The news has been hailed as a shot in the arm for the flagging town centre, as well as a means to provide much-needed local housing. Bletchley Labour councillor Mohammed Khan has spent the past 18 months negotiating with the London businessman who owns the dilapidated building. This week he revealed a pre-planning application had been submitted to MK Council, with full details to follow in the New Year. Mr Khan said: “The owner plans to demolish the building as it is in such a bad state after standing empty for so many years. “He intends to build 186 one and two bedroom flats, with some of them allocated for social housing. There will an underground car park and more parking on top of the building.” The ground floor will be mixed retail, mainly cafes and restaurants. Meanwhile pub giants Wetherspoon’s are preparing to move in to the former Bletchley Arms pub at the other end of Queensway. “All this will attract more people and more businesses to the town centre, which is currently dead and deserted in the evenings. It is just what Bletchley needs,” said Mr Khan. The huge 60,000 sq ft building, which sold everying from sofas to socks, closed its doors in 2006, It has been marketed as for sale or to let ever since, but nobody has shown a firm interest i- and the only ‘tenants’ have been pigeons. Councillor Mohammed Khan: “I’ve been inside and it is in a bad state, full of pigeons and their mess. “Eleven years is just too long for a building in the heart of a town to stand empty. It is good that it’s being demolished and brought alive again.” In June this year the Let’s Help Bletchley and Fenny Stratford Facebook group begged for something to be done, describing the town as a mecca of gambling shops.
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.
Bath’s Pigeon Man avoided jail for repeatedly feeding birds in the city centre – and has vowed to continue doing so.
In an explosive court hearing Paul Charlton was given 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 15 months, and told if he committed another offence in that time he will find himself behind bars.
Charlton, of no fixed address, is known throughout the city for regularly feeding the pigeons which flock to and perch on him under the columns off Stall Street and Bath Abbey.
His behaviour led Bath and North East Somerset Council to make a community protection notice banning him from doing so.
It led to the council bringing a prosecution against Charlton which saw him handed a criminal behaviour order (CBO) on January 23 by Bath magistrates.
Despite this Charlton, 42, continued to feed pigeons on a number of occasions throughout the year.
Speaking after his latest hearing today (Wednesday, October 18), Charlton said magistrates were ‘unreasonable’ and that he would not stop.
Standing in the dock, he told magistrates: “Send me to prison and when I come back I’ll have to do the same again.”
Despite this promise, the magistrates chose not to jail him.
Chair of the magistrates Jenny Simmonds said: “These breaches taken together are so serious that we must impose a custodial sentence.
“We’re sentencing you to two weeks in custody for each of these breaches – a total of 12 weeks.
“We’re suspending this on the condition that you don’t commit another offence within the next 15 months.
“If you’re convicted of another offence while on this order you can expect to serve this prison sentence.”
Charlton had admitted six breaches of the order at a hearing last month.
He was first charged with defying the CBO on January 30 – only seven days after it was made – as well as four more times in February and once in March.
A barrister for B&NES Council read out a victim impact statement from the director of Jacob’s Coffee House director, Jake Harris, saying his business is impacted by Charlton’s act.
It read: “Paul Charlton feeds the pigeons directly outside my premises and it impacts on us in several ways.
“He has been threatening to staff, invading their personal space.
“We have a responsibility to make sure tables are clean and hygienic. That experience reflects on the business good or bad. If there are pigeons flying around we get feedback.
“Many members of the public have made comments, some of it refers directly to Paul the pigeon man.
“I cannot move the shop – we pay business rates, rent, employ 40-50 staff members.
“We pay for our environment. He’s not operating a business and not paying taxes.
“I’ve had to pay £1,200 to get pigeon excrement professionally removed.”
Mr Harris said when a pigeon flies into the cake display, he has to throw away up to 30 cakes at once at a cost of £300 to the business.
Charlton, when asked if he had anything to say, told the court: “I feel this man is cooking up a fuss over nothing. The birds fly in all the shops.
“Send me to prison and when I come back I’ll have to do the same again.
“The court has lied about the truth and protected those people of that status.
“You’re not offering justice for all.”
Upon hearing his sentence, Charlton told magistrates: “I don’t believe in your ‘justice’.
“You’re unreasonable.”
His defence solicitor had appealed to the bench to spare Charlton prison and said his client receives benefits.
“I’ve spent quite a bit of time with Mr Charlton and he makes it very clear to me that he was very unhappy about the way the order was made,” Guy Percival said.
“He didn’t feel he had the opportunity to properly put his case and feels quite strongly a sense of injustice.
“I’ve been at pains to explain to him that you’re here to sentence these breaches and you obviously can’t revisit the making of the original order.
“The report presents very stark sentencing options. He says in very clear terms to me that he will not comply with a supervision order, he knows that leaves very few options indeed.
“I would invite you to consider a suspended sentence coupled with a contribution to costs.”
Charlton told the Chronicle at the end of his hearing that he would return to his haunt the following day.
“If you want a picture come back and speak to me tomorrow,” he said.
“I’ll be at pigeon land at 12pm.”
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.
Paul Charlton aka Pigeon Man is due to be sentenced this morning for breaking an order barring him from feeding birds.
Charlton, of no fixed address, is a well-known figure in Bath, often seen under the arches off Stall Street with pigeons perching on him.
However, he was prosecuted in January for the antics despite being subject to a community protection notice ordering him to stop.
It landed him with a criminal behaviour order – which he has since broken on six occasions.
He was first charged with defying the order only seven days after it was made, on January 30, and four more times in February and once in March.
The 42-year-old admitted the offences when he appeared at Bath Magistrates’ Court on September 25.
His hearing was adjourned so a pre-sentence report could be prepared by the probation service.
Charlton is due back in courtroom 1 for sentencing this morning (Wednesday, October 18).
Follow our blog for everything that happens in this case and updates on this morning’s other hearings.
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.
Living in communion with nature has never been a tall order for Shyam Kumar, who chooses to wake up to the sounds of chirping birds, rather than the variable alarm on his mobile. He loves to sit in the company of doves and other birds amid flowering plants rather than spend time in air-conditioned room. He prefers to speak to rabbits, instead of speaking to friends over phone.
