There was a time during World War II when pigeons almost became the next war heroes… until scientists at NIST grounded them — thanks to some other winged friends. Credit: NIST
Did you know that the origin and development of touch screen technology can be directly tied to one of the world’s most famous behavioral scientists and a bunch of pigeons? This strange and fascinating part of science history is highlighted in the latest NISTory video from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
At the peak of World War II, the U.S. government asked scientists of all backgrounds to find a solution to a tough defense problem: There was no really effective way to bomb important targets deep behind enemy lines without putting American pilots in grave danger.
Psychologist B.F. Skinner was convinced that he could train pigeons to become glider pilots. Working with NIST scientists, he began a series of scientific experiments to see if the animals could accurately hit targets with bombs. The results of this work would later lead to what we now take for granted in touch screens on our phones and tablets.
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.
Horrified witnesses have voiced their shock after a man claiming to be a vampire beheaded two pigeons and drank their blood in a busy New York park.
The man then waited for police to arrive after throwing one of the dead pigeons at someone who was eating their lunch.
The man has been taken into custody.
Sickening images of the aftermath were posted on social media as police confirmed the man had been taken into custody
A stunned witness, aged 32, told the New York Post after the incident in Bryant Park: ‘He was holding up the pigeons and drinking their blood, letting the blood drip down his shirt.’
And the witness added: ‘It was pretty disgusting.’
Another woman in the park told the Post that the man was calm when police arrived.
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.
Calls have been made to rehome a family of peregrine falcons in Colchester, after concerns they could threaten the pigeon-keeping community
The unique residents moved into the town’s disused Jumbo Tower in June, after a lone falcon was spotted on top of the building at the start of the summer.
For pigeon fanciers though, – people who keep and breed pigeons – the news means there is a heightened risk of attack on their birds.
There are also concerns that it will threaten the already-declining sport of pigeon racing.
Micky Hughes, who lives near the tower, said: “People seem to think these birds just want to find a home. However, towns such as Colchester are an unnatural habitat for peregrine falcons, causing damage and destruction to many small birds including racing pigeons and song birds.
“As a result I have to be constantly wary of the movements of predatory birds – something that I’ve never had to worry about before.
“It’s important to me to ensure that wildlife flourishes in its natural habitat, therefore I’m keen to see these peregrine falcons rehomed somewhere which will not only benefit pigeon fanciers such as myself, but the birds in question too.”
While birds of prey, such as sparrowhawks and peregrine falcons are safeguarded by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, birds owned by the 60,000 pigeon fanciers in the UK have no legal protetction against attacks from raptors.
As a result, The Raptor Alliance – which lobbies for change on behalf of pigeon fanciers – has been working with councils to ensure the number of birds of prey circling communities stabilises.
Lee Fribbins, from The Raptor Alliance, said: “It is imperative that we investigate ways of controlling and managing the increasing population of predatory birds humanely whilst ensuring that they are not introduced to unsuitable locations.
“We are currently liaising with people who have been affected by attacks and engaging with councils to educate and investigate solutions to the problem.”
He added: “Racing birds provide great company for their owners and are able to enjoy freedom on daily basis, naturally competing as they are released from their lofts.
“This is a hobby that can be taken up by anyone at any age, provides almost £107 million to the UK economy every year and provides substantial donations to many worthy charities across the country – therefore we want to make sure this past time isn’t lost forever.”
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.
Arizona’s dove hunters know what a huge part agriculture plays in their hunting success.
No matter the crop — wheat, sorghum, millet, milo, sunflowers – grain fields are like magnets for flight after flight of mourning and the larger white-winged doves, providing some of the best wing-shooting action in the nation.
“Arizona consistently reports the highest number of birds harvested per hunter (18.1 in 2016) than any other state in the West (11.1),” said Johnathan O’Dell, small game biologist for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. “Some years, Arizona turns in the highest number in the country.
“We saw an increase in 2016 in the mourning dove population — 45.7 million, up from 36.3 million in 2015 — in the Western Management Unit, which consists of Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, Idaho and Washington. We expect numbers to remain high for opening day in 2017.”
Once again, the greatest number of doves – and dove hunters — will be concentrated in the state’s agricultural areas when the season begins Friday. O’Dell said he expects even more white-winged doves than usual in these areas, based on this year’s weather patterns in some places that inhibited the production of saguaro cactus fruit – a popular food source for white-winged doves.
For a change of pace, as well as a little more elbow room, O’Dell offers this tip:
Find a desert hotspot.
“Substantial rains that covered Arizona this year allowed for mourning doves to spread out across the desert in search of food and nesting sites in trees near previously dry livestock waters,” O’Dell said. “It would be worth doing some scouting to find a dove hotspot this year.”
The department reminds dove hunters to review the “2017-2018 Arizona Dove and Band-tailed Pigeon Regulations,” which are posted online.
