by Ryan Ponto | May 11, 2017 | Bird Netting
The ubiquitous bird of cities and towns was designed for a different environment. The pigeon’s distinctive style of flight is adapted for maneuverability in tight places – near vertical takeoffs and quick changes of direction. This adaptation to cliff and mountainside environments serves them well among our urban cliff dwellings. Curt Stager and Martha Foley discuss.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | May 10, 2017 | Bird Netting
NORWAY — Pigeons. Dead pigeons. Many dead pigeons and pile upon pile of pigeon poop.
According to the USDA, that much pigeon poop indicates years of pigeon populations.While the years of emptiness of the historic 1910 Odd Fellows Hall has been a thorn in the side of Main Street, a glimpse through the storefront windows yields an even more concerning problem.
According to town records, the building at 380 Main St., and its owner – Jasim LLC of Westbrook – have been cited numerous times by the town code enforcement officers since April 2013 for broken windows – access points for the pigeons.
Cruel
The most recent citation by CEO Scott Tabb in March has resulted in the windows being boarded up, according to Tabb.
However, this adherence to safety has been done at the expense of the pigeons already inside the building.
Consequently, it appears that those live pigeons trapped in the building are dying a slow death.
Town Manager David Holt says he has received complaints and referred them to the CEO.Looking from Main Street into the building numerous pigeon bodies can be seen, as well as live, barely moving birds.
In addition to pigeons, there may be structural issues with the building.
The pigeon droppings can carry the risk of disease if exposed. These include histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis and psittacosis. However, these are risks primarily for anyone cleaning the droppings as opposed to the general public.
The USDA in Augusta says it can clean up and pigeon-proof with the owner’s permission if the town is willing to pay for the service.
Holt indicated he will look into that.
Update
A call from Tabb just before press time heralded positive news for both the town and the pigeons.
“I spoke with the owner of the building, Sam Patel, and he told me coincidentally, he was planning on having someone in over the weekend to clean up the poop,” said Tabb.
Patel, a retailer in southern Maine, purchased the empty, partially renovated three-story brick building in 2012 from TD Bank. It was transferred to Jasmin LLC on Dec. 14, 2012. Since then, no action has been taken to reuse it.
In July 2013, Patel was notified the town would take court action because of broken windows in the building that had become a public hazard. Patel eventually fixed the windows, but some of them were broken again, prompting him to board many of them. It was believed that pigeons trying to escape were breaking the windows.
Tabb said he understands a nearby property manager has a key to the Odd Fellows Hall and he is reaching out to see if the building could be opened so the remaining live pigeons could be rescued.
In 2013 Maine Preservation listed the building as one of Maine’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Places List.
The Odd Fellows Hall in Norway once housed businesses and offices, as well as a ceremonial space for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge No. 16. The basement and first floor were built in 1894 after fire destroyed much of the downtown business district. The other floors were added in 1910. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | May 9, 2017 | Bird Netting
It’s quite a tale.
Actually, it’s quite a tail.
When Bill Robertson went out to his garage on Lewis Drive near Jacksonville last week, he was surprised to find a pigeon wandering around inside. Thinking the bird was simply avoiding the rain, Bill and wife Colleen found it interesting that the bird didn’t appear to be scared in anyway. In fact, it was right down friendly.
“It showed up on Tuesday afternoon,” Bill said. “I was out in the garage and I was working on my tractor, and I see this pigeon walking from the back of the garage. I just opened up the garage door, and it just came walking up towards the front of the door. I thought maybe I’d trapped him in there from the night before.”
Bill said that the bird was in no big hurry to get away, so Bill thought maybe the pigeon was hurt. Getting closer to the open garage door, the pigeon flew off, going about 30 feet and landing on the Robertson’s house roof.
“The next thing I know, he comes flying back down to the driveway and comes walking back into the garage,” Bill said. “Then, that’s when I noticed the bands on his legs.”
The pigeon had two bands, one on each leg. A bluish-gray band that had no writing on it; and a green band that contained some letters and numbers that appeared to identify it.
“He just hung around there for the rest of the day,” Bill said. “We had the garage door open, and he would just walk in and walk out. He wasn’t acting like he was sick or injured, so I didn’t think anymore about it.”
Bill went off to do his mowing, and that’s when Colleen came home. She also spotted the pigeon near the garage.
Later that night, the couple went into the garage, and the pigeon was still there. He had found a small room in the corner of the garage that Bill figured reminded the bird of its coop.
“We finally got the number off of the green band on his leg, and we looked it up on the Internet,” Bill said. “We found out that it was a racing pigeon, and that it was the American Racing Pigeon Union, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
That’s approximately 830 miles from Switzerland County.
But wait – there’s more.
“The band had JEDDS on it, which is apparently a supplier in California of feed and everything for that particular niche,” Colleen said. “So he gave me their number and I contacted them, and they called me back and gave me the owner’s phone number.”
The band also told the couple that the pigeon is four years old, along with other information used in identification.
“We gave them the number of the band, and he got back with us and said that owner was in California,” Bill laughed. “I went ‘whoa’. He lives in Downey, California, which is just west of Los Angeles. So my wife called the gentleman out in California and spoke to him, and he said that he had noticed the bird was missing.”
That’s when Colleen told the owner just where his racing pigeon was currently located.
“He was really nice,” Colleen said of the owner. I explained who I was and I told him that I had one of his birds, and how I got the phone number and stuff. He said, ‘Where are you?’ I said, ‘I’m in Southeastern Indiana, near the Ohio River’.”
Going further, Colleen explained that they lived near Vevay, a small town they were sure the owner hadn’t heard of, but the California resident was still very confused about just where his bird was.
“I said, ‘I’m near Cincinnati, just west of Cincinnati’,” Colleen continued. “And he said, ‘Ohio? Cincinnati, Ohio?’ I said ‘I think you’re bird took a wrong turn some place’.”
Downey, California is 2,154 miles from Switzerland County, if you take the fastest route. If you take a plane, it will take four hours and 40 minutes to fly there.
No one is sure how long it took the pigeon.
Once the owner came to the realization just how far away his bird was, he decided that perhaps his pigeon now had a new home.
“He said, ‘I don’t know what happened there’,” Bill said. “But he said it was too far for him to come and get him. He told us that they make good pets, but if we didn’t want him, the guy asked us to make sure that the bird went to a good home.”
So how does a racing pigeon get from Downey, California to Switzerland County?
Tail wind?
“We had two pretty windy days right prior to that, and that day was pretty windy,” Bill laughed. “I figured that he must have gotten up in the jet stream or something!”