A native of Vizianagaram, Shyam Kumar has been passionate about nature and goes out of the way to befriend and protect plants and birds. Whenever he travels to other places, he does not shop for clothes, accessories, footwear, watches or other such things; he looks for new ‘friends’ that he can bring home to add to his pleasure.
No wonder, Shyam Kumar’s house bustles with love birds, doves, pigeons, rabbits and other animals. He has been maintaining a sanctuary of sorts. He takes care of the birds and animals as if they are his own children: finches cocktails, African love birds, runt birds, fan tails, jawas, regular doves, pigeons and rabbits. They all have specialized cages and are fed grains and nuts, including cashew and almond.
Every day his routine begins with observing the birds, their activity and health. His passion for gathering different species of birds keeps him busy always. Shyam Kumar can get at least Rs. 5,000-6,000 per month as rent from the portion of his house that he presently uses to accommodate his ‘friends’, but he has no thought of letting it out.
In fact, he spends around Rs.5,000 towards medicines, nuts and grains for these birds and animals. He feels happy to feed these colourful birds with his own hand. His every wakeful moment is shared with his pets. He says he speaks to the birds in their language. He even gifts pairs of love birds to his friends, near and dear on their birthdays and other special occasions. Some of the birds dwelling in his home have been brought from West Bengal, Araku, Assam and other parts of the country. We can find a variety of rare species at his home.
“All our time just passes with these birds and plants. Sometimes we even cancel our tours to take care of these pets and plants. All my friends feel very happy whenever I gift rare species to them,” he says. Their chirps are very pleasant to him, never annoying. The terrace of his house is filled with flower pots, with the fragrance of roses, lilies and other flowers wafting across.
Even vegetables like lady’s finger, ribbed gourd and others are appealing to behold in his carefully tended garden. “We take measures to protect doves and rabbits from cats and dogs. The major threat for these birds is from cats and dogs only. It feels good to sit beside these cages. I am passionate to protect these rare lives,” he says.
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 summer’s wildfire season left both humans and their pets struggling in thick smoke – but the late haze that wafted through Squamish in September might have rerouted some professional pigeons from the Lower Mainland.
On Sept. 4, Harry Midgley noticed a small pigeon roaming his Cheekye front yard. The light grey bird had a brown and purple band on its neck and a small dark grey head.
The bird immediately took a liking to both Midgley and his motorcycle – it was happy to perch on his knee, foot or in his hands. A band around the bird’s legs with numbers and letters led Midgley to the website for the CPFA – the Canadian Pigeon Fanciers Association, which he contacted to try and track the owner.
In the meantime, Midgley brought out an old birdcage to protect the bird from predators, provided some seed and water and consulted a local Squamish Facebook group for advice on what to do with Homie – the name he gave the bird.
South of Midgley near Brackendale, Squamish resident Jessica Adams, and her children were being charmed by their own feathered visitor. They’d noticed that like clockwork, a grey-and-white pigeon with red banded feet would visit their yard.
“It was really hungry and thirsty on the first day, but it perked up,” said Adams. “I figured maybe it needed to refuel and go back to wherever it came from.”
For five days in a row, the bird visited at the same time each day, before flying off to spend the night somewhere else.
Adams’ four-year-old son dubbed the curious bird “Jailbird” because of the cuffs on its legs, while her daughter borrowed a water bowl and some turf from their pet rabbits to make it more comfortable.
Like Midgley, Adams took to Facebook to try and find the owner of the bird. A little shier than Homie, she had to take zoomed-in photos to try and read the numbers on the band.
Some people might call pigeons “rats with wings” but Adams said the little bird was a hit.
“My kids love the bird,” she said, joking that she might now keep pigeons instead of chickens. “It just hangs around the water bowl and eats— pretty cool little bird. This one is very sweet.”
Midgley and Adams assumed that the thick smoke stranded the birds in their backyards – whether breathing it in had tired out the small creatures, or perhaps the visibility had interrupted their navigating ability.
The local who runs the local NANA (Neighbourhood Animals Needing Assistance) group for the Sea to Sky said reports of lost pigeons in Squamish are fairly rare, especially compared to missing cats and dogs.
The social media page – which helps reunite lost pets with owners – has been in operation since 2016, but there have only been two submissions for lost pigeons.
Head to the city and the common rock pigeon, or Columa livia, isn’t hard to find. They’ll hang out anywhere that they might find a snack.
The birds are a little rarer in Squamish, but a small flock is known to hang out on warm days near the Howe Sound Brewery. The larger band-tailed pigeon is also seen in Squamish but is a species of “special concern” according to the B.C. government.
Keeping pigeons as pets, although a very old tradition, is becoming rarer and rarer in the province.
According to Dave Naylor, who lives in Langley, there’s only one person in Brackendale who still keeps the birds. Plenty of breeders and racers operate in the Lower Mainland, in the Interior, and on Vancouver Island, but no one keeps racing birds anymore in Squamish or Whistler.
“The smoke would have slowed them down a bit, probably had an impact on breathing as they were flying,” said Naylor.
He said pigeons from the city sometimes fly as far as Medicine Hat, and occasionally they go north through Whistler and back to the city. Adams and Midgley didn’t have any success IDing their birds, but Naylor said if they were racing pigeons, they likely came from the Fraser Valley.
Naylor doesn’t race the birds himself anymore, but his Langley born-and-raised pigeons travel across North America to compete in sporting events like the California Classic, the Holiday Cup, and the Triple Crown.
They can fly up to 300 miles in long races and are tracked by an electronic chip on their leg. Prizes awarded to winning birds can reach US$90,000. Naylor said pigeon racing is more popular than horse racing in California.
In Vancouver, it’s getting harder for the pigeons to find their way home.
Naylor said the re-introduction of the peregrine falcon has made the sport more difficult, and there’s also speculation that cell towers interfere with the birds’ navigation. Tougher municipal bylaws in cities, including Vancouver, have also made keeping the birds more difficult.
“The sport is diminishing, but it’s still fairly active on the island and in the Interior, but there are fewer and fewer clubs in the valley,” said Naylor.
Still, fancy pigeons and racers get lost often enough that the Canadian Pigeon Fanciers Association website has detailed instructions for what to do with a lost bird.
“The bird can be temporarily kept in a cardboard box with light and air holes cut into all sides while you are awaiting its owner,” instructs the organization, adding that bread should be avoided but seed and clean water will help the bird recover if it appears tired.