The regulations also are available in a new format that hunters will find particularly handy in the field. The color brochure is easier to read and features important hunting information, such as season dates, daily bag and possession limits, and legal requirements, at a glance. The printed version is available at all department offices and more than 200 license dealers statewide.
A youth combination hunt/fish license is only $5 and includes a migratory bird stamp. Hunters 18 and older who want to hunt doves and band-tailed pigeons (as well as ducks, geese, coots, snipe and common moorhens) must possess a valid Arizona hunting license, as well as a migratory bird stamp for the 2017-18 season. Both can be purchased online.
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.
BELLEVILLE – One good thing about fall approaching, besides the melancholy panoply of colours, is the fact the outdoor wedding season will be over and, thus, many doves and white pigeons will survive at least another several months.
There are many myths and misconceptions about birds and their behaviour. Perhaps the most annoying and dangerous is the one where a wedding couple releases white doves into the air.
The ritual is intended to symbolize peace and freedom. But while the happy couple is whooping it up at the reception those poor birds are flapping their wings for the last time.
If the birds are released too close to sundown they will not be able to orient themselves and find their way home, which is the breeder’s home. Birds can’t navigate in the dark. Also if they’re domestic-raised they possess no survival skills. Even those with a fighting chance probably have no notion of hydro wires or crows, ravens and hawks.
Most ‘white doves’ are pigeons bred to be white. Even white homing pigeons are in danger. Genuine ring-necked doves as well as white king pigeons have little if any chance of survival.
At least, most wedding doves are purchased from breeders. It is illegal to buy and release any store-bought bird.
All birds do not fly south in the winter and not just ones from the Southern hemisphere. And those that do fly south usually get there by an indirect route, first heading east or west. Ornithologists are not agreed on why this is so. The precious little hummingbird is supposed to fly all the way to South America but North American hummingbirds have rarely been seen in Panama and never south of there.
There is the myth flightless birds are easy prey. Usually, however, they are flightless because they don’t need to fly. They can run or swim faster than their enemies.
The rhea, for instance, can run as fast as any horse. Ostriches and cassowaries can run nearly as fast and kick like giant UFC fighters.
In southern British Columbia a few weeks ago, while sitting outdoors at a table, I had the strange experience of close contact with a hummingbird. It flew to the table and hopped onto my forearm before taking off. It didn’t pause there but rather touched down for a nanosecond. Nevertheless, it was a nanosecond of wonder.
Because people love these birds so much many put out feeders. Last year a friend sent me a photo taken on Christmas Eve of a hummingbird at the feeder outside his kitchen window. The water in the feeder was dyed red ostensibly to provide more attraction to the bird. This is a misconception.
Some people are hesitant to leave home for long periods in the winter because the poor hummingbirds might starve. They won’t.
They feed elsewhere. Hummingbirds need amino acids — protein — to survive and get this from tiny insects, particularly aphids and mosquitoes.
Another domestic bird feeding myth is the one about making sure to keep peanut butter away from birds because it will choke them. It won’t. It is, in fact, a good idea to set out some peanut butter in the winter because it supplies the bird with much needed fat.
And then there is the myth that birds don’t sing on the ground. Observe the flicker and the common robin to realize the folly of that one.
The Seven-Colours, from Brazil, defies several myths. Not only does it sing on the ground but seems to sing when happy, Getting down on the ground and rolling around before springing to its feet to emit an incredible cry that alternates between a train whistle and a sobbing woman and followed by a song of 30 different syllables. It’s a tanager.
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.
APPROVING a new e-book on a year in the life of the Northern League, last week’s column noted that Ryhope – a semi-self-contained suburb of Sunderland – was said to boast the only pigeon cree that’s a Grade II listed building.
Flight of fancy? We set out last Saturday to find it.
That the great Ryhope derby – Sunderland RCA v Ryhope CW – was to take place that very afternoon may be considered a little less than coincidental.
Ryhope still proclaims itself a village, though the 2011 census recorded 10,484 souls – about the same as Shildon, and Shildon’s a veritable metropolis.
The old water works pumping engine it itself a listed building, as is the early 19th century place identified on the plaque outside as the Ryhope Rent Office. But a pigeon cree?
Homing instinct or accustomed good fortune – the latter, it may be assumed – we find Maurice Surtees’s celebrated sanctuary almost at once.
It’s in the allotments off Back Ryhope Street, near the former Blue Bell pub – now a tanning salon. Pubs don’t get listed, not in Ryhope, anyway – and the memorial garden to the many killed in the 110 years of Ryhope Colliery. Most of the allotments appear rather better kept.
MAURICE, an 85-year-old former pitman, isn’t there. “He’ll be about five minutes,” says his mate Graham Burns. A pigeon clock may be set on it.
He arrives on a mobility scooter – “his go-kart,” says Graham – but walks unaided down the path to the cree.
A delightful man, much given to the observation that nowt’s a bother, he is at once asked where his own plaque is. “All these years and I still haven’t got a one,” says Maurice. “I’ve asked MPs, all sorts. I’d pay for the bugger mesel’.”
