
birds carry a variety of diseases such as Ornithosis, Listeria and Ecoli that can be transmitted to humans not only from the droppings but also the birds themselves. When dry, pigeon droppings can become airborne in small particles, which can lead to respiratory complaints such as psittacosis.
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.
Sussex Police have arrested two people for criminal damage offences.
Police received reports of two people near Railway Approach, East Grinstead, on Tuesday 13 March allegedly shooting pigeons on the roof with catapults. Officers attended the scene and arrested both suspects.
A 21-year-old man of no fixed address was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, conspiracy to destroy or damage a property and having an article with intent to destroy or damage property.
A 17-year-old boy of Edenbridge, Kent, was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, conspiracy to destroy or damage a property and having an article with intent to destroy or damage property.
Both have been released under investigation and the investigation continues.
Anyone with information is asked to report online or call 101 quoting reference Operation Compound.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
The days of Redruth residents being aerially bombarded by pooing pigeons are now over after a ‘humane’ solution was found.
Last year it was reported that one fed-up resident complained how the pooing birds were putting lives at risk.
The Bond Street Railway Bridge, adjacent to Alma Place, has been a popular nesting place for pigeons for a number of years and the birds living there could regularly be seen splattering the pavement below and those who dared walk by.
A local man, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “They nest under the bridge and poo on the pavement, street signs and pedestrian crossing push buttons.
“People are at risk of health from infection from the faeces and, in wet weather, slipping on the pigeon mess, which is slippery, and they could end up in the road and run over by passing traffic.
“So the situation is not being dealt with and only the road sweeper cleans the pavement on odd occasions.”
However it now appears a solution has finally been found, according to Redruth town councillor Mike Chappell.
He posted on his Facebook page: “RAILWAY BRIDGE PIGEON PROBLEM FINALLY SOLVED!
“The railway bridge over Bond Street, Redruth, at its junction with Station Hill, is finally clear of pigeons and the mess they make on the pavements below following the completion of a programme of works to mesh off the underside of the bridge.
“Major cleaning has been required down the years in order to ensure public safety on the pavements.
“This humane way of dealing with a longstanding environmental and public health issue followed receipt of many complaints from the public and subsequent inter agency work between Redruth Town Council, Network Rail and the Highways Department with Redruth Town Council part financing the work.”
Town and Cornwall councillor Barbara Ellenbroek said previously that following town council discussions, Network Rail revealed that it felt the issue wasn’t a health hazard and therefore if Redruth Town Council wanted to do anything it would cost in the region of £10,000 due to associated road closures.
However despite the previous concerns it appears that the issue has now been resolved.
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.
Video footage showing dozens of pigeons lying dead on the ground and others limping was released Friday by an animal rights group that secretly filmed members of the Alabama Forestry Association taking part in a live pigeon shoot.
The video, which was shot legally from a drone, shows a man taking pigeons from a cage and throwing them into the air as participants circled the field waiting to shoot. Footage taken from the ground after the event was over shows close ups of pigeons limping, crawling, as well as many dead.
“We rescued as many as we could before nightfall,” said Steve Hindi, president and founder of Showing Animals Respect & Kindness (SHARK), an animal rights group based in Illinois. “It was heartbreaking to leave knowing so many more were out there suffering. These birds are not eaten. The wounded are left to die slow, painful deaths from their wounds, predation or starvation.”
“The people from the Alabama Forestry Association aren’t hunters – they’re sociopaths,” added Hindi.
The Alabama Forestry Association, which is an education and lobbying group, did not respond to messages from AL.com asking for comment.
D.J. Schubert, a wildlife biologist at the Animal Wildlife Institute in Washington D.C., said that in these types of shoots, that have no meaningful purpose, the pigeons often experience excruciating deaths after being wounded. “Many die from infection in the worst way,” said Schubert, who used to protest live pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania. “Hunters should be worried about their image because they look like thugs. Killing defenseless animals from close range for sport is not a good look.”
SHARK first heard about the pigeon shoot after a flier was given to them advertising the event, which was aimed at raising money for the Alabama Forestry Foundation, which is the education arm of the association. Tickets cost up to $1,000 a person.