So if you see a lost pigeon with banded feet, stay cool. Most friendly fliers are just taking a break and looking for friendly humans to help out with some food and water.
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 view of the lake from the Krishnadevaraya statue on Tank Bund is just spectacular. As traffic zips past on the busy road, the statue of Buddha shimmers in the evening sun; the concrete structures, Birla Mandir on the left and the fluttering national flag on the right create a picturesque effect. The air is charged with buoyancy as a group of four friends from Ram Nagar High School in Zamistanpur take turns to model for a photo session. “It will be uploaded for friends on Facebook,” cheers Vishnu from the group.
Connecting road
Although this road connecting Hyderabad and Secunderabad is one of the favourite destinations for Hyderabadis, most of the time it evokes mixed feelings. Thanks to the stench coming from the algae-laden green water dumped with debris and garbage, it is common to see people in the vicinity covering their noses. Fitness enthusiasts, friends and selfie-seekers walk on the pavement clicking pictures with Buddha in the background; green lawns on the opposite side attracts families with children and also youngsters in love. One can often spot couples chatting and laughing away while relaxing on the steps of these statues. Masala murmura sellers, ice cream carts, soda bandis do brisk business here. Venkataiah, who waits for customers with his cart rues the business has drastically reduced. “Ippudu giraaki ledu,” he states with a disappointed tone but adds Sundays and holidays sees many visitors. “The evening rains also stop people from coming here,” observes another hawker.
Public apathy
The walk continues with Nandu and Vijay, students of MediCiti Nursing College. The duo reside in Yakutpura and have accompanied their friends from village to a trip to Tank Bund. The nursing students voice their concern at the water’s condition. “We come here for time pass. The scenery is good but our heart breaks when we see the water. It is not good for the environment and it can also lead to diseases.”Nearby is an extended area above the Maisamma temple, which is home to pigeons. Groups of pigeons take flight as people feed them grains and corn. Shanta, who sells these grains sits nearby under a shade with her baby. “People come for different reasons to feed these pigeons,” she points out. “Some believe it is a virtuous act and others want to take pictures with fluttering pigeons in the background,” she observes. Her husband Shiva is a braveheart and saves people when they try to commit suicide in Tank Bund. She shows a hoarding nearby with his photograph and the number of people he has saved till now.
As we speak, an auto stops by and a woman walks in to take the quota to feed the pigeons. This has been the daily routine of Sangeeta Rani, an employee of a firm. “I enjoy coming here everyday; I feel at peace when I feed these birds,” she smiles. The steps at this walkway lead to lower Tank Bund but the walls drown in the smell of urine. The overwhelming smell is repulsive and can make your Tank Bund trip a total disaster.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
We are all familiar with the cautionary tale of the Passenger Pigeon Ectopistes migratorius — once the most abundant species in North America, and possibly the entire world. Numbering well into the billions at the peak of its existence, flocks of Passenger Pigeons flying overhead were likened to deafening hurricanes. It seemed unthinkable that this superabundant bird could go extinct.
Yet, it did. Unchecked hunting and the widespread clearance of hardwood trees, which provided the bulk of its diet, drove a steep decline in numbers in the late 19th Century. By the time we realised what was happening, it was too late to reverse the decline, and Martha, the last known Passenger Pigeon, died in captivity in 1914. This sorry tale serves to remind us that although many birds are classified as Least Concern by BirdLife on behalf of the IUCN Red List, if we ignore the warning signs, no species is immune from the threat of extinction.
In the mid-1990s, the observed decline of the Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureolain Hokkaido, Japan alerted conservationists that another super-abundant species might be in trouble. Now we know it has suffered a huge decline, possibly as much as 95 percent of its population, in the span of just two to three decades. Prior to 2004 the Yellow-breasted Bunting was not regarded as of conservation concern, but since 2013 it has been listed as Endangered, and this year the discussion on BirdLife’s Globally Threatened Birds Forum concerned a potential further uplisting to Critically Endangered.
The main reason for its decline is also comparable to that of the Passenger Pigeon: the species migrates in huge flocks, which are hunted in massive numbers. Again paralleling the Passenger Pigeon, the Yellow-breasted Bunting’s plight has been worsened by improvements in communication and transportation. The species gathers in large numbers at night to roost, making the birds easy to trap in high numbers.
The species is known as the “rice bird” in China, where it is hunted for food — a practice that has been illegal since 1997, but continues on the black market to this day. Such unsustainable and mostly illegal hunting on migratory passerines in Asia has pushed not only the Yellow-breasted Bunting to the edge of extinction; according to preliminary monitoring projects performed in Amur Region (Russia) and Hong Kong SAR (China), all migratory bunting species in eastern Asia are declining.
In order to address and confront this little-known crisis, BirdLife International co-organised an international workshop on conservation of the Yellow-breasted Bunting with the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (BirdLife in China (Hong Kong)) and the Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China in November 2016. The purpose of the workshop was to collect information and opinion for drafting an International Conservation Action Plan on the Yellow-breasted Bunting, and to form an international conservation network on this and other migratory passerines.
More than 50 experts from almost all major range countries attended the workshop. The main recommendations from the workshop were that the Yellow-breasted Bunting should be officially protected in all range countries, that its migration patterns should be managed using colour banding and geolocators, and that its breeding, migration and wintering sites need to be identified, surveyed, protected, and managed. It is also imperative to study the effect of agrochemicals on migratory passerines that use farmlands, and promote wildlife-friendly farming practices. International cooperation on the research and conservation of this species and other migratory passerines is necessary if we are to stabilise the numbers of Asia’s vanishing migrants.
The International Conservation Action Plan of the Yellow-breasted Bunting is expected to be published by 2019, as good consultation with different countries and stakeholders, including some regional and national workshops, are needed. However, important actions are already underway. In the breeding season of 2016, BirdLife International and Birds Russia conducted a preliminary study on the Yellow-breasted Bunting in Sakhalin, Russia. The result was alarming: it has seemingly disappeared completely from southern Sakhalin, and could only found at a few localities in northern and central parts of the island.