He and his brother Bill built the cree in 1955, chiefly with wood liberated (shall we say) from colliery houses awaiting demolition.
“Look at them netty doors, good as new,” says Maurice. “If pigeon men want owt mekkin’, they mek it theirsels.”
Forty years later, his allotment and 20 others were threatened when the Newcastle-based owners sought to develop the land for housing.
Local MPs Chris Mullin and Fraser Kemp were whistled up, consulted the Heritage Department, agreed the indubitably ingenious idea that the cree should be listed, and no matter that the official document calls it a dovecote.
“That’s just southern talk,” says Maurice, a man equally unlikely to call his pigeon palace a loft.
The term “loft”, he supposes – perhaps apocryphally – originated because that’s where the Belgians, big pigeon men, hid their birds when the Germans invaded. Maurice pronounces “Germans” almost as Stan Boardman did.
In 2007 the owners again tried to reclaim the land, offered the allotment holders £250,000 between them, were reminded by MP Kemp of the import of listing. There was talk of bailiffs, and of barricades. “Any damage to a listed building is a criminal offence that can lead to a prison sentence,” warned Kemp.
Maurice was more brutal, perhaps more pitmatic. “If them bigshots want a fight they should come down to the gardens and take their jackets off,” he said at the time.
There was a debate in the Commons – “The government has a very clear and strong view on pigeon fancying and that is that we are wholly in favour,” said Harriet Harman, leader of the House – a lot of press, another victory.
“A very British coo,” said the Mirror, rather magnificently.
In 2011 the cree was part of an English Heritage open day, alongside places like Durham Town Hall and Darlington Civic Theatre. “I made about 200 cups of tea and coffee, gave people taties, onions all sorts,” Maurice recalls.
“One woman even took me nettles, I thowt she was mekkin’ game but she said she wanted them to make tea. The next few days, people were coming back with pies and all sorts for me. Folk are lovely if you only know where to look.”
AS luck again would have it, Saturday’s a racing day, Graham anxiously rattling a tin of corn as pigeon men do. “Divvent thoo worry, they knaa where they live,” says Maurice, though his birds have had a disappointing season.
“They’re good enough, they’re bonny enough. They just seem to have nee luck.”
Among the retired birds pecking at their feet is one – the Owld Hen, they call her –which won a major race from Lille. “Only one eye, got a bat or something, lovely bird,” says Maurice.
Visitors have included Robbie Coltrane – “queer bugger, him” – and Grayson Perry while researching a North-East tapestry. “Canny feller, cross dresser, all right, though,” says Maurice.
Labour ministers Tony Banks and Andy Burnham also came; a BBC crew spent six weeks there on and off. “They said they had about five hours of stuff but had to cut it down to an hour because of the swearing,” Maurice adds.
He also told the BBC that he’d had a cuckoo clock but that the cuckoo was deed. The website felt obliged to translate.
Beamish Museum have expressed interest in the cree when Maurice is no longer racing – “I’m not so sure how they’ll shift it” – though he hopes to be fleeing, as he puts it, for several years yet. Fewer are ready for take off.
“Ryhope used to be the biggest club in the North-East, 56 members. Now there’s 21, only two on these gardens and owld John’s retiring next year. I can still remember my first race, 680 away. My brother won.
“At one time if you worked at the pit that was it – bed, work and pigeons, that was your life. Now the sport’s dying, getting dearer and dearer. Once you could send a bird away for a few coppers, now it’s a few pound. Then there’s the big teams, mekkin’ it hard for lads like me. If you enter 20, they enter 60. They make pigeons a business; it isn’t right, they should enjoy it.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Cape Town – The recent outbreak of the avian flu virus has the racing pigeon industry all aflutter after they were told to keep their birds indoors.
The South African National Pigeon Organisation (Sanpo) said they had decided to heed to recommendations made by the provincial department of agriculture.
Spokesperson for MEC Alan Winde, Bronwynne Jooste, said they recommended that any movement of birds be limited as far as possible.
“Movement must be covered by a movement permit if coming from within 30km of an infected farm. This permit can be obtained from a local state vet. Bird owners should be aware that as soon as their birds travel, they are at increased risk of catching avian influenza and spreading it.”
The department said there had been 13 outbreaks in South Africa since June. These involved seven commercial chicken farms, two groups of backyard chickens, three sets of wild birds and one group of domestic geese.
The H5N8 strain of the disease has already wreaked havoc in the poultry industry in Zimbabwe, where thousands of commercial birds have died or had to be culled.
This strain of the virus has so far shown no sign of being infectious to people.
Sanpo president Fadiel Hendricks said they decided to listen to the recommendation, to protect themselves.
“We have an understanding that you can race, but if something happened and a pigeon gets killed and tested and it’s found to have avian flu in the pigeon, then pigeons from that area will be culled. So for now, there is no racing.”
He said they “found themselves in a disaster especially in the Western Cape” and it was beyond their control.