Bill said that the officials in Oklahoma City were skeptical that a pigeon could travel that far; and the Robertsons also contacted a racing pigeon organization in Hamilton, Ohio, who were also skeptical about the distance. Both theorized that the bird had been sold to another pigeon enthusiast closer to Indiana; but the California owner made no mention of ever selling or trading his birds, which is common among pigeon owners.
Both organizations told the Robertsons to keep the pigeon around for a couple of days and feed it some seeds and let it rest for a couple of days, and decided that perhaps the bird was waiting out the extremely rainy conditions (pigeons won’t fly in the rain, because the water weighs down their feathers, making it nearly impossible to fly, so the theory was that it was waiting on nicer weather). They told the couple once the weather was nicer, to open the garage door and see if it would leave on its own. If it didn’t, then the group in Hamilton would take the bird.
By Friday, the pigeon was still hanging around, with no apparent motivation to leave.
“The folks in Hamilton said that when you get these birds, you get them used to their ‘home’, and then you take them a short distance away and they’ll fly home, and then over time you just keep taking them further and further away,” Bill said. “I guess it’s possible that he thinks this is his home now.”
From California to Switzerland County – quite a race.
Quite a tail.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | May 9, 2017 | Bird Netting
It’s quite a tale.
Actually, it’s quite a tail.
When Bill Robertson went out to his garage on Lewis Drive near Jacksonville last week, he was surprised to find a pigeon wandering around inside. Thinking the bird was simply avoiding the rain, Bill and wife Colleen found it interesting that the bird didn’t appear to be scared in anyway. In fact, it was right down friendly.
“It showed up on Tuesday afternoon,” Bill said. “I was out in the garage and I was working on my tractor, and I see this pigeon walking from the back of the garage. I just opened up the garage door, and it just came walking up towards the front of the door. I thought maybe I’d trapped him in there from the night before.”
Bill said that the bird was in no big hurry to get away, so Bill thought maybe the pigeon was hurt. Getting closer to the open garage door, the pigeon flew off, going about 30 feet and landing on the Robertson’s house roof.
“The next thing I know, he comes flying back down to the driveway and comes walking back into the garage,” Bill said. “Then, that’s when I noticed the bands on his legs.”
The pigeon had two bands, one on each leg. A bluish-gray band that had no writing on it; and a green band that contained some letters and numbers that appeared to identify it.
“He just hung around there for the rest of the day,” Bill said. “We had the garage door open, and he would just walk in and walk out. He wasn’t acting like he was sick or injured, so I didn’t think anymore about it.”
Bill went off to do his mowing, and that’s when Colleen came home. She also spotted the pigeon near the garage.
Later that night, the couple went into the garage, and the pigeon was still there. He had found a small room in the corner of the garage that Bill figured reminded the bird of its coop.
“We finally got the number off of the green band on his leg, and we looked it up on the Internet,” Bill said. “We found out that it was a racing pigeon, and that it was the American Racing Pigeon Union, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
That’s approximately 830 miles from Switzerland County.
But wait – there’s more.
“The band had JEDDS on it, which is apparently a supplier in California of feed and everything for that particular niche,” Colleen said. “So he gave me their number and I contacted them, and they called me back and gave me the owner’s phone number.”
The band also told the couple that the pigeon is four years old, along with other information used in identification.
“We gave them the number of the band, and he got back with us and said that owner was in California,” Bill laughed. “I went ‘whoa’. He lives in Downey, California, which is just west of Los Angeles. So my wife called the gentleman out in California and spoke to him, and he said that he had noticed the bird was missing.”
That’s when Colleen told the owner just where his racing pigeon was currently located.
“He was really nice,” Colleen said of the owner. I explained who I was and I told him that I had one of his birds, and how I got the phone number and stuff. He said, ‘Where are you?’ I said, ‘I’m in Southeastern Indiana, near the Ohio River’.”
Going further, Colleen explained that they lived near Vevay, a small town they were sure the owner hadn’t heard of, but the California resident was still very confused about just where his bird was.
“I said, ‘I’m near Cincinnati, just west of Cincinnati’,” Colleen continued. “And he said, ‘Ohio? Cincinnati, Ohio?’ I said ‘I think you’re bird took a wrong turn some place’.”
Downey, California is 2,154 miles from Switzerland County, if you take the fastest route. If you take a plane, it will take four hours and 40 minutes to fly there.
No one is sure how long it took the pigeon.
Once the owner came to the realization just how far away his bird was, he decided that perhaps his pigeon now had a new home.
“He said, ‘I don’t know what happened there’,” Bill said. “But he said it was too far for him to come and get him. He told us that they make good pets, but if we didn’t want him, the guy asked us to make sure that the bird went to a good home.”
So how does a racing pigeon get from Downey, California to Switzerland County?
Tail wind?
“We had two pretty windy days right prior to that, and that day was pretty windy,” Bill laughed. “I figured that he must have gotten up in the jet stream or something!”
Bill said that the officials in Oklahoma City were skeptical that a pigeon could travel that far; and the Robertsons also contacted a racing pigeon organization in Hamilton, Ohio, who were also skeptical about the distance. Both theorized that the bird had been sold to another pigeon enthusiast closer to Indiana; but the California owner made no mention of ever selling or trading his birds, which is common among pigeon owners.
Both organizations told the Robertsons to keep the pigeon around for a couple of days and feed it some seeds and let it rest for a couple of days, and decided that perhaps the bird was waiting out the extremely rainy conditions (pigeons won’t fly in the rain, because the water weighs down their feathers, making it nearly impossible to fly, so the theory was that it was waiting on nicer weather). They told the couple once the weather was nicer, to open the garage door and see if it would leave on its own. If it didn’t, then the group in Hamilton would take the bird.
By Friday, the pigeon was still hanging around, with no apparent motivation to leave.
“The folks in Hamilton said that when you get these birds, you get them used to their ‘home’, and then you take them a short distance away and they’ll fly home, and then over time you just keep taking them further and further away,” Bill said. “I guess it’s possible that he thinks this is his home now.”
From California to Switzerland County – quite a race.
Quite a tail.
by Ryan Ponto | May 8, 2017 | Bird Netting
A photo was tweeted by Michelle Davey, #Vancouver Police Superintendent, last week. It depicted a heap of used hypodermic syringes and three pigeon eggs, nestled in a filthy sink. Davey captioned the image to say this was a symbol of the opioid crisis. While she added the hashtag #notstaged, many people doubt the nest is, in fact, the real deal.
Vancouver Police Sergeant Randy Fincham told CKNW the image had been snapped by a homeless outreach coordinator who used to work for the department. Fincham said the person found the “pigeon’s nest” in a room in an empty single-occupant housing unit. Fincham said the reason for Davey sharing the image was to raise awareness about the problem of drug use in Vancouver.
He also said it was shared to start people talking about the work of first responders in the city and the urgent need for treatment options for substance abusers.