The next year, a joint team from BirdLife International, Wild Bird Society of Japan (BirdLife Partner) and Birds Russia visited northern Sakhalin and colour-banded eighteen Yellow-breasted Buntings so we could study its migration. Geolocators will be used in the breeding season of 2018 if the banded birds have proven they are returning to the same breeding sites.
This year, China has made a very positive move in saving the Yellow-breasted Bunting and other migratory passerine by enforcing a revised Wildlife Conservation Law. It outlaws the eating of protected species, which includes the Yellow-breasted Bunting. The key to success is higher awareness among the general public so they will refuse to buy the birds and report any illegal activities seen.
BirdLife International and the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society have produced a poster to support implementation of the new conservation law. BirdLife Partners will also support an education programme on prevention of hunting and wildlife consumption in all other range countries as the fight continues to ensure that the Yellow-breasted Bunting doesn’t become another cautionary tale for future generations.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Residents of Sydney’s most notorious public housing complex are being told not to feed the local rats, as the city is plagued by a worsening rodent problem.
A day after pictures emerged of a rat the size of a small cat found dead in a family’s backyard, Daily Mail Australia can reveal residents in inner-city Surry Hills have been feeding the creatures.
‘Please do not feed rats or pigeons or leave food or rubbish out of bins,’ a sign in a Family and Community Services (FACS) office window opposite Northcott towers in Belvoir Street states.
This sign appears in the window of a Family and Community Services office in Surry Hills
Pictures of a monster rat show a man with a plastic bag holding the huge rodent by the tail
Northcott towers, opposite the Family and Community Services office in Sydney’s Surry Hills
The sign telling residents not to feed rats is stuck up with other community service messages
‘Housing NSW asks that residents dispose of rubbish thoughtfully and not feed the pigeons or rats.’
The sign appears in a window with posters advertising interpreter services, the Salvation Army, the Surry Hills Drug Action Team and Northcott Community Sharps Bin.
Kandas Jordain, who lives nearby, said the extraordinary warning was needed.
‘There’s an elderly woman who sits out and feeds the ibises and the pigeons and the rats,’ Mr Jordain said.
‘I’ve told her off a few times. Every time I see her with a plastic bag I confront her.’
Mr Jordain said the ongoing light rail construction in Devonshire Street, coupled with rubbish left to rot outside buildings, contributed to the rising number of rats around his home.
Bags of rubbish are strewn in a Surry Hills street near the continuing light rail construction
Rats, including rattus norvegicus are a constant problem in large cities including Sydney
The Family and Community Services office where the ‘do not feed the rats’ sign is posted
‘I’ve got them running under my unit,’ he said. ‘When the sun goes down we’ll start hearing the rats running around.
‘You can hear them of a night time scurrying in and out.’
The FACS office caters for residents including those who live across the road in the 14-storey Northcott towers, which have a reputation for drug abuse, high unemployment and violent crime.
Earlier this week a family from Alexandria displayed a giant rat they found dead in their backyard.
The family was so afraid after the discovery they would not let their young daughter play in the backyard.
A resident feeds pigeons in Ward Park, near the Northcott towers, in Sydney’s Surry Hills
Residents in Surry Hills have been told to stop feeding local rats and pigeons (stock image)
A gigantic rat has been found dead in a Sydney family’s Alexandria backyard (stock image)
The rodent is about the size of a small cat.
The grim find follows months of concern over rat problems across Sydney.
Independent City of Sydney councillor Angela Vithoulkas has called for action on the issue.
She said the rat problem had possibly improved in the city since March but was ‘still very active in other areas’.
‘It’s the price you pay for progress and development when you choose to not address other factors that come up and allow them to get this bad,’ Cr Vithoulkas said.
Cr Vithoulkas said she was not surprised by the size of the rodent in the Alexandria backyard, stating Sydney rats were ‘well fed’.
She said the ‘public health issue’ called for the city to set up a ‘rat taskforce.’
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.
Diwali is one of those times when animals — both pets and strays — become highly agitated and panicky because of their inability to bear high-decibel sounds. In fact, it is during this festival of lights that several cases of missing pets, injured animals and dead birds are reported.
“The sensitivity of animals to the sound and smell produced by fireworks is extremely high. The sound we humans hear, is highly amplified for them and that’s why they are impacted a great deal,” explains Dr Praveen Kumar of Canfel Pet Clinic in Banjara Hills.
While pets have their human friends to look after them, strays face a tough time. Mahesh Agarwal of the city-based Bharatiya Prani Mitra Sangh and member of the state’s Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, and Shruti Darak, animal activist share stories of cruelty towards animals often seen during Diwali. Both of them reveal how the need for fun brings out the brutish side in people. Shruti says, “The kind of injuries reported during Diwali are pretty horrific. Animals undergo a psychological disturbance.”
Dr Praveen points out one common case that he comes across during the festival. “There are certain breeds of cats and dogs that find fireworks very exciting to watch, and try to approach and play with crackers that are lit. It’s absolutely important to keep them away from that.”
Meanwhile, the plight of pigeons is another heart-breaking scenario. Mahesh, who has actively been observing and protecting pigeons from these festival-time injuries, shares, “Two things happen. One, the birds tend to panic because of the proximity to the sound and two, fireworks like rockets hurt them, leaving them injured. The mental trauma causes quicker deaths in birds. They fall from their platform and often you see dogs and cats waiting to catch hold of them. In the last seven years, with awareness and certain precautions, we have seen a reduction in the number of pigeons getting hurt.” In fact, he reveals that the scenario at the Kabootar Khana in Sultan Bazaar has drastically improved in the last few years.
While the list of problems animals face comes across as endless, all these animal-loving activists and experts have a common piece of advice to offer: “Prevention is better than cure.”
Says Shruti, “While I’d like to ask people to have an eco-friendly Diwali; since fireworks are something people cannot let go of, I’d suggest small precautions. For instance cleaning up after bursting crackers because animals tend to chew on the stuff, and it’s possible that they take in harmful chemicals. Also, stepping on sharp objects could hurt their paws.” She adds, “It’s one of those times when strays find it difficult to find food and a place to stay too. If people could temporarily give them shelter and food, nothing could be more beneficial.”
While Dr Praveen suggests preparing pets for the day. “It would be ideal to keep them in an enclosed room stocked with their favourite goodies. Also, turning up the volume of the TV or radio could help nullify outside sounds. But instead of pushing them into such an enclosure all of a sudden, it would be good to prepare them in advance. I suggest giving them early meals on these days,” he shares, adding that anxiety medication prescribed by a vet could also help pacify the animals.