“We can’t control certain diseases in the wild. It is a fear, but as custodians of the sport we have to listen to what the vets and authorities are saying.”
He said some members were concerned about losing points and their national colours were at stake.
The official vet for the organisation, Ockert Botha, said: “Scientific evidence is clear that currently there is no evidence that avian flu affects domesticated pigeons, or that they play a role in carrying the disease and therefore are a threat to the poultry industry. However, we are being ever vigilant of the importance of the disease.”
Botha said all pigeons in the area would be vaccinated against other viruses.
“We are being proactive about it.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Police forces of the western Iranian city of Kermanshah have seized pigeons which were used by drug dealers for carrying narcotics.
The local police came across these drug carrying pigeons in a dealer’s house during one of their operations to cleanse the city’s suspicious neighborhoods from dealers and addicts.
According to a Farsi report by the Mehr News Agency, a local judiciary official said the drug dealer used to tie small drug packages to the legs of these trained pigeons so that they could transfer them to the desired places across the city.
Kermanshah’s anti-drug police have captured all these birds, he added.
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.
AMANZIMTOTI Pigeon Racing Club reports on race 25 and 26.
On Saturday, 26 August, seven members flew a total of 88 birds from Middelburg.
First and second Doug Fry, third to fifth Basil Tait, sixth Bradshaw Lofts, seventh Doug Fry, eighth to ninth Basil Tait, 10th Rossouw Lofts.
Three members flew a total of 58 birds from Bloemfontein.
First Rossouw Lofts, Basil Tait, third Rossouw Lofts, fourth Doug Fry, fifth to eighth Basil Tait, ninth Rossouw Lofts, 10th Basil Tait.
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 man was forced to hand over his air rifle after he was caught shooting pigeons in Ernesettle.
Officers say they tracked the man down after locals raised the alarm over the incident, which is being investigated by wildlife officers.
One resident, who wished to stay anonymous, said the man had a “massive air rifle” and was “shooting the pigeons” in her street.
A police spokesman said: “Police were called to an address in Ernesettle Plymouth, following reports of a man attempting to shoot pigeons with an air rifle Monday morning, August 28.
“A suspect was identified and he handed over his rifle and ammunition when visited by local officers.
“Wildlife officers are investigating this incident under the wildlife and countryside act along with support from the RSPCA.”
An eyewitness suggested that the man with the rifle had lived on the street for years but that she was worried to approach him, unsure as to what he would do.
She added that “he was out there for ages shooting these birds for fun” and she was “worried about people’s pets in the area”.
Anyone with more details regarding the incident can call 101 and quote crime reference number CR/073493/17.
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.
TEHRAN, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) — Iran’s police confiscated 30 pigeons used for carrying illicit drugs in the western province of Kermanshah, semi-official ISNA news agency reported Tuesday.
The pigeons, with capsules carrying small amounts of drugs fixed on their feet, belong to a distributor of drugs, said Hossein Barari, police chief of Kermanshah Province.
They were selected from the pigeons used for carrying mails and knowing the addresses well, Barari added.
Iran, which shares a 900-km-long border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to Europe.
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 the woman who was to become my wife in later years – and eventually my ex-wife – took me the meet her parents for the first time, I failed to recognise the main warning signs of incompatibility.
These were homing pigeons circling the house, a Blue Bulls flag flying from the TV aerial, a Ricoffy tin tied to the fence for a post box and the chairs fashioned from of old car tyres on the stoep.
Another, more subtle indication that I was on the wrong side of the railway track, was an actual railway track across the road.
Once inside the house I should have noted other oddities – the block of a Datsun 1400 engine on the coffee table in the lounge, oil dripping onto the carpet; the JH Lynch print on the wall of a half-naked woman lying on top of a tree stump; their nine dogs’ barking which made it sound like I’m at the SPACA; and the missing guest toilet door…
Coca-Cola crates
That people who made The Simpsons on TV look boring had such a beautiful and well-mannered daughter was baffling.
She seemed to be the only normal member of a family of complete loones and during that first visit kept apologising for everything.
Such as when her mother got a bit overexcited with the wrestling on the ancient Barlow Vision TV and shouted at the top of her voice: ‘Grab him by the goolies, grab him hard and rip it off!’.
She also apologised profusely when I got oil on my trousers after not noticing the four pistons lying on the couch and suggested we rather go sit in the kitchen.
Once there I discovered why the toilet doesn’t have a door – it was moonlighting as a table on top of some Coca-Cola crates.
While sitting at the toilet door cum kitchen table the smell of tripe being cooked made my throat close into a spasm and I was desperately hoping for the visit to be concluded before lunch time.
Shopping trolleys
The back door was one of those farm-style jobs with a bottom part and a top part, and behind it the pack of nine dogs went rabid.
It might have been the smell of the tripe or perhaps it was me, but whichever, I stayed well clear of the door because a big black mongrel with a severe case of mange was propped up against the bottom door, chewing on the wood like he hasn’t had a meal for days.