The image is genuine according to Vancouver Police
Fincham told the Huffington Post in an email that the photo is genuine. He added there were pigeons inside the room when police officers arrived in the vacant area and the birds reportedly flew out the window when disturbed.
Wild Bird Fund says the nest is unlikely
The Huffington Post spoke to the director of the Wild Bird Fund, Rita McMahon, who said it could be real, but she doesn’t think it is.
McMahon noted that for one thing, pigeons normally only lay two eggs, whereas the photo depicts three. She also said pigeons do collect unusual objects when creating their nests but she would expect to see other items in there, not just the hypodermic syringes. While the sink is filthy, McMahon said there didn’t appear to be any pigeon droppings in the image, which is unusual.
National Audubon Society believe the nest might be real
However, spokesman for the National Audubon Society thought it might be genuine. The spokesman said they couldn’t be 100 percent sure, but they do resemble pigeon eggs and according to the spokesman, pigeons will pick pretty much anywhere to make their nests. Saying they often use a pile of sticks to make their nest, the spokesperson said it is possible the female pigeon used a bunch of hypodermic syringes instead and that the abandoned sink was the ideal place to make a nest. Reportedly the Audubon Society is investigating to find out if the photo is the real deal, or just a hoax to promote the cause. #opioid crisis #WeirdWorldNews
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | May 8, 2017 | Bird Netting
RSPCA called to rescue a PINK pigeon from a car wash in Lancashire.
Staff at a car wash in Lower Hollin Bank Street, in Blackburn, contacted the animal welfare charity on Wednesday morning (10 May) after spotting the unusual coloured bird.
RSPCA inspector Nina Small, who went to collect the pigeon, said:
“I’ve never seen anything like it in 15 years of this job.
“He was covered in a pink, greasy paint-like substance from head to tail with only his eyes clear. And he was in a car wash of all places – perhaps he was trying to clean himself off!?
“After a wash, his feathers were still stained pink (pictured below). The amount of paint coming off his body was astonishing.
“We can’t be sure whether the bird had been deliberately covered in paint or whether he’d fallen in something.
“If someone has intentionally painted the pigeon’s feathers then I’d be very concerned for other birds and animals in the area. This is a cruel and unnecessary thing to do to an animal and could cause health problems, impair his ability to fly and make him more vulnerable to predators.”
Dye and paints can be toxic to birds and animals, and they would be likely to try to clean any such substance from their coat or feathers which could result in them swallowing it.
“Luckily this pigeon wasn’t injured and we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to clean all of the paint off of his feathers and get him back to good condition so he can be released back into the wild where he belongs. I just hope his feathers haven’t been permanently damaged and that his flight won’t be affected, which could mean he will need to stay in care much longer before being released”.
by Ryan Ponto | May 7, 2017 | Bird Netting
Residents of a Devon town have criticised a supermarket and pest control company after a pair of pigeons died after allegedly being trapped in nets for more than a week.
Ilfracombe resident Lynda Godliman said she was ‘absolutely furious’ about the way in which the animals died at the town’s branch of Tesco on the Old Barnstaple Road.
Lynda shared this picture of the dead pigeons to local Facebook group Gossip Around Ilfracombe, saying: “Two pigeons trapped behind the netting for over a week at Tesco, apparently Rentokil was supposed to be releasing them, bit late now their dead, obviously died because of lack of food and water, shocking.”
Her anger was shared by many other members of the group, who left comments such as:
“Horrible way to die, poor pigeons.”
“No excuse for causing suffering – they might be rats with wings and vermin, but any kind of pest control has to be humane.”
“I’m disgusted with the whole scenario and will be talking to the manager.”
Diana Lewis, founder of the North Devon Animal Ambulance charity, said told DevonLive she had received several complaints about the matter.
She said: “I have spoken to Tesco today and they have assured me that it won’t happen again. I believe the contractor they employ have to come from far away to carry out this work.
“I have told Tesco that if they discover birds that have become trapped, I will always come rapidly and get it sorted.”
Diana said there is netting all over buildings and businesses in North Devon which is designed to birds like seagulls and pigeons nesting.
She said: “Almost all of it has been installed by professionals and is generally effective. It is one of the least offensive methods of control.
“However sometimes it breaks and birds can get in but not out, which often leads to a very slow and miserable death. When it is installed by amateurs it can be very cruel and unpleasant for the birds.”
Diana added: “In fairness to Tesco, I usually have a very quick response from them and all their local stores frequently contact me about lost dogs and cats or injured birds. It is unusual for them not to respond fast on animal welfare issues.”
A Tesco spokesman said: “We have installed netting beneath the store canopy at our Ilfracombe Superstore in the interests of customer health and safety.
“Unfortunately two pigeons became trapped in the netting and we called our contractor to release the birds. We apologise for any distress to customers.”
DevonLive contacted the pest control company but no one was available for comment.
by Ryan Ponto | May 7, 2017 | Bird Netting
RSPCA called to rescue a PINK pigeon from a car wash in Lancashire.
Staff at a car wash in Lower Hollin Bank Street, in Blackburn, contacted the animal welfare charity on Wednesday morning (10 May) after spotting the unusual coloured bird.
RSPCA inspector Nina Small, who went to collect the pigeon, said:
“I’ve never seen anything like it in 15 years of this job.
“He was covered in a pink, greasy paint-like substance from head to tail with only his eyes clear. And he was in a car wash of all places – perhaps he was trying to clean himself off!?
“After a wash, his feathers were still stained pink (pictured below). The amount of paint coming off his body was astonishing.
“We can’t be sure whether the bird had been deliberately covered in paint or whether he’d fallen in something.
“If someone has intentionally painted the pigeon’s feathers then I’d be very concerned for other birds and animals in the area. This is a cruel and unnecessary thing to do to an animal and could cause health problems, impair his ability to fly and make him more vulnerable to predators.”
Dye and paints can be toxic to birds and animals, and they would be likely to try to clean any such substance from their coat or feathers which could result in them swallowing it.
“Luckily this pigeon wasn’t injured and we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to clean all of the paint off of his feathers and get him back to good condition so he can be released back into the wild where he belongs. I just hope his feathers haven’t been permanently damaged and that his flight won’t be affected, which could mean he will need to stay in care much longer before being released”.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | May 6, 2017 | Bird Netting
To start off this article, both scientists and the internet are unsure if this picture is real. However, police are reporting that birds made a nest out of hypodermic needles in Canada.
Michelle Davey, who is a Canadian Vancouver Police Superintendent tweeted the photo that has been making its rounds on the internet.