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 fall migration is on the decline now, with most of our flycatchers, swallows and warblers gone for the next seven months. All of these birds depend on insects for their sustenance, a resource in short supply now.
Sparrows and other seed-eaters have a more leisurely migration. They can find seeds, at least until the first snows arrive. Even so, by the end of the month most of our sparrows will be gone to more moderate southern areas.
As I discussed in the last column, we know that the majority of migratory bird species have an innate knowledge of where they should go to spend the winter. It boggles the mind to realize that many first-year birds find their way – unaided by adults – to a wintering habitat they have never seen. Travel instructions are encoded in their genes.
In considering how migratory birds find their way, we need to recognize two different abilities of birds. First, the birds have a well-developed sense of navigation. In other words, they can set a course and follow it, barring intervention from hurricanes or other weather phenomena.
Second, some birds have well-developed abilities of orientation. Most migratory birds can navigate well but fewer can orient.
A famous experiment done with European starlings in Eastern Europe nicely distinguishes navigation and orientation. Some starlings were captured and placed in a cage in the spring. This particular population of starlings is migratory. In the spring, the caged birds attempted to depart on a northwesterly vector to reach their breeding grounds.
Other birds were transported several hundred miles to the west. Again, the direction that the captive birds chose was recorded. The transplanted birds again tried to migrate to the northwest. They were unable to correct for the fact that they had been moved westward. The starlings showed a good sense of navigation but a poor sense of orientation.
Contrast that result with the abilities of white-crowned sparrows. A wintering population of birds in southern California migrates each spring to Alaskan breeding grounds. Wintering birds that were flown either to New Orleans or Maryland ultimately found their way to their Alaskan breeding grounds. These birds were able to compensate for their eastward displacement by biologists. These birds are great at both navigation and orientation.
The abilities to orient and navigate are not restricted to migratory birds. During the nesting season, birds need to be able to find their way to their nests. The need is particularly acute for birds like bald eagles that maintain huge territories, or ospreys or albatrosses that may fish miles away from their nests.
Domestic pigeons have been the subjects of the most illuminating studies on navigation and orientation. Pigeons can return to their roosts from distances as far as 1,100 miles.
They use multiple cues for navigation. An internal clock allows them to determine direction from the position of the sun in the sky. This so-called sun compass is the most important cue. They also can sense the earth’s magnetic field. On cloudy days, magnetic cues become important. We even have evidence that pigeons can smell their home over the last few yards.
Pigeons are able to fly steadily at 50 miles per hour. It’s not surprising that competitive homing pigeons beat their owners home from a release point.
Pigeons can be used for nefarious purposes as well. Recently, a pigeon whose roost is in an Argentinian prison was caught smuggling 8 grams of marijuana and a memory stick.
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.
Russ Osmond and Harley Smithson III have a very unique hobby, raising and racing homing pigeons. They call their feathered friends “Thoroughbreds of the Sky,” like race horses.
Osmond is the president of Cross Roads Racing Pigeon Club. The club has about 30 members. He says his birds get better care than him because his wife tends to them the most. The birds will sell for as much as $50 to $100,000, although they give birds to beginners.
Each bird wears a computer chip on its leg at 10 days old. Info on the chip states the national organization, year of birth, club name and individual number. You can’t race them without a band with a chip.
Osmond keeps sexes separate and puts them together to motivate them when released. In other words, do the boys follow the girls home?
You can calculate how fast they fly in yards per minute. The birds will fly 100 to 600 miles in a race, and they can be home in one day after flying 600 miles.
There are hundreds of different varities of pigeons, such as a Chinese owl that has a certain turn-up of its feathers.
As a rule, the birds are very affectionate animals and want to return home. That’s one reason they are called homing pigeons.
The coop is set up with a shelf on the outside that they land on to walk over a computer chip sensor that reads and records all the birds’ info. It’s called a Benzing clocking system.
Osmond feeds the pigeons a special mix from Europe. It has different grains like corn, beans, sunflower seed and milo. Pigeons have to have grit to process their food, like granite, oyster shell, charcoal and minerals.
Osmond has 30 birds and it takes 19 days to hatch an egg and another 30 days to move them into an older group. After the birds have feathered out, he trains them to go into the loft to be fed. He whistles to signal them for supper. They start flying at two months old.
They are totally tame birds although sometimes they are leery to come into the coop after a long run, so he sends up a bird to bring them on down.
The Queen of England has homing pigeons. If you go online to Pacoma Films, you can see a lot of neat stuff. If you’re interested in pigeons, give Osmond a call at 307-649-3181.
Smithson is an official race starter, not like the Indy 500 with a flag. Harley transports the pigeons to the release site. This weekend he is going to Columbia, Missouri, for the birds to fly 250 miles back home.
A few of the good old boys at the check station today are Mike Frakes, Larry Sample, Osmond, Ralph Yagle, Steve DeGroote, Jerry Hollingsworth and Ron Deisher. They are from all walks of life.
DeGroote is a coach in the Indiana High School Baseball Hall of Fame. Deisher makes a living by selling and racing pigeons. He was in the insurance business and had a lot of stress, so he started a pigeon business to sell them all over the country as well as other countries. He shows me the Banks of the Wabash website that has pictures of birds that won past races. He says they earned bragging rights.
Frakes is a coon hunter from way back, and Sample is a good old country boy who loves to go on wagon train rides with his team of horses pulling a covered wagon. Sample has been a teacher and owned a country store.
Bigger races reward big money. Deisher said the toughest race in the world is in Johannesburg, South Africa, with first place paying $200,000. Total payout is over $1 million.
There will be 7,000-10,000 birds in the race. The birds are quarantined for six weeks in a loft, and then released into a fly pen that is covered to exercise for three to four weeks. In October, they train by releasing them a few miles away, and they start racing at 60 miles in the second week of November. The end of January is the toughest race from the weather being 100 degrees and 90% humidity with thunderstorms. A good year has 2,500 birds finish the race.
Deisher says Mike Gaines from Granger, Indiana, sold a bird for $100,000. An average top quality bird will be $25,000 to $30,000 from the African Race. A bird named Bolt was sold for $400,000 from Europe to someone in China. Males are more valuable than females.