The smaller mutts were attacking his legs and every now and again the black dog – Slash – would go down for a few moments during which an epic dog fight would take place.
For a second I pitied the poor burglar who falls into their jaws, but then realised there’s absolutely nothing worth stealing.
Even Checkers were clearly too afraid to ask for their trolleys back because I counted 12 lying in the backyard next to the pigeon house.
Open plan toilet
Perhaps I shouldn’t have gone back after that first visit, but I did and eventually learned to accept my in-laws for who they were, and while I never got used to the smell of tripe hanging in the air like death, I did end up using the open plan toilet.
You just had to time it right and as a precautionary measure, shout out loud that you are going to the toilet, so people know to give you a few minutes.
I eventually came to love my peculiar in-laws very much and stayed in touch even after the divorce, but won’t do it again and to this day I am extremely suspicious of people who keep homing pigeons.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
PHOENIX — When Arizona hunters take to the field Friday for the opening of the 2017 dove season, a few might be fortunate enough to harvest a bird that’s a bit different than the others.
It just might be wearing jewelry.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department recently completed its annual dove-banding efforts for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, capturing thousands of mourning, white-winged and invasive Eurasian collared-doves throughout Arizona and affixing a tiny metal band around one of their legs.
A band provides data used for statistically estimating harvest rates, distribution, annual survival rates and movements of the birds throughout the various migratory flyways. Since 2003, Arizona has participated in the nationwide effort (which now includes more than two dozen states) to better manage mourning doves, arguably the most popular game bird in North America.
About 850,000 dove hunters harvested an estimated 14.5 million doves nationwide as recently as 2013. Arizona’s hunters never lack for birds. In any given year, an estimated 20 million to 30 million mourning doves – and another 2 million to 3 million of the larger white-winged doves – are residing here on opening day.
Dustin Darveau, terrestrial wildlife specialist, said the ongoing banding effort began when it was determined that dove call count surveys — while useful and still used in many areas of the state — weren’t the best method to monitor population and harvest trends. A call count survey involves driving a predetermined route and charting the number of calls heard at stops along the way.
“It (banding) just gives us a lot more data and information to better manage doves,” Darveau said. “Without that information, harvest rates can be very conservative. This provides better information, so we can increase harvest limits and provide more opportunity for hunters, or scale back just a little bit to make sure the species is sustainable for future generations.”
Darveau, along with department wildlife managers and other staff members, spent several days last month banding doves near the department’s regional office in Mesa. The banding locations include a local feedlot, a year-round haven for thousands of doves, pigeons, songbirds and even ducks that dine on the feed provided for cattle.
While the owner loses upward of $50,000 in the cost of feed that the birds consume on an annual basis, he supports the department’s banding efforts to more effectively study and manage doves, saying “It’s all about the birds. We’re proving that they’re not resident birds. They do move on, and we’ve proven it over the years by finding them in Texas, Oklahoma, Mexico. . . . That’s what I’m interested in knowing.”
The banding process isn’t complicated. The doves are lured into either funnel traps or larger outdoor pet kennels that have been baited with bird seed or cracked corn. Darveau was able to capture more birds using the kennel, complete with shade cloth and a waterer. Once enough doves found their way inside the kennel through a small impression dug under the frame, they were netted, fitted with an appropriate band, and their characteristics recorded on a data sheet for entry into a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service database.
“Each band has a dedicated number,” said Darveau, whose team banded more than 1,000 mourning and 500 white-winged doves over a 10-day period. “We record on the data sheet whether or not it’s a hatch-year bird (juvenile or adult), its sex, and determine the molt of the primary flight feathers, which on the juveniles tells us how old the bird is.”
On average, the department bands more than 3,000 mourning and 500 white-winged doves statewide annually, Darveau said.
Doves do get around. In a 2014 departmental report, mourning doves banded in Arizona have been recovered in seven other states (California, Idaho, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma) and Mexico. Meanwhile, mourning doves banded in California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming have been recovered in Arizona.
With the start of the season only days away, the department reminds hunters that if they harvest a banded dove they can keep the band as a souvenir. They are asked, however, to visit www.reportband.gov to report it. In return, details – like where and when the bird was banded – will be sent to the person who reports the band number.
“If you harvest one, it’s a pretty big deal,” Darveau said. “It’s unique, and it greatly assists state wildlife management agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.”
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.
Sliema’s mayor has stood firm in the face of angry Facebook comments over the town’s regular pigeon cull, arguing shooting down the birds is the only solution for a major problem in his locality.
“Many residents are concerned about pigeon droppings and that pigeons could cause lung diseases,” Anthony Chircop said. “This morning alone, three people approached me in the street to urge the council to clamp down on the problem. We don’t enjoy shooting down pigeons, but we’ve exhausted all other options and this is the only method which works. It’s a necessary evil.”
“When the government and the Birgu local council agreed to abandon a planned pigeon cull a few months ago so as to study alternative methods, we told them we would agree to try out any solution we haven’t tried and tested before,” he said. “So far we haven’t heard anything from their end.”