SHARK collected the pigeons from the field in West Mobile and left them on land at the Alabama Forestry Association. It’s unclear what happened to then after that.
While there are a many Alabama laws that deal with cruelty against animals, it appears as if pigeon shooting is not illegal. There are also no federal laws that prohibit pigeon shooting. There are some laws that prohibit the killing of birds, but pigeons are exempt.
“Our argument, however, is that this does violate common decency as it causes extreme cruelty to living beings and is killing just for the sake of killing,” said Hindi. “If it isn’t illegal, it certainly should be.
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.
It turns out, Rick Leimann wasn’t just driving through the water for the fun of it. He wasn’t shouting “wahoo!” as he took his truck off road. He was desperately trying to save his 300 exotic pigeons from the rising flood.
“I know in my brains…that I didn’t do the right thing,” Leimann said. “But in my heart, I did the right thing because I had to get to my birds.”
Leimann keeps four breeds of exotic pigeons. He enters them in contests similar to dog and cat shows, but for pigeons. He even judges international shows for one Indian breed he’s had particular success with over the years. With another breed, Leimann has worked for 20 years to create a color he said is unique to his pigeons. Leimann’s pigeons aren’t just any old birds. After he took an interest in his neighbor’s pigeons as a boy, he said his parents bought him a pair of exotic pigeons as a confirmation gift when he was 13. He’s been raising and breeding exotic show pigeons ever since, for 41 years.
“If the water got in here, I couldn’t replace the breed I have. That’s why I had to get in here,” Leimann said. “Besides, I love them as my kids. They’re living animals, and I would sacrifice myself for my animals.”
While Leimann enjoys keeping the exotic pigeons as a hobby, he acknowledged it can look like a business, too. Buyers from the Middle East or China are sometimes willing to pay thousands of dollars for a show-winning bird. Leimann said he once sold a Grand National winner for $10,000.
Leimann was working on another sale Sunday morning as the flood waters rose. He’d been out at his Sayler Park boathouse (he owns a boat service business) checking on things at about 7 a.m. When he left, he estimated there was a foot or so of water on the road. No problem for his Ford F-150 pickup truck with 20 inch tires.
But Leimann lost track of the time. He ate breakfast while negotiating a pigeon sale. He had picked out some birds for a Chinese buyer while judging a show in Bahrain. Two or three hours went by. The Ohio River was just a few hours away from cresting at its highest point since 1997. When Leimann returned to the boathouse, the water had risen several more feet.
Leimann was worried about his birds. He wanted to move them upstairs. He didn’t realize how much deeper the water had gotten, he said.
“I thought I’d be all right,” he said.
At first, briefly, it was all right. But as the water rose higher and higher around the truck, Leimann figured it was already too late to stop. The water was coming over the hood. He pressed the gas in an effort to push through, but then the truck hit a boat trailer that was hidden under the murky water. It blew one of his tires and stopped the truck’s forward momentum.
“What made me realize I really messed up here is that, when the truck stopped, I’m bouncing, I’m floating like a piece of Styrofoam,” he said. “And water started coming in. I’m looking around the truck like, ‘What to do?'”
The truck was dead. Water was pooling around Leimann’s feet. He couldn’t get the door open.
“I’m sitting here and I’m looking around and I’m thinking, ‘Try to focus. Don’t panic,'” he said.
But the water continued to rise in the truck. Luckily, the window was open. When the water was up to his lap, Leimann took off his shoes (his grandpa taught him they’d weigh him down swimming), put his wallet in his mouth and slipped feet-first out the window.
Outside, Leimann clung to the door. The 6-foot-3 man was in chest-deep water. He could feel the current pulling the truck toward the harbor.
“When I came out I thought, ‘Man, I’m really in trouble,'” he said.
Leimann tried to pull the truck forward onto the dry land, but it wouldn’t budge. Soaking wet and barefoot, he ran for his Bobcat and an anchor rope. He tried to tow the truck with the Bobcat, and was able to pull the truck over the trailer. But a utility pole was in the way. He tied the other end of the rope to his gate and went inside to check on his birds and dry off.
“It scared me,” Leimann said. “I’ll never drive through the water again.”