The picture shows a dirty sink that is filled with, what appears to be, used hypodermic needles. Laying on top of the syringes are three bleach-white eggs. The caption to the tweet reads “Pigeons spotted making a nest out of #needles in a #DTES SRO room. Sad reality of the #opioidcrisis #fentanyl #frontline #notstaged.”
According to Huffington Post, Police Sgt. Randy Fincham stated that the photo “was snapped by the department’s former homeless outreach coordinator while inspecting empty single-room occupancy housing.” Davey shared the photo on social media hoping to gain awareness to the city’s growing drug problem.
Fincham also told Huffington Post that “the image was also shared to start a conversation – a conversation about the harm-reduction efforts of first responders, and the need for treatment options for substance users.”
However, even though the photo is hoping to start a conversation, it seems like some are using it to question if it was all staged. Rita McMahon, director of the Wild Bird Fund wildlife rehabilitation center in New York City told Huffington Post that “Well, it could be [real], but I don’t think it is.”
McMahon went on to state that pigeons typically lay only two eggs. When they are making a nest, the bird would gather a series of items and not just use one.
The National Audubon Society is currently investigating the photo in order to see if it real. Regardless of what bird experts have to say about the image, the Vancouver Police Department still states that it is genuine.
by Ryan Ponto | May 6, 2017 | Bird Netting
Residents of a Devon town have criticised a supermarket and pest control company after a pair of pigeons died after allegedly being trapped in nets for more than a week.
Ilfracombe resident Lynda Godliman said she was ‘absolutely furious’ about the way in which the animals died at the town’s branch of Tesco on the Old Barnstaple Road.
Lynda shared this picture of the dead pigeons to local Facebook group Gossip Around Ilfracombe, saying: “Two pigeons trapped behind the netting for over a week at Tesco, apparently Rentokil was supposed to be releasing them, bit late now their dead, obviously died because of lack of food and water, shocking.”
Her anger was shared by many other members of the group, who left comments such as:
“Horrible way to die, poor pigeons.”
“No excuse for causing suffering – they might be rats with wings and vermin, but any kind of pest control has to be humane.”
“I’m disgusted with the whole scenario and will be talking to the manager.”
The Tesco store in Ilfracombe
Diana Lewis, founder of the North Devon Animal Ambulance charity, said told DevonLive she had received several complaints about the matter.
She said: “I have spoken to Tesco today and they have assured me that it won’t happen again. I believe the contractor they employ have to come from far away to carry out this work.
“I have told Tesco that if they discover birds that have become trapped, I will always come rapidly and get it sorted.”
Diana Lewis of North Devon Animal Ambulance
Diana said there is netting all over buildings and businesses in North Devon which is designed to birds like seagulls and pigeons nesting.
She said: “Almost all of it has been installed by professionals and is generally effective. It is one of the least offensive methods of control.
“However sometimes it breaks and birds can get in but not out, which often leads to a very slow and miserable death. When it is installed by amateurs it can be very cruel and unpleasant for the birds.”
Diana added: “In fairness to Tesco, I usually have a very quick response from them and all their local stores frequently contact me about lost dogs and cats or injured birds. It is unusual for them not to respond fast on animal welfare issues.”
A Tesco spokesman said: “We have installed netting beneath the store canopy at our Ilfracombe Superstore in the interests of customer health and safety.
“Unfortunately two pigeons became trapped in the netting and we called our contractor to release the birds. We apologise for any distress to customers.”
DevonLive contacted the pest control company but no one was available for comment.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | May 5, 2017 | Bird Netting
Luckily, staff at a car wash in Blackburn spotted the pink pigeon and called for help from the RSPCA.
The charity’s Inspector Nina Small who came to the pink pigeon’s rescue admitted the bird was one of strangest things she has ever witnessed.
Inspector Small said: “I’ve never seen anything like it in 15 years of this job.
“He was covered in a pink, greasy paint-like substance from head to tail with only his eyes clear.
“And he was in a car wash of all places. Perhaps he was trying to clean himself off…
“After a wash, his feathers were still stained pink. The amount of paint coming off his body was astonishing.
“We can’t be sure whether the bird had been deliberately covered in paint or whether he’d fallen in something.
“If someone has intentionally painted the pigeon’s feathers then I’d be very concerned for other birds and animals in the area.
“This is a cruel and unnecessary thing to do to an animal and could cause health problems, impair his ability to fly and make him more vulnerable to predators.”
Predators such as feral cars and introduced rats along with loss of forest habitat were the reason that Mauritius pink pigeons all but disappeared from the Indian Ocean island notorious for witnessing the 17th Century extinction of the dodo.
In 1991, there were only 10 pink pigeons left alive but work by the Durrell Conservation Trust nurtured the critically endangered species so that around 500 now exist.
For Blackburn’s pink pigeon, a recovery programme is also underway to nurse him back to flying fitness.
Inspector Small added: “Luckily this pigeon wasn’t injured and we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to clean all of the paint off of his feathers and get him back to good condition so he can be released back into the wild where he belongs.
“I just hope his feathers haven’t been permanently damaged and that his flight won’t be affected, which could mean he will need to stay in care much longer before being released.”
by Ryan Ponto | May 5, 2017 | Bird Netting
Logan Dean gently cradled a pigeon named Pablo in his hands.
He stood inside the backyard loft where Logan and his dad, Scott, feed, water and care for dozens of racing homers — pigeons bred and trained to use their instinctive ability to fly long distances and find their way back home.
Scott guided a half dozen of the birds to a platform aside the loft, while a few pigeons fluttered their wings and moved from one perch to another. May sunshine beamed through screened windows, lighting the shelter.
“It’s so addicting,” Scott said of the hobby. “The birds are so calming and peaceful. Sometimes we’ll even bring lawn chairs out here and just sit and talk and watch the birds.”
And occasionally Pablo, 15-year-old Logan’s favorite, sits on the teenager’s shoulder in the Deans’ living room, watching TV with the family.
Logan and Scott are among 20 members of the Crossroads Racing Pigeon Club, which has roots dating to the 1950s. The homing ability of pigeons can be traced back 5,000 years, according to the American Racing Pigeon Union. The father-son Dean duo just got started last year, and Logan’s glad they did.
“I love being able to do this with my dad and come out here and be able to do this with the birds,” Logan said. “They just fascinate me.”
The Crossroads ranges from firefighters, such as Scott, to a retired delivery driver, doctor, restaurant manager, teachers and other vocations. Some care for 30 pigeons, while others maintain as many as 500.
The members’ ages run from 94 to 15, said Ron Deisher, club president. They come from as far north as Montezuma to Bruceville in southern Indiana, from eastern Illinois to the outskirts of Indianapolis.