He said the cull is carried out with utmost care, with police officers and sweepers accompanying the shooters, the latter to pick up dead birds from the street. Indeed, he said dead pigeons seen on the streets of Sliema are unlikely to be leftovers from the culls but rather pigeons who would have died from natural causes or who would have consumed poison left by residents on their rooftops.
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.
KUANTAN: When the formation of Malaysia was declared on Sept 16, 1963, Rusnah Aksah was only 12.
But she was entrusted with a very special task – to release 101 pigeons in front of 35,000 people, including the first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, at Stadium Merdeka
“Of the thousands of people out there, I was given the honour. It was indeed a proud moment as my name was recorded in history,” Rusnah said.
After 54 years, Rusnah, now 66, will again be given the honour to re-enact the moment by releasing 60 pigeons during the National Day 2017 celebration on Aug 31 at Dataran Merdeka.
An excited Rusnah said she would wear an all-white baju kurung, similar to the one she had worn in 1963, to rekindle the atmosphere and feelings from 54 years ago.
When asked why she was selected to release the pigeons to symbolise the country’s liberation from the British in 1963, Rusnah said it could be due to the fact that she received the Pingat Hang Tuah (bravery medal bestowed on those who save a life) the year before.
She was conferred the medal for rescuing a three-year-old girl, Tan Kim Cheng, from drowning in Sungai Semenyih, Selangor, near her family home. She received the medal at the police barracks in February 1961.
Rusnah was the third and only female recipient of the medal, which was introduced in 1960. It was discontinued in 1978.
“I remembered seeing something in the river. Thinking that it was a wild animal, I just jumped in and tried to save it and it turned out to be a small girl,” she recalled.
Rusnah said she only realised “the incident was of significant importance” when her father Aksah Shafie, who was a police constable then, received congratulatory messages from top police officers for having a brave daughter.
“When I was conferred the medal, I did not expect anything. Then I was invited to participate in the Malaysia Day declaration on Sept 16. Since then, I have been reminding myself that it is very important for us to be sincere in carrying out our responsibilities. That was the way my mother, Halimah Daud, taught me,” said Rusnah.
Rusnah, who now lives with her only daughter Nurlina Muhammad Nor, 42, said young people seem to be less enthusiastic in contributing their energy for the country and don’t have a strong spirit of patriotism.
“They were born into a comfortable life and many were spoilt.
“They should be more appreciative and more patriotic.
“They should realise that if it were not for the strong spirit of our forefathers, it would be impossible for them to enjoy such a comfortable life now,” she said. — Bernama
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 week I had a bit of an unusual case. The clients were a family with two young boys. They had just returned from a whole day at sea where they spent most of the day boating around Gozo and exploring its many sea caves.
As the boys excitedly told me, they were slowly entering the mouth of a small cave when the elder of the two spotted something just ahead of them bobbing in the water. As they approached, it became obvious that it was a baby bird in distress. With every wave that rolled into the cave, the bird would disappear beneath the water’s surface and then come up again. They managed to fish the bird out of the sea and, once safely out of the cave, they examined their rescued bird.
The boys thought it was a falcon. The parents thought it was pigeon and, of course, the parents were right. Either way, the entire family rallied round, determined to save the little bird. It must have been in the water for some time as it was very cold, so they wrapped it up in a T-shirt, made their way back to shore and headed for the clinic where they told me that they wanted to do everything they could to save the bird and keep it as a pet.
Coming across baby birds out of their nest is something that we have all encountered. In most cases, it is best to leave things up to nature. Firstly, because the bird’s parents are the best carers for their young and, secondly, because caring for a baby bird requires considerable commitment that few can afford with today’s busy lifestyles.
Nestlings, which are baby birds still without their feathers, may have fallen out of the nest or been pushed out so that the stronger siblings will have a better chance of surviving and go on to themselves to breed strong chicks. It’s nature’s way. Fledglings, that is, baby birds that already have feathers and can move about should either be placed back into their nest if you can find it, or left alone. The parents will not be far and will continue to care for the young bird as soon as you move away. It’s worth knowing that the perception that birds will abandon their young if touched by human hand is indeed a fallacy.
Provided you have the resources necessary both to care for the health of a pigeon, as well as to house it responsibly when it grows, there is no reason that should preclude you from considering this breed of bird as a viable pet
Of course, the situation does change when the baby bird is injured or, as happened with my clients, the bird is in a life-threatening situation. I examined the baby pigeon. By this time, it was dry and warm, albeit scared of every movement and sound. From the size of it, the sparse growth of feathers, and its partial head of yellow fuzz, the pigeon seemed to be about two to three weeks old. I looked for injuries. There was no bleeding, no puncture wounds, and no broken wings or legs. Its throat was clear and free of obstruction, its eyes were bright with no signs of discharge and the droppings that it had obligingly deposited onto the T-shirt were the right colour and consistency. The only thing that it had was a bad case of bird mites that had survived the dunking along with the pigeon. If well cared for, this fledgling would survive.