After crossing and warming up, Leimann was able to secure his birds and his customers’ boats. When the water receded, his truck was still there, but it was totaled.
As a reminder, Cincinnati police have repeatedly warned to avoid flooded roads. According to the National Weather Service, 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over a full-grown person. A foot of rushing water can carry away a small car, and 2 feet of water can float almost any SUV or pickup truck.
Leimann said he knew it was a dumb thing to do, but he’d do it again to save his birds.
“I love them like they’re my kids.”
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.
Have you ever been to Patan Durbar Square during morning hours? If you have, you must have noticed huge flocks of pigeons enjoying seeds offered by denizens of Patan and visitors. There are several positive aspects to it but more recently it is increasingly becoming an issue of public health, a nuisance and something that seriously warrants our attention. In this article I’m going to analyze pigeon feeding from different aspects. Analyzing something that is closely related to human behavior and recommending changes to such behaviors could be controversial but it is always rational to analyze and come up with a conclusion to contribute to wellbeing of the city, its landscape and people.
Cultural sides
Feeding birds has become a routine practice to many people in Nepal, especially in Kathmandu Valley. This behavior is inspired by culture and religion, mostly Hinduism and Buddhism that has altruism at its center and driven by the notion that human beings are most superior and hence caretaker of planet and its beings. Thus the practice is connected with different customs in Nepali culture. It is a dedicated routine of visitors in different temples like Krishna temple, Sankata, Mahankal, Indrayani, Kal Bharav and several other holy places.
Feeding birds has great psychological advantage. You feel connected to nature and it makes you feel happy. It is like a psychotherapy session for feeder and it helps them relieve stress. There is no specific data to quantify this, but it has definitely helped in maintaining a healthy psychological demeanor in people.
Health hazards
There are several public health related issues that need to be carefully analyzed. The droppings of pigeon are connected to several zoonosis that mostly affect people with weak immunity and patients suffering from HIV/AIDS, cancer and pneumonia. Three major diseases are associated with pigeon feces: histoplasmosis (an illness caused by fungus that grows on pigeon droppings), psittacosiss (caused by bacteria found in droppings of pigeon and other birds) and cryptococcosis (a respiratory ailment caused by a fungus that grows and is found in pigeon droppings). Since most of these diseases afflict a small fraction of people (the ones with very weak immunity), it remains overlooked. Although there are no researches on number of pigeons in Kathmandu Valley, there has been noticeable increment in their population in the recent times.
In many countries pigeons in urban settings are considered as feral and source of health hazards. Several cities have banned bird feeding. Singapore, for example, fines whooping 500$ if you are found guilty of feeding birds. One of the major reasons for taking legal action against bird feeders is that it is very difficult to control birds since they are air borne the only way we can control their movements is by modifying our behavior.
Kathmandu valley is known for its ancient architectures but they are not well taken care of. Apart from earthquakes that caused severe damage to historical structures and buildings, the feces of pigeons are reducing the beauty of these artifacts. Pigeon droppings are acidic in nature and our ancient monuments that are mostly built of stones are subject to some serious and irreversible damage from this. It is also accelerating process of soiling (accumulation of soil) in the very complex artistic stone carvings, which in turn support vegetation on the top of the monuments. All this will cause severe damage to these monuments.
Feed them less
It is our duty to help make city more habitable. Limiting bird population is in hands of people of Kathmandu valley. We should start feeding them less often and feed lesser amount. Let them search their food on their own. Mother Nature has given them skills to do so. The abundance of food and shelter are major reason behind increment in their number. They can breed year round and hence their population keeps increasing.
While designing house we should not leave enough platforms and spaces where these birds can reside and breed. We can also use spikes or other means to avoid them in certain areas. Reducing the amount of food and removing shelter ground for these birds can help limit their population. Durbar Square management committees and temple management committees can also play an important role. Feeding pigeons is part of our culture but it warrants serious attention from people of Kathmandu Valley.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
The passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) once numbered between 3 and 5 billion and may have formed up to 40 % of North America’s total bird population. In fact, in the mid to late 19th century, passenger pigeons were so numerous that explorers and settlers of the time wrote of infinite multitudes taking hours to fly overhead. But by 1914, there wasn’t a single bird left. How did this species go from being one of the world’s most abundant birds to extinction in just 50 years?