They raise and train racing homers to fly back to the birds’ home lofts, where they know to find food, safety, shelter and daily attention. It’s a gradual process. Scott and Logan keep a couple dozen breeding pigeons, and their eggs hatch in about 18 days. When the racing homers hit five weeks old, they’ll start flying. Those flights begin with a simple release at the home loft, letting them fly and return. Soon, the Deans drive the birds to a spot 10 miles away, and release them to fly back home. Eventually, the pigeons can find their way home from distances of hundreds of miles, often from release points designated along Interstate 70, Scott explained.
Some perils exist. Hawks and falcons prey on racing homers occasionally, Deisher said. Also, hunters sometimes mistake pigeons for doves and shoot them. Some are killed by hitting utility power lines. The vast majority, Deisher emphasized, safely reach their destination, motivated by the desire for the food, water and comfort of their home lofts.
A natural GPS, of sorts, enables homing pigeons to navigate even confusing territory and return home, according to a report in ZME Science this spring. The story cited two curious findings. First, the U.S. Geological Survey concluded that pigeons use low-frequency waves emitted by the earth to map their path. Second, the creatures also may be able to relay knowledge among each other, Oxford University scientists said, an ability previously thought to be limited to humans and primates.
Return is ‘exciting part’
Pigeons in the Crossroads club are putting that uncanny knack to use right now. The group’s spring racing season, for older pigeons (those born before this year), is under way and continues into June. Its fall season runs from August to October and features the young racers, all born in 2017. Members drive their pigeons to a race starting point on a Friday evening, leave them with organizers overnight and drive home. Officials release the birds at sunrise and alert the competing members by email.
Each member awaits the birds’ arrivals to their home lofts, where an electronic timer records the pigeons’ identities and flight time and speed. (Some fly longer or shorter distances, depending on the owner’s home location.) Those times and speeds are relayed to the organizers, who calculate the order of finish and prize money, and all of the club’s $100-per-bird race entry fees go toward those prizes, said Walt Williams, a longtime member.
Racing homers’ flight speed averages about 45 mph, so a club member may wait more than two hours for a pigeon to return from a 100-mile race.
“That’s the exciting part,” Scott Dean said, grinning.
Pigeons fly home from incredible distances, said Deisher, a 58-year-old former college instructor and insurance businessman from Darwin, Illinois, who now raises and sells the birds for a living. He’s released his own racing homers at Kansas City, Missouri, and added, “You can’t drive on the interstate and beat ‘em home.”
“These birds are athletes,” Deisher said, “and you treat them just like that.”
Along with food and water, racing homers typically get vitamins, minerals and any needed medications, Scott Dean said. Tending to them requires time. As a firefighter who often works 24-hour shifts, Scott is grateful to have his son’s active partnership. “He does as much with them as I do,” Scott said.
Youth involvement crucial
The involvement of young people in the sport matters to both the Crossroads club and the national organization. The American Racing Pigeon Union hired Karen Clifton, whose background was in marketing, to target growth in youth participation, she said by telephone from the group’s base in Oklahoma City. Its overall membership grew from 7,100 in 1999 to just under 10,000 this year, but junior membership has tripled.
That increase “is a good thing, because you want to get young people involved to perpetuate it,” Clifton said.
Williams began the hobby as an 8-year-old. Ed Chambers, a teacher in his hometown of Hymera, started a club in 1958 for kids to raise and show pigeons at county fairs. By the early 1960s, that group — the Sycamore Haven 4-H Pigeon Club — included adults and continued until 1996. The following year, the West Central Indiana Racing Pigeon Club formed, evolving in 2006 into the Crossroads club, which keeps a “working man’s” affordability, Williams said, by spreading prize money to several places in the finish order.
Williams’ interest hasn’t wavered since boyhood. Now 68, he lives south of Fairbanks in rural Sullivan County.
“I just enjoy it,” Williams said. “The birds are relaxing and a lot of fun. And, there’s a sense of accomplishment when a bird that you raised comes back in at the end of a 300-mile race.”
Americans’ fascination with homing pigeons rose after their heralded exploits in World War I and World War II. Allied forces used the birds to deliver vital messages in dangerous zones where radio communications were either disabled or too risky, according to American Racing Pigeon Union archives. They crossed seas and endured harsh weather, yet “provided the balance between victory and defeat” in some situations.
“They delivered,” Clifton said.
Today, local and regional clubs do presentations to church, scouting, farm and service to help spread the racing and homing pigeons’ popularity, Clifton said. While most pigeon fanciers live in California and Texas, the Midwest makes up nearly half of the national organization’s membership.
Here in western Indiana, Scott Dean is happy with the niche he and Logan found in the sport. “A lot of people don’t realize how much fun these birds are,” Scott said inside his loft, surrounded by cooing pigeons. “I’ve had a lot of hobbies over the years, and this one, by far, I enjoy the most.”
Williams discovered that joy long ago. While he likes the racing, sometimes he’s happy to just observe the birds.
“I like to sit on the porch,” he said, “and watch.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | May 4, 2017 | Bird Netting
Logan Dean gently cradled a pigeon named Pablo in his hands.
He stood inside the backyard loft where Logan and his dad, Scott, feed, water and care for dozens of racing homers — pigeons bred and trained to use their instinctive ability to fly long distances and find their way back home.
Scott guided a half dozen of the birds to a platform aside the loft, while a few pigeons fluttered their wings and moved from one perch to another. May sunshine beamed through screened windows, lighting the shelter.
“It’s so addicting,” Scott said of the hobby. “The birds are so calming and peaceful. Sometimes we’ll even bring lawn chairs out here and just sit and talk and watch the birds.”
And occasionally Pablo, 15-year-old Logan’s favorite, sits on the teenager’s shoulder in the Deans’ living room, watching TV with the family.
Logan and Scott are among 20 members of the Crossroads Racing Pigeon Club, which has roots dating to the 1950s. The homing ability of pigeons can be traced back 5,000 years, according to the American Racing Pigeon Union. The father-son Dean duo just got started last year, and Logan’s glad they did.
“I love being able to do this with my dad and come out here and be able to do this with the birds,” Logan said. “They just fascinate me.”
The Crossroads ranges from firefighters, such as Scott, to a retired delivery driver, doctor, restaurant manager, teachers and other vocations. Some care for 30 pigeons, while others maintain as many as 500.
The members’ ages run from 94 to 15, said Ron Deisher, club president. They come from as far north as Montezuma to Bruceville in southern Indiana, from eastern Illinois to the outskirts of Indianapolis.
They raise and train racing homers to fly back to the birds’ home lofts, where they know to find food, safety, shelter and daily attention. It’s a gradual process. Scott and Logan keep a couple dozen breeding pigeons, and their eggs hatch in about 18 days. When the racing homers hit five weeks old, they’ll start flying. Those flights begin with a simple release at the home loft, letting them fly and return. Soon, the Deans drive the birds to a spot 10 miles away, and release them to fly back home. Eventually, the pigeons can find their way home from distances of hundreds of miles, often from release points designated along Interstate 70, Scott explained.