Pigeons that are rescued at a very young age are quite capable of adopting and cherishing their human owners. Many pigeon fanciers will also tell you how intelligent and affectionate these birds are. So, provided you have the resources necessary both to care for the health of a pigeon, as well as to house it responsibly when it grows, there is no reason that should preclude you from considering this breed of bird as a viable pet.
Pigeons remain in their nest until they are about 30 days old, by which time they look very much like their adult counterparts. This explains why you never see very young pigeons as you would, for example, a young sparrow. This also means that until they reach that stage, you need to provide for them just as you would if you were the parent pigeon.
Although you will see city pigeons eating anything from bread crumbs to pizza crusts and even crisps, pigeons are mostly eaters of seeds, grains and legumes, with the occasional worm or insect. As babies, they squeak and flutter their wings, and press their gaping mouth over the adult’s beak. This behaviour is the signal to the parents that the young want to be fed.
In response, the pigeon pumps food from its crop into the baby pigeon’s mouth. The crop is a soft sac located over the breast area of the bird. It secretes a milk-like fluid, technically called crop milk but also referred to as pigeon milk. Crop milk looks like dairy milk and has the same consistency but is nothing like it. It is therefore important that rescued baby pigeons are not fed dairy milk. Just as a matter of interest, both mother and father pigeons can feed their young.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, your vet will be happy to advise you what to feed your baby bird and how often depending on how old it is. Until you can get to the veterinary clinic with your rescue, any baby pigeon that is more than a couple of days old but still too young to eat solids can be fed porridge oats well-soaked in sufficient water that the mixture retains a loose consistency. They will also do very well on softened hard-boiled egg.
The internet provides a wealth of information from reliable sources that depict how to feed young pigeons using syringes or feeding tubes. Notwithstanding, it is important that you take your rescue pigeon to your vet for a check-up. My clients have named their baby pigeon Muccu and every day he grows bigger and stronger. The bird mites with which he was afflicted have also cleared up.
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 may not be very obvious now, but the earth is tilting away from the sun in the northern hemisphere. Gradually, the sun is at a little lower angle.
The days are a little shorter. And some cooler nights after passing cold fronts portend some fun ahead. Hunting.
Doves are first. A social shoot may be a better descriptor of a dove hunt.
Doves can fly fast and can be elusive targets. It’s almost time to gather with hunting buddies for some wing-shooting fun.
Switching from retriever marking and lining drills with plastic bumpers. To real birds and real shots is a welcomed late summer transition. And some related good news. Survey results in the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries website show dove numbers in Louisiana have increased the last several years.
For doves Louisiana is divided into two zones. There are three split seasons. The north zone seasons are: Sept. 2-24, Oct. 7-Nov. 12, Dec. 17-June 15. Daily shooting hours are 1/2 hour before sunrise until sunset on private and public land most of the season.
But shooting hours are noon until sunset on opening day of the first split on State WMA’s and leased land, other than Elbow Slough WMA for which the season is the same as on private land. I wonder why?
Several species in the dove/pigeon family are found in Louisiana. The small Inca and ground doves are not legal to shoot. Mourning doves are the main quarry. Hunters can legally harvest up to 15 mourning and white-winged doves in the aggregate per day.
Also Eurasian collared doves and ringed turtle doves are legal game. Fully dressed they are included in the limit of 15 per day. But with the head and one wing still attached they are bonuses. The common rock pigeon is also fair game. Check out details on the LDWF website.
Doves have weak legs and don’t scratch to find seed to eat like quail and turkeys. They feed on exposed small seed in fields with some bare ground. They don’t feed in thick vegetation. Particularly attractive habitat is harvested grain fields such as milo, millet, and corn.
Sunflower fields are another good bet for doves. New clearcuts are good habitat for a couple of years before they grow too dense. Clearcuts that have been site-prep burned or herbicided to reduce vegetation density are especially attractive. Hunting over bait is illegal.
A nice shady spot is a good place to set up. When flying to feeding fields doves often light on snags (dead trees), isolated trees, or wires, before flying down to feed. So these are good spots to intercept them.
When shooting-just relax, cheek to the stock, and shoot where they’re going. Light shotgun loads of No. 7 ½ or 8 shot are appropriate. Be sure to pick up your downed birds quickly. Fire ants find them quickly if you don’t.
Try to set up in the doves’ flight path or the edges of feeding areas rather than directly in the feeding areas. Doves will come to the field longer if they are not shot at there.
You can extend your hunting days by not shooting out your field. Only hunt half days and only a couple of days a week. Some doves will often remain and attract new migrating doves. You can extend your hunts if you don’t hammer them. Rotate fields you hunt if possible.
Afternoons are hot this time of year. Be careful about you and your dog overheating. Some have lost their canine hunting partner to heat on opening day. Find a shady spot to shoot from. Take cool water for you and your retriever. Take a break during the hot mid-day; the doves will. Cool off if y’all get hot.