It’s all in the genes
It had been generally accepted, based on earlier studies, that widely fluctuating population numbers led to low genetic diversity in the passenger pigeon and played a role in its rapid extinction. However, a recent paper published in the journal ‘Science’ contradicts these findings.
A team of researchers, one of whom drew on work carried out under the EU-funded GENETIME project, have analysed 41 mitochondrial genomes and 4 nuclear genomes from passenger pigeons. Data obtained from the species’ mitochondrial genome confirmed that the bird’s genetic diversity was indeed low given its population size. But a closer look at the entire genome yielded surprising results. Genetic variations didn’t occur evenly all along the chromosomes as the scientists had expected to find. Instead, the middle regions had low diversity and the edges higher levels. This is likely because of strong genetic selection throughout the bird’s history.
Further analyses also ruled out demographic fluctuations and showed that population numbers had actually been stable for the past 20 000 years. Having eliminated population instability as a possible reason for the species’ overall low genetic diversity, the scientists turned to natural selection. To investigate the impact of natural selection on the passenger pigeon, the team compared the bird’s genome with that of its close relative, the band-tailed pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata). Given that the latter’s only true difference from the passenger pigeon is its significantly smaller population size, the scientists could use these comparisons to determine the evolutionary consequences of a big population.
The fate of the passenger pigeon
Through natural selection, the passenger pigeon evolved genetic traits that would help it survive as a species as long as its population was large. In fact, the bird’s considerable numbers seem to have helped it to remove harmful mutations from its genetic make-up much more quickly. This led to a significant loss of genetic diversity.
Had the changes to its environment been gradual, the passenger pigeon would have been able to adapt. However, low genetic diversity made survival more difficult with the mass slaughter that ensued when the European colonists began to hunt it for commercial reasons. So, ultimately, it was humankind’s unchecked hunting practices that tolled the death knell for this now extinct bird.
The GENETIME (GENETIME: An interdisciplinary training site in Ancient Biomolecules) project studied the molecules of ancient organisms in order to provide insight into the histories of both extinct and living species. The work done during the project’s lifetime is still shining a light on the processes of extinction, revealing that a sudden environmental change may bring about the extinction even of species with large and stable population sizes.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
The historic pavilion housed at the Gawler Sport and Community Centre is temporarily closed to enable the ceiling to be replaced and repair work to be undertaken in the roof cavity.
This unplanned repair work is a result of a recommendation from a contractor engaged by Gawler council to inspect the roof cavity after council staff noticed pigeons causing damage to the pavilion’s ceiling.
“Council’s contractor undertook a detailed site assessment, including cutting entrance holes into the roof cavity and entering via an elevated work platform,” Mayor Redman said.
“This assessment uncovered a high level of contamination due to pigeons roosting in the roof cavity that needs to be appropriately treated.”
The contractor’s recommendation calls for the removal of the suspended ceiling, closing all points of pigeon entry, stabilisation of the roof and ceiling structure generally and reinstatement of a false ceiling.
The pavilion, which was built in 1881, is one of council’s oldest buildings and is a local heritage listed building.
The removal of the ceiling sheets will require specialist treatment associated with the age and condition of the ceiling materials.
“Although this closure will be frustrating for users of the pavilion, the Gawler Central Sporting Association and Council Staff, it is necessary to ensure a safe environment for patrons of the Gawler Sport and Community Centre and our community,” Mrs Redman said.
Council is currently working with the various community groups who have had access to the hall for their many varied activities.
Of the nine groups impacted by this temporary closure, five have already been provided alternate accommodation options.
Council will continue to work with the remaining four groups to find alternate options to minimise the impacts of this temporary closure.
The work is expected to take about six weeks and is funded from within council’s existing facility maintenance budgets.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
The first time I gave any thought to the term was when I watched some of the great old film noir movies about gangsters. It seemed like almost every gang was victimized by one.
I am referring here to that old nemesis of crime, the “stool pigeon.”
The first “stool pigeons” were literally that. In the early days of colonization here and prior to that in England, pigeons were a source of meat (tastes like chicken).