Some perils exist. Hawks and falcons prey on racing homers occasionally, Deisher said. Also, hunters sometimes mistake pigeons for doves and shoot them. Some are killed by hitting utility power lines. The vast majority, Deisher emphasized, safely reach their destination, motivated by the desire for the food, water and comfort of their home lofts.
A natural GPS, of sorts, enables homing pigeons to navigate even confusing territory and return home, according to a report in ZME Science this spring. The story cited two curious findings. First, the U.S. Geological Survey concluded that pigeons use low-frequency waves emitted by the earth to map their path. Second, the creatures also may be able to relay knowledge among each other, Oxford University scientists said, an ability previously thought to be limited to humans and primates.
Return is ‘exciting part’
Pigeons in the Crossroads club are putting that uncanny knack to use right now. The group’s spring racing season, for older pigeons (those born before this year), is under way and continues into June. Its fall season runs from August to October and features the young racers, all born in 2017. Members drive their pigeons to a race starting point on a Friday evening, leave them with organizers overnight and drive home. Officials release the birds at sunrise and alert the competing members by email.
Each member awaits the birds’ arrivals to their home lofts, where an electronic timer records the pigeons’ identities and flight time and speed. (Some fly longer or shorter distances, depending on the owner’s home location.) Those times and speeds are relayed to the organizers, who calculate the order of finish and prize money, and all of the club’s $100-per-bird race entry fees go toward those prizes, said Walt Williams, a longtime member.
Racing homers’ flight speed averages about 45 mph, so a club member may wait more than two hours for a pigeon to return from a 100-mile race.
“That’s the exciting part,” Scott Dean said, grinning.
Pigeons fly home from incredible distances, said Deisher, a 58-year-old former college instructor and insurance businessman from Darwin, Illinois, who now raises and sells the birds for a living. He’s released his own racing homers at Kansas City, Missouri, and added, “You can’t drive on the interstate and beat ‘em home.”
“These birds are athletes,” Deisher said, “and you treat them just like that.”
Along with food and water, racing homers typically get vitamins, minerals and any needed medications, Scott Dean said. Tending to them requires time. As a firefighter who often works 24-hour shifts, Scott is grateful to have his son’s active partnership. “He does as much with them as I do,” Scott said.
Youth involvement crucial
The involvement of young people in the sport matters to both the Crossroads club and the national organization. The American Racing Pigeon Union hired Karen Clifton, whose background was in marketing, to target growth in youth participation, she said by telephone from the group’s base in Oklahoma City. Its overall membership grew from 7,100 in 1999 to just under 10,000 this year, but junior membership has tripled.
That increase “is a good thing, because you want to get young people involved to perpetuate it,” Clifton said.
Williams began the hobby as an 8-year-old. Ed Chambers, a teacher in his hometown of Hymera, started a club in 1958 for kids to raise and show pigeons at county fairs. By the early 1960s, that group — the Sycamore Haven 4-H Pigeon Club — included adults and continued until 1996. The following year, the West Central Indiana Racing Pigeon Club formed, evolving in 2006 into the Crossroads club, which keeps a “working man’s” affordability, Williams said, by spreading prize money to several places in the finish order.
Williams’ interest hasn’t wavered since boyhood. Now 68, he lives south of Fairbanks in rural Sullivan County.
“I just enjoy it,” Williams said. “The birds are relaxing and a lot of fun. And, there’s a sense of accomplishment when a bird that you raised comes back in at the end of a 300-mile race.”
Americans’ fascination with homing pigeons rose after their heralded exploits in World War I and World War II. Allied forces used the birds to deliver vital messages in dangerous zones where radio communications were either disabled or too risky, according to American Racing Pigeon Union archives. They crossed seas and endured harsh weather, yet “provided the balance between victory and defeat” in some situations.
“They delivered,” Clifton said.
Today, local and regional clubs do presentations to church, scouting, farm and service to help spread the racing and homing pigeons’ popularity, Clifton said. While most pigeon fanciers live in California and Texas, the Midwest makes up nearly half of the national organization’s membership.
Here in western Indiana, Scott Dean is happy with the niche he and Logan found in the sport. “A lot of people don’t realize how much fun these birds are,” Scott said inside his loft, surrounded by cooing pigeons. “I’ve had a lot of hobbies over the years, and this one, by far, I enjoy the most.”
Williams discovered that joy long ago. While he likes the racing, sometimes he’s happy to just observe the birds.
“I like to sit on the porch,” he said, “and watch.”
by Ryan Ponto | May 4, 2017 | Bird Netting
PITTSBURG, Kan. — If the neighbors happened to hear Bob Mangile in his front yard earlier this spring hooting at a towering pecan tree, they didn’t let on that they thought it was odd.
“Hoo-hoo hoooooo hoo-hoo,” he called, hands cupped around his mouth to amplify the sound.
He was tenaciously trying to get a great horned owl to reveal more of itself than just its iconic ear tufts, which could be seen — but just barely — in the crotch of the tree.
On this day, his efforts were fruitless.
No matter. Inside, in his many photo files, he has evidence for anyone interested that there was yet another owl species nesting and rearing young just feet from the Pittsburg bungalow he shares on three acres with his wife, Liz.
Giving up on the owl, Mangile moved from the front yard to the back to say hello to more wildlife; first chickens, then a squirrel he feeds by hand, then a few hundred pigeons and lastly, a wren renting a coffee can in his workshop. Soon, when the weather is warm enough, he’ll add bullfrogs, salamanders and turtles to the list.
Forty years ago, none of it was here.
“It was a naked, bare horse pasture when we moved here,” Mangile said.
Today, it’s a wildlife sanctuary, certified by the state and filled with plant and animal life. But the couple are not done yet.
“It takes 40 years to grow a forest, but it takes much longer for those trees to die off and allow woodpeckers, squirrels and so on to nest in hollowed out trunks and stumps,” Mangile said. “Folks do not realize that a view of a lot of green trees is not a complete forest.”
Wild child
Mangile grew up in Chicago, an unlikely place to develop an affinity for nature. It was a childhood friend there who unwittingly introduced him to caring for pigeons.
“He got a BB gun for Christmas, and he wanted to show me how good he was with it,” Mangile said. “He shot a feral pigeon off of a bungalow, and it tumbled to the ground and we caught it.”
With an injured wing, it couldn’t fly. But it laid an egg that night.
Lacking any other nesting material, the two friends cut a hole in most of the pages of an old book and made a bowl-like structure and put the egg in it. They watched and waited.