Remember to get your new hunting license. Have fun this first hunting season. Look forward to cool weather, and the many hunting opportunities ahead.
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.
Wood pigeons have knocked blue tits of their perch to bag the number one spot for most common garden bird in Bromley, according to the results of a survey published yesterday.
Blue tits have fallen all the way down to fourth position. Blackbirds are the second most common garden birds and robins are third.
A new entrant into the top ten is the ring-necked parakeet.
The Garden Bird Survey was done by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ Bromley group.
David Hampson, the leader of the RSPB Bromley Local Group’s survey, said: “We’re lucky to live in a borough with lots of green space – gardens, parks and countryside.
Bromley’s gardens are an important habitat for our birds as they provide water, food and shelter. Our survey shows that our borough’s gardens support at least 40 different species.
The Top 10 from the 2017 Garden Bird Survey 2017 (last year’s result in brackets):
1 (2) Wood Pigeon
2 (4) Blackbird
3 (3) Robin
4 (1) Blue Tit
5 (5) Magpie
6 (6) Great Tit
7 (7) Dunnock
8 (10) Ring Neck Parakeet
9 (9) House Sparrow
10 (16) Chaffinch
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.
SAFFORD — The Arizona Game and Fish Department is offering a free clinic and workshop for youth dove hunting Sept. 1-2 in Safford.
The event is geared toward youths who are first-time hunters. Game and Fish wildlife managers and local sportsmen will teach hunting and firearm safety, dove ecology and management, species identification, how to prepare equipment and clothing for a hunt, where to find doves and how to hunt them, as well as cleaning and cooking doves.
Participants will meet at 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 1, at Dry Lake Park, 250 E. 2760 W. Dry Lake Road, Safford, after which youth hunters will be able to practice shooting clay pigeons at the trap range, free of charge, shotguns and shells included. Coaches will be available to provide instruction, as well as range safety information and techniques.
The program includes a dove hunt for participants the morning of Saturday, Sept. 2, in the Safford area with an experienced mentor/hunter. Parents are encouraged to accompany the youth hunters. Shotguns and ammunition will be available, but participants may also bring their own.
Participants will need to provide for their own transportation to the hunting area, unless prior arrangements are made. The Southeastern Arizona Sportsmen Club will provide lunch after the morning event.
Attendance is free but limited to 20 young hunters ages 9 to 15 with an adult partner. Hunters will be registered by phone or e-mail on a first-come, first-served basis.
Participants age 10 and older must purchase a valid Arizona youth hunting license ($5), which is not required for those under 10 hunting with a licensed adult 18 and older.
There is no cost to young hunters because of generous contributions from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Southeastern Arizona Sportsmen Club and the hunting community.
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.
Falcons should be brought in to tackle Southport’s pigeon fouling problem, a local councillor has said.
Cllr David Barton said the long-term issue was affecting vital areas of the town, such as Lord Street, and was causing major problems for residents,businesses and tourists.
Cllr Barton, who represents Dukes Ward, said: “A recent initiative agreed by Sefton Council to install six plastic hawks across town to deter pigeons was nowhere near enough to resolve the issue.”
He said that he first raised the issue of pigeon fouling in 2014 and claims a falcon handler was employed during The Open golf championship.
He added: “I am seeking the local community’s views with a view to addressing the issue of pigeon fouling along Lord Street and other areas.
“Lord Street is a prime target for pigeons which tend to roost and nest in tall buildings and can do untold levels of damage to the historic fabric of these properties.
“There are many methods of pigeon control including bird proofing, wire deterrent systems, netting, bird spikes and a large variety of electrical and sonic bird deterrent solutions.
“Given Lord Street’s status as a conservation area not all these prescribed measures are appropriate from a conservationist’s perspective so I am advocating for a more subtle yet effective approach consisting of a falcon handler to be deployed to address this issue.
“Besides preventing regularly tarnished pavements this will also reduce the incidences of trips and falls caused by pigeons that have been reported all year round.”
The councillor claims pigeon droppings are not only unsightly, but their acid content can lead to the deterioration of soft stone and cause long-term damage to buildings and nest droppings and feathers block gutters and rainwater pipes.
The birds are capable of lifting loose roof coverings, tiles and battens to gain entry into roof voids which can significantly damage the structure by allowing water penetration.
He also suggests that reducing the amount of pigeons in the town will boost the retail sector.
Cllr Barton added: “Action to curb the effects of pigeons may also encourage more investment into the retail sector across the high street, especially along the central cross-section which coincidentally has consecutive units that have been vacant since 2013.
“Whilst measures such as plastic hawks may provide some interim management for the situation, this will ultimately cease to work and indeed may actually only last for a far shorter length of time than planned.
“It is important that we take the best action possible which has been tried and tested and would give incumbent retailers and new interested big names a reason why they should choose our classic resort town.”
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.