Jeff Jones from New Castle has 18 breeding pairs with a total of 75 birds. He’s had them for over 45 years. He says it’s very enjoyable and gives you a peace of mind.
After all, birds of a feather flock together!
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 is filo pastry filled with minced pigeon meat and almonds.
A bit different to the bacon sarnies of UK golf clubs but then golfing in Marrakech is different, too.
And you won’t have to contend with freezing temperatures either.
I was at the Royal Palm resort in February, and despite views of the snow-capped Atlas mountains in the background, it was 28C.
Flights from Gatwick to Marrakech take three hours 20 minutes.
Then it is just a ten-minute drive to the city centre with its hotels and courses.
That meant we could sneak a quick round in at the Royal Palm before we even checked in at the Four Seasons hotel.
When I did finally make it to my Garden Room there, I found a massive king-size bed, a separate dressing room and a bathroom with its own postcode.
Outside was an immense balcony with room for a table and chairs plus a cushion-filled nook.
Even in February it was warm enough for a pre-dinner beer on the terrace before tucking in to local cuisine of pigeon pasties, chicken and fish tagine.
The Moroccan wine and beer went down very well, too.
With it being a mainly Muslim country, I had pretty much assumed this would be a dry trip.
Not the case at all. Locals are happy to have a beer or two and are extremely proud of their Casablanca lager.
The next morning it was off to the jewel of the golfing trip at Assoufid.
The desert course, which again features stunning views of the Atlas mountains, is only three years old and was voted Africa’s best new course in 2016 by the World Golf Awards.
But be prepared to wave goodbye to a few balls when you play the cluster of holes surrounding the Dip of Death, a canyon running right through the course.
By now it was time for a little local culture and a trip to the world-famous Jemaa el-Fnaa square.
In the space of ten minutes you can come across snake charmers, get lost in the warrens of the souk marketplace and try the local street food which includes anything from the freshest orange juice to huge pans of fried snails.
The 12th century Koutoubia Mosque towers over everything, despite only being 77 metres high, as local law dictates no other building can be taller.
We sought sanctuary and dinner in one of the riads — boutique-style hotels in the heart of the city.
On our last day, we squeezed in one more round at the splendidly named Palmeraie Palace golf resort.
This was holiday golf at its best, not too taxing and the chance to give the ball a good smack.
There are three loops of nine holes to choose from.
If you’ve not had enough after all that wild swishing, the golf-obsessed can pop to the Four Seasons spa — where they will soothe your aching muscles with a golf-ball massage.
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 missing bird of prey with a habit of landing on people’s shoulders has been found.
Mark Render, 25, from Washington, had stressed the Harris hawk would not attack residents or their pets.
“In the wild – this kind of hawk lives in the desert – they’ll sit on each others’ shoulders to get a better vantage point,” he said.
The bird was found by a dog walker in trees near Princess Anne Park and enticed down with a day-old chick.
Mr Render said his pet, Ares, was “normally friendly” but could be frightened of dogs and unfamiliar people.
Image captionThe hawk could have travelled miles in the two weeks he was missing, his owner said
He had offered a reward after the bird escaped from its enclosure when wind blew the door open.
The two-and-a-half-year-old hawk was bought for £350 as a young bird. It has a 1m (3ft) wingspan.
It is used to a diet of day-old chicks and quail but would hunt pigeons and rabbits in the wild, Mr Render 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.
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — If feral peafowl caused enough of a nuisance in 1990s Tampa Bay, Florida, you’d call Bryan Cleveland.
“You’d have 150 peacocks in a very upper-class neighborhood,” he said. “And every morning when they’d wake up, they’d see a peacock on the roof of their $110,000 Mercedes — you know what I’m saying — and just ripping it to pieces.”
Cleveland was one of just a few nuisance wildlife removal outfits in that area then. He said the work pitted him against all kinds of animals.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
We all see a lot of pigeons around us every day; sometimes we do not notice them, sometimes we feed them, but maybe they need more than that.
On this unusual video footage, a man offers to embrace a pigeon. The dove does not think for a long time and accepts the offer. He enjoys cuddling with the man’s hand and he seems to like it very much. It turns out pigeons love to hug! Let’s see how it happened.
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 downtown Mt. Pleasant building owner has until the end of the month to take action against pigeons roosting in his storefront awning or face a misdemeanor citation from the city.
The hard deadline was handed to Norm Curtiss – owner of the building that houses Downtown Discount – as social media buzzed through September with community members wondering why significant amounts of pigeon excrement were allowed to build up on the sidewalks under the store’s awning.
Curtiss declined to comment on the issue.
City officials say that pigeon problem areas have been discussed for years and, while some business owners have taken steps to address roosting and nesting areas, others haven’t been successful with attempts or haven’t had the means to do so.
Further, a desire to gain compliance rather than using enforcement, coupled with a long summer filled with flood damage assessment and also a lack of specific pigeon dropping action plans spelled out in city code, prolonged official action, the city contends.
A roosting and nesting population of pigeons is not a new issue in downtown Mt. Pleasant.
Two years ago the city hired Bob Andrews, a pest control expert at Central Michigan University, to help with preventing the same problem.
At the time, Andrews and his team eliminated 100 pigeons from the downtown area and evaluated businesses for issues that would contribute to roosting and nesting pigeons if not addressed, according to documents obtained by the Morning Sun through the Freedom of Information Act.
Business owners were asked in general to remove trash from alleyways, to close up broken windows and to clean and close up awnings.
Andrews also suggested that bird slides and spikes could be used on ornate trim and facades to prevent birds from roosting.
“If downtown had proper deterrence and exclusion a small population could be managed under bridges or overpasses… with follow-through from business owners and property managers you will make a significant difference,” Andrews wrote.
At the time, many business owners hee ded the advice, said Downtown Development Director Michelle Sponseller, who was cautiously optimistic in September of 2015 after the pigeon culling.
“Although this is terrific news there are lingering related issues that we and various property owners need to address so that we don’t end up back where we were with pigeons in a year or two,” she wrote to several city leaders.
Indeed, by the end of 2016, those same city leaders were again talking about a booming pigeon population roosting and nesting in those places where Andrews’ advice was unheeded.