“It never hatched, of course, but that was how my love affair with taking care of pigeons started,” Mangile said.
About the same time, Liz was growing up in Southeast Kansas, becoming an angler at a young age. She learned to seine and fish on the Neosho River, where her dad would awaken her during the night to run lines. She has fond memories of those days.
Today, she doesn’t mind that Bob has around 300 pigeons in backyard coops. He’s a self-taught expert on pigeon genetics and earlier this spring sent samples of the “blood feathers” of several of his pigeons to the University of Utah. There, as part of a DNA sequencing project, they are being tested for the relationship of two unique genes as they relate to blindness or vision impairment.
Nor does she mind that he actively encourages broad-headed skinks by creating habitat — dead trees, stumps and rock piles — in their yard. By doing so, he’s developed a breeding population of the skinks, which are on the threatened species list in Kansas.
Birds of a feather
Both founders of the Sperry-Galligar Audubon Chapter some 20 years ago and still active members, the couple enjoy feathered wildlife best of all.
They’ve built countless bird houses for others, are fixtures at the chapter’s annual birdseed sale to raise funds for projects, help to coordinate the annual Christmas bird count, and for years, Bob has kept tedious records of the fledging success of fellow bluebirders who keep nesting boxes.
He was elated when owls began nesting here. First, it was screech owls who chose a box on a tree in the back pasture. The owls would often visit the squirrel boxes he installed by the back door, popping up at dusk and sitting in the openings for awhile, sometimes calling into the night.
Then, barred owls took up residence. Not to be confused with barn owls, they’re the ones that call “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?” They fledged babies in the backyard as well, then moved to the huge pecan tree out front.
Again last year, in the pecan tree, the barred owls nested. There were no babies — at least none that Mangile could see — and he speculated that a great horned owl made lunch of them.
This year, it was a great horned owl that nested there in the pecan tree. Mangile isn’t sure it was successful, as it disappeared about the time he expected a hatching.
Hands on
Mangile paused for a moment on his jaunt around the acreage to call to a squirrel and feed it by hand. It’s a common occurrence, he said — it knows his voice. Moments later, a chicken approached and allowed him to pick it up. And when he reached inside one of his many coops, pigeons allowed him to handle them.
“A few years ago, a barred owl baby fell from the tree, and I picked it up and put it back in a different tree on our west fence line,” Mangile recalled.
It stayed for a few days before hopping south from tree to tree, then taking flight.
“I’ve had bullfrogs tame enough to touch at my pond out back,” he said. “And Boxie the Box Turtle — it would come up for food and allow me to handle it without any fear. Type in ‘Boxie the turtle eating’ in YouTube, and you can see some video.”
Mangile, who retired years ago from McNally Manufacturing, said he’s been interested in nature and had an affinity for wildlife for as long as he can remember.
“People ask how long, and I just say, ‘I guess I was born this way’,” he 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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | May 3, 2017 | Bird Netting
A picture of a pigeons’ nest made entirely from used syringes has been shared by police in the Canadian city of Vancouver to highlight its drug crisis but experts have questioned its authenticity.
Shared on social media by Superintendent Michelle Davey, she said it had been found in a single room occupancy in the Downtown Eastside area of the city, The Independent reported.
She described the image as reflecting the “sad reality of the opioid crisis” in the city.
She also added “#notstaged”—a claim disputed by some social media users who have said it is a hoax.
Luc-Alain Giraldeau, a scientist at l’Universite du Quebec a Montreal, told the National Post newspaper that he was certain the image did not show a real pigeons’ nest.
He said it contained too many eggs as pigeons usually only lay two at a time. He added that it lacks the thick coat of pigeon feces that the birds typically use to keep their eggs warm. Pigeon nests are “always constructed on a flat surface”, he said.
He declared: “This cannot be a pigeon nest.”
Marion Chatelain, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Warsaw specializing in the urbanization of wildlife, agreed.
“To the best of my knowledge, feral pigeons do not use human wastes to build their nest,” she wrote in an email to the National Post, adding that it is very peculiar to see more than two eggs in a nest.
Nathaniel Wheelwright, a veteran bird biologist at Maine’s Bowdoin College, told the newspaper, “My first reaction was that it looks faked.”
However he added: “But then pigeons do build flimsy platform nests of thick twigs and house wrens sometimes nest in bags of nails. So, it could be.”
Regardless of the authenticity of the image, it has served to draw international attention to the city’s problem with prescription opioid abuse.
by Ryan Ponto | May 3, 2017 | Bird Netting
Luckily, staff at a car wash in Blackburn spotted the pink pigeon and called for help from the RSPCA.
The charity’s Inspector Nina Small who came to the pink pigeon’s rescue admitted the bird was one of strangest things she has ever witnessed.
Inspector Small said: “I’ve never seen anything like it in 15 years of this job.
I’ve never seen anything like it in 15 years of this job
Inspector Nina Small
“He was covered in a pink, greasy paint-like substance from head to tail with only his eyes clear.
“And he was in a car wash of all places. Perhaps he was trying to clean himself off…
“After a wash, his feathers were still stained pink. The amount of paint coming off his body was astonishing.
“We can’t be sure whether the bird had been deliberately covered in paint or whether he’d fallen in something.
Staff at a car wash in Blackburn spotted the pink pigeon and called for help from the RSPCA
“If someone has intentionally painted the pigeon’s feathers then I’d be very concerned for other birds and animals in the area.
“This is a cruel and unnecessary thing to do to an animal and could cause health problems, impair his ability to fly and make him more vulnerable to predators.”
Predators such as feral cars and introduced rats along with loss of forest habitat were the reason that Mauritius pink pigeons all but disappeared from the Indian Ocean island notorious for witnessing the 17th Century extinction of the dodo.
In 1991, there were only 10 pink pigeons left alive but work by the Durrell Conservation Trust nurtured the critically endangered species so that around 500 now exist.
For Blackburn’s pink pigeon, a recovery programme is also underway to nurse him back to flying fitness.
Inspector Small added: “Luckily this pigeon wasn’t injured and we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to clean all of the paint off of his feathers and get him back to good condition so he can be released back into the wild where he belongs.
“I just hope his feathers haven’t been permanently damaged and that his flight won’t be affected, which could mean he will need to stay in care much longer before being released.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | May 2, 2017 | Bird Netting
A picture of a pigeons’ nest made entirely from used syringes has been shared by police in the Canadian city of Vancouver to highlight its drug crisis.
Shared on social media by Superintendent Michelle Davey, she said it had been found in a single room occupancy in the Downtown Eastside area of the city.
She described the image as reflecting the “sad reality of the opioid crisis” in the city, alongside the hashtags “#fentanyl #frontline”.
She also added “#notstaged” – a claim disputed by some social media users who have said it is a hoax.