Pigeons by nature are not very large birds. If you shoot one anywhere but in the head, you’ve spoiled the good eating portions — trust me on this one, I know from experience on the farms.
Hunters noted that pigeons are not the sharpest birds going and that they would tend to fly down and check out another of their species. Thus, the clever hunter would use a captured pigeon, usually tethered to a stool or perch as a decoy to lure his wild cousins into range of a net or snare.
This technique came into prominence in the early 1800s when a form of it, “stool-crow,” was used in 1811 as a version of “decoy.”
This came into common usage as “stool pigeon” (crows were not tasty, scratch the “four-and-twenty blackbirds” pie thing) so “stool pigeon” replaced that term.
By 1830, “stool pigeon” had entered the slanguage as a means to describe a criminal who was used as a decoy or informant by the police to capture other criminals.
The term is considered an Americanism although it may have been originally derived from the Old English word “stale,” meaning “a living bird used to catch others of the same species.”
Unfortunately, the use of “stool pigeons” may have led to the extinction of species like the passenger pigeon due to “flock shooting” with large fowling pieces.
Setting all that aside, I derived a certain amount of pleasure from seeing a tough guy gangster played by someone such as James Cagney or Edward G. Robinson snarl about a “stool pigeon” in the gang.
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.
According to El Nuevo Herald, living conditions at the Vista Hermosa prison in Bolivar – a Venezuela state – are so poor, some inmates are falling sick from eating raw rat meat. 41-year-old Alejandro Manuel Mago Coraspe was taken to hospital last week after eating dead rats he found in the rubbish.
“We cooked them, but they were still raw,” Mago told NGO Window to Liberty. “We at them anyway. I think they were poisonous and that’s why I fell ill. I normally kill them myself.”
He revealed to the non-government organisation that he regularly eats rodents out of “need and hunger”. Mago is serving eight months in the prison after attempting to steal a car. Doctors said he is suffering from malnutrition and inflammation in his legs.
He underwent surgery to remove an obstruction from his intenstines at the Ruiz y Paez Hospital in Ciudad Bolivar. The bones and cartilage of the rats had “obstructed his intestines”.
Mago’s family has in the past brought him food to survive on however they live five hours away by car and cannot visit regularly.
In May last year, a Venezuelan NGO accused the Venezuelan government of feeding inmates raw pasta with feces. Reported by Breitbart.com, “at least 15 prisoners said they were forced to eat raw pasta with human excrement (the agents had applied power used to make tear gas on their noses, forcing them to open their mouths to ingest”.
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.
This is the hilarious moment a young toddler girl in central China teaches a pigeon a lesson for stealing food.
Mobile phone footage shows a white bird landing on a mother’s hand and pecking on a bag of snacks. A toddler girl can be seen grabbing the pigeon’s neck and taking the food back.
The mother was shocked as the girl put the snack straight into her mouth after.
This is the first time the one-year-old toddler feeding pigeons at a plaza in central China (left). A pigeon landed on her mother’s hand and ready to take the snacks from the bag (right)
The scene was captured at a plaza in Puyang, Henen Province on February 24 when a mother took her daughter to feed the pigeons.
‘It’s her first time feeding pigeons. There were a lot of children at the plaza doing the same as well,’ the mother told Pear Video.
She did not expect her one-year-old daughter to grab a pigeon’s neck with bare hands.
Video shows the girl pulling the bird close to her before snatching the food from its mouth and ate it.
‘We are all shocked when she suddenly did that,’ said the mother.
Behave! The girl would not let the pigeon to eat her snacks and snatches it from the bird’s mouth (left). Quickly she puts the snack in her mouth and eats it straight (right)
The mother told the girl to ‘spit it out’ but it was too late and the girl had already swallowed it.
The video was widely shared among Chinese social media and later picked up on 9GAG and Imgur.com.
Web users commented that the toddler ‘is a savage’ with so much aggression at young age.
‘Pupuka’ joked: ‘Don’t mess with Yukuza!’
However, some web users worried that the girl might catch a bird flu.
‘This is how people get bird flu, she literally eats it from the bird’s mouth,’ said ‘shagoon’.
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.