That included the awning of Downtown Discount, where chicken wire intended to keep pigeons out only appears to make the area even more like a coop for the birds.
With just over a year of experience heading Mt. Pleasant’s code enforcement, Assistant Fire Chief Mike Dunham started 2017 seriously looking into how to best address an again-growing problem of pigeon droppings on Mt. Pleasant sidewalks; he hoped for compliance from building owners.
“Our goal is to be proactive,” he said. “We get more ’buy-in’ and we can educate on regulations if they voluntarily comply. I hope they do it because they want to beautify the city. For the community.”
In a round-robin email started in June between Dunham, Sponseller, city manager Nancy Ridley, Community Services and Economic Development Director William Mrdeza, Fire Chief Rick Beltinck, and Director of Public Safety Paul Lauria possible legal enforcement options were discussed based on an opinion shared among the group from the city’s attorney.
Citing attorney-client privilege, the city withheld the opinion from the FOIA request; the emails indicate the attorney offered two possible options and also questioned whether a property owner can actually be the cause of pigeon droppings on sidewalks.
Ultimately on June 21 after speaking with Curtiss yet again, Dunham asked the group for more time to allow voluntary compliance.
“The city attorney is not overly confident we would be successful in prosecuting property owners for allowing pigeons to roost in their awnings,” Dunham wrote. “I spoke with (Curtiss) yesterday for quite some time… it’s my feeling he doesn’t want them either.”
A week later, historic flooding in Isabella County pulled Dunham from general code enforcement in the city to damage assessment for the entire county, changing his priorities through the summer.
In that time, no progress was made on the Downtown Discount awning as questions started to percolate through the community about the fecal matter covered sidewalks in the center of downtown.
As the problem worsened and social media pigeon excrement buzz peaked, Dunham got what he thought was positive news – not only did Curtiss say he would remove the awning over the Labor Day weekend he did, at least in part; the canvas covering was gone.
“I was hopeful that this completed compliance and I headed downtown thinking I would be celebrating,” Dunham said. “Then I saw that underneath that awning was a more permanent structure; a wooding awning with a steel covering.”
A few more weeks of stalled progress on the removal, and Dunham sent Curtiss notice that under Mt. Pleasant’s nuisance code Curtiss has until Oct. 29 to follow specific action – close the awning to bird access, remove the awning completely or remove and replace with a bird-proof structure.
What will happen in court if a citation is issued is unclear, one reason the city hesitated to enforce a code in the first place.
“We like to be sure enforcement is going to be upheld,” Ridley said. “In this case we are looking to enforce a nuisance.”
In Mt. Pleasant, nuisance code in this situation isn’t as cut and dry as mowing a lawn or removing trash from a yard, Dunham said.
“Ordinances that spell out the process make it clear,” Dunham said. “But even when we are very clear on that, we still try to work with owners first..at least in those cases we have a deadline.”
Right now, city commissioners have plans to discuss a more specific blight ordinance in the city at an as-yet unscheduled work session, though pigeon excrement specifically hasn’t been discussed, Ridley said.
“My hope is that we can draft an ordinance,” Dunham said. “That we can get specific.”
Among the group of city leaders, many were quick to blame themselves for the long passing of time before taking decisive action regarding flith-covered sidewalks and for the public backlash that raged on Facebook for a few weeks.
“At the end of the day, the buck stops with me,” Ridley said. “Ultimately it’s on my shoulders.”
In the meantime things are looking brighter: at the beginning of October the sidewalks were power washed, a process requested more than a year ago by Sponseller.
The $7,300 per year expense is now a recurring contract, ensuring sidewalks are deep cleaned often enough for more basic upkeep during the rest of the year.
“That’s part of the solution ultimately,” Dunham said. “Clean the sidewalks and public places, remove roosting and nesting areas, and clear 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.
When horse trainer Gary Portelli met Yu Long Investments’ Yuesheng Zhang earlier this week, the Chinese billionaire had one thing on his mind: pigeons.
Four days before today’s inaugural, $10 million Everest race — Mr Zhang had arrived in Sydney’s west to inspect the horse that would leap forth from his $600,000 slot in the lucrative event. “He came to the stables on Tuesday to see the horse, but he was more interested in seeing my racing pigeons,” Portelli said.
The man who trains champion racehorse She Will Reign at his farm in Warwick Farm has, since he was young, kept thousands of racing birds. They’ve been a hobby and a pastime on countless cold winter Saturdays. It’s a passion, he learned, that he shares with Mr Zhang.
“He can’t speak a word of English … It was like we were able to communicate through the birds,” he told 2GB’s Ray Hadley. “He’s in there catching birds, laughing, carrying on. I said, ‘we came away with a little bit of pigeon English together’.”
The Chinese investor recently won a pigeon race worth $800,000 in his home country.
“Racing pigeons in China have gone berserk,” Portelli said. “I find it a fascinating sport.”
There are birds bred to fly sprints, as well as middle and long distances, reaching speeds of between one and two kilometres per minute. An increasingly obscure sport that attracts several thousand people Australia-wide, pigeons — like horse racing — this week bridged the gulf between a foreign billionaire and a Sydney trainer.
Meanwhile, Portelli’s She Will Reign is a fairytale underdog. Sold as a yearling for $20,000 — a steal, in racing circles — the daughter of Manhattan Rain and Courghette was the Cinderella filly that fit the 2017 Golden Slipper.
Owned by a syndicate of 19, more than 150 friends and family turn up to support her on race day. A truckie, a carpenter and an ice-cream maker are some of those who own a tiny percentage of the horse, who has a big chance of winning the trophy today, to be presented by Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove.
“These (horses) are the best sprinters collectively put together for a long time,” Portelli said. “You could probably run the race 12 different times and get 12 different winners from different barrier draws. The last 100m, they’ll all be going good till then. That’s where it’ll change.”
Rossi Kewley is one of She Will Reign’s owners. “It’s crazy. This race is set up for the millionaires and billionaires, but if you’ve got the right horse it doesn’t matter,” he said. The 32-year-old ice-cream maker bought a share in February last year.
Trent Hill’s daughter, Sienna, has grown up with horses as a regular topic of family conversation.
“We’ve got a kid who doesn’t want to hear bedtime stories,” the 45-year-old truckie said. “She wants to see re-runs of She Will Reign.”
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.
Residents of an historic building have been living in a sewage and pigeon nightmare.
And it’s all because the owner of a long-closed shop has failed to keep it maintained.
The back of the shop is now being used as a pigeon loft with local birds able to fly right in.
Now fed-up neighbours Kate McGuiness and Mary McIntosh have made a public plea for action.
They are campaigning for landlord Tommy McAvenna, 72, to stump-up for repairs to his disused shop in the old Co-op building in Portland Street on Troon.
And retired Kate, addressing Troon Community Council last week, said: “An estate agent has told us the flats are unsaleable because of the mess below us.
“We should not have to live like this.
“We have pigeons flying about and nasty smells in the close.
“This is a C-listed building and when I wished to put a vented slate on the back of the roof I was told not to damage the historical nature of the place.
“Yet the front façade has been allowed to go to rack and ruin.”
Mr McAvenna, who has other property in the town, bought the shop in 1998.
It was the former premises of disgraced lawyer Peter Anderson, jailed for defrauding clients.
A letter sent to the landlord was returned to the council unopened and it lay there for six weeks, says McGuiness.
She added: “A 28 day notice has now been issued but still there has been no action.
“In mid June I stood on my doorstep to watch the Glasgow taxis coming into town.
“I was so embarrassed at the comments of the people standing there about the state of the place that I went back into my house.
“We are asking for community support in moving matters along. This is downright insanitary. As it is a private building, environmental health can only ask for access and cannot insist.”
The residents have pleaded their case to South Ayrshire Council.
Mary McIntosh said: “I am concerned about the structure of my property and am concerned about the smells.
“My kitchen has been flooded with raw sewage after it came up through the drains.”
Mr McAvenna was unavailable for comment on multiple days.
South Ayrshire Councillor Craig Mackay confirmed a formal repairs notice has now been sent.
He said: “That 28-day period is about to expire and hopefully we can more forward.”
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 gloves are off. And the cat is wondering if it will be once more out of the bag. Quite possibly, it might be set among the pigeons. Which, these days appear to be a role played by our state institutions, which have become used to ruffling a few feathers here and there.
This week has seen Hafiz Saeed return to the Pakistani spotlight. For two very important reasons.
Firstly, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has refused to register the Milli Muslim League (MML) as a political party, thereby scuppering its electoral hopes for next year. This is a welcome move. And it is heartening to see that the ECP acted upon the request of the Interior Ministry, pending an independent investigation. Though not before the ‘political’ party contested the NA 120 by-election in Nawaz Sharif’s old hood.
Though, as to be expected, the MML isn’t taking any of this lying down. Prior to this latest development, it had already set up offices in Peshawar with an eye on by-polls there. Yet it’s after the ECP ruling that things have taken an interesting, if not alarming, turn. The MML says it’s suing the ECP for defamation — to the cool tune of Rs 100 million — for daring to refer to it as a proscribed outfit.
Secondly, the Lahore High Court is this week expected to move to have Hafiz Saeed, who is wanted by India for his role in the Mumbai terrorist attacks, released from house arrest unless and until the political set-up can bring concrete evidence against him of his misdemeanours. Today, all of this is a lose-lose situation for Pakistan and its international standing. Not only will this add fuel to the Trump fire about support for certain undesirables — it will undermine considerably this country’s recent calls to put the Kashmir issue back under the UN auspices, after an overdue absence.
Yet for ordinary Pakistanis, the domestic plot thickens. At the time of the MML’s infamous participation in NA 120, a retired Army officer had ‘come clean’ about what he termed as the military establishment’s strategy to mainstream — not disarm — its proxies. Last week, the head of the military’s public relations wing confirmed that he was aware of what he described as the government’s mainstreaming plan. While the Interior Ministry disclosed that it had approached the ECP upon the recommendation of the security establishment. Regardless of who is passing the buck to whom — neither the civvies nor the khakis has denied the existence of this plan.
The matter of the MML versus the ECP could have been avoided. Meaning that the government committed a gross misstep when it placed Hafeez Saeed under house arrest back in January of this year. At the time, no concrete grounds were given for his detention. Though many members of Pakistan’s religious right pointed to the timing of this, which coincided with Donald Trump taking his place in the White House hot seat and the ruling party’s intermittent flirtations with neighbouring India.
Be that as it may, the way forward for any functioning democracy is to seek relief from the courts. Thus Hafiz Saeed should have faced due process before the Anti-Terrorism Court; a process that might or might not have included access by a visiting Indian investigating team. That this was never on the cards raises questions as to whom is protecting whom; and which side would be more damaged by the fallout of such a move.
If we were the cat, we wouldn’t settle for pigeons. We would go to London to see the Queen.
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.
ECHUCA’S pigeon plague is no flight of fancy according to those on the frontline fighting increasing numbers of birds and worsening volumes of pigeon droppings.
It might not be in the asbestos category but there is no doubt a health risk exists because of the makeup of the bird’s droppings.
Echuca-Moama Uniting Church is now praying for intervention – divine would be fine but in the temporal space church spokesman John Ferris would be really happy if Campaspe Shire got in the game.
His church has spent close to $30,000 for temporary relief from the problem but several other large buildings in that part of town – from Campaspe College of Adult Education and the Backpackers to the Paramount Cinema to the old fire station – are facing the same problems.
“It has been suggested we could fix this problem by installing things such as spikes and ultrasonic bird repellers,” Mr Ferris said.
“We have such a repeller, it is 20 times the size suggested by Barry McDougal in a letter to the editor in the Riv,” he said.
“It’s on the church roof and it does work in the area that the speaker’s sound reaches – so the pigeons have shuffled along and now perch just outside the range of the sound.”
Mr Ferris said there is a nesting pair of peregrine falcons in the church tower and they are enthusiastically doing their bit, but at a pigeon a day they are being outbred.
“It is our hope the shire council can provide support and leadership in assisting the occupiers of affected properties (of which there are many) in an eradication process,” he said.
“We can disturb the birds nesting and roosting positions on our roof, but we are unable to rid ourselves of them totally without such council support.
“We have a request in with the shire asking for their leadership and support on this. Our thinking is an eradication program led by them on behalf of property owners; who should be asked to bear associated costs.
“But we haven’t heard anything yet.”
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.