Luc-Alain Giraldeau, a scientist at l’Univérsité du Québec à Montréal, told the National Post newspaper that he was certain the image did not show a real pigeons’ nest.
He said it contained too many eggs as pigeons usually only lay two at a time. He added that it lacks the thick coat of pigeon feces that the birds typically use to keep their eggs warm. Pigeon nests are “always constructed on a flat surface,” he said.
He added: “This cannot be a pigeon nest.”
Marion Chatelain, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Warsaw specialising in the urbanisation of wildlife, agreed.
“To the best of my knowledge, feral pigeons do not use human wastes to build their nest,” she wrote in an email to the National Post — adding that it is very peculiar to see more than two eggs in a nest.
Nathaniel Wheelwright, a veteran bird biologist at Maine’s Bowdoin College, told the newspaper: “My first reaction was that it looks faked.”
However he added: “But then pigeons do build flimsy platform nests of thick twigs, and house wrens sometimes nest in bags of nails. So, it could be.”
Regardless of the authenticity of the image, it has served to draw international attention to the city’s problem with prescription opiod abuse.
In December nine people died from fentanyl overdoses across the city in one 24 hour period.
Asked for comment by The Independent, Vancouver Police spokesperson Randy Fincham said: “The photo is authentic, as it was taken by a VPD officer. There are lots of possibilities leading to the creation of the nest, before the police arrived, but I’m not an ornithologist. The pigeons flew out the window when officers entered the vacant room.”
He added: “The plethora of bird experts who have now “chirped” in on the topic are more than welcome to do so.”
In a separate interview with VICE News, he said the point of tweeting the image was to “share the prevalence of drug use down there, some of the challenges people who live in the area face, and the problems police face. And to provide insight into a world that very few people need to see and it’s a sad reflection of what’s happening in the community down there.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | May 2, 2017 | Bird Netting
PITTSBURG, Kan. — If the neighbors happened to hear Bob Mangile in his front yard earlier this spring hooting at a towering pecan tree, they didn’t let on that they thought it was odd.
“Hoo-hoo hoooooo hoo-hoo,” he called, hands cupped around his mouth to amplify the sound.
He was tenaciously trying to get a great horned owl to reveal more of itself than just its iconic ear tufts, which could be seen — but just barely — in the crotch of the tree.
On this day, his efforts were fruitless.
No matter. Inside, in his many photo files, he has evidence for anyone interested that there was yet another owl species nesting and rearing young just feet from the Pittsburg bungalow he shares on three acres with his wife, Liz.
Giving up on the owl, Mangile moved from the front yard to the back to say hello to more wildlife; first chickens, then a squirrel he feeds by hand, then a few hundred pigeons and lastly, a wren renting a coffee can in his workshop. Soon, when the weather is warm enough, he’ll add bullfrogs, salamanders and turtles to the list.
Forty years ago, none of it was here.
“It was a naked, bare horse pasture when we moved here,” Mangile said.
Today, it’s a wildlife sanctuary, certified by the state and filled with plant and animal life. But the couple are not done yet.
“It takes 40 years to grow a forest, but it takes much longer for those trees to die off and allow woodpeckers, squirrels and so on to nest in hollowed out trunks and stumps,” Mangile said. “Folks do not realize that a view of a lot of green trees is not a complete forest.”
Wild child
Mangile grew up in Chicago, an unlikely place to develop an affinity for nature. It was a childhood friend there who unwittingly introduced him to caring for pigeons.
“He got a BB gun for Christmas, and he wanted to show me how good he was with it,” Mangile said. “He shot a feral pigeon off of a bungalow, and it tumbled to the ground and we caught it.”
With an injured wing, it couldn’t fly. But it laid an egg that night.
Lacking any other nesting material, the two friends cut a hole in most of the pages of an old book and made a bowl-like structure and put the egg in it. They watched and waited.
“It never hatched, of course, but that was how my love affair with taking care of pigeons started,” Mangile said.
About the same time, Liz was growing up in Southeast Kansas, becoming an angler at a young age. She learned to seine and fish on the Neosho River, where her dad would awaken her during the night to run lines. She has fond memories of those days.
Today, she doesn’t mind that Bob has around 300 pigeons in backyard coops. He’s a self-taught expert on pigeon genetics and earlier this spring sent samples of the “blood feathers” of several of his pigeons to the University of Utah. There, as part of a DNA sequencing project, they are being tested for the relationship of two unique genes as they relate to blindness or vision impairment.
Nor does she mind that he actively encourages broad-headed skinks by creating habitat — dead trees, stumps and rock piles — in their yard. By doing so, he’s developed a breeding population of the skinks, which are on the threatened species list in Kansas.
Birds of a feather
Both founders of the Sperry-Galligar Audubon Chapter some 20 years ago and still active members, the couple enjoy feathered wildlife best of all.
They’ve built countless bird houses for others, are fixtures at the chapter’s annual birdseed sale to raise funds for projects, help to coordinate the annual Christmas bird count, and for years, Bob has kept tedious records of the fledging success of fellow bluebirders who keep nesting boxes.
He was elated when owls began nesting here. First, it was screech owls who chose a box on a tree in the back pasture. The owls would often visit the squirrel boxes he installed by the back door, popping up at dusk and sitting in the openings for awhile, sometimes calling into the night.
Then, barred owls took up residence. Not to be confused with barn owls, they’re the ones that call “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?” They fledged babies in the backyard as well, then moved to the huge pecan tree out front.
Again last year, in the pecan tree, the barred owls nested. There were no babies — at least none that Mangile could see — and he speculated that a great horned owl made lunch of them.
This year, it was a great horned owl that nested there in the pecan tree. Mangile isn’t sure it was successful, as it disappeared about the time he expected a hatching.
Hands on
Mangile paused for a moment on his jaunt around the acreage to call to a squirrel and feed it by hand. It’s a common occurrence, he said — it knows his voice. Moments later, a chicken approached and allowed him to pick it up. And when he reached inside one of his many coops, pigeons allowed him to handle them.
“A few years ago, a barred owl baby fell from the tree, and I picked it up and put it back in a different tree on our west fence line,” Mangile recalled.
It stayed for a few days before hopping south from tree to tree, then taking flight.
“I’ve had bullfrogs tame enough to touch at my pond out back,” he said. “And Boxie the Box Turtle — it would come up for food and allow me to handle it without any fear. Type in ‘Boxie the turtle eating’ in YouTube, and you can see some video.”
Mangile, who retired years ago from McNally Manufacturing, said he’s been interested in nature and had an affinity for wildlife for as long as he can remember.
“People ask how long, and I just say, ‘I guess I was born this way’,” he said.
by Ryan Ponto | May 1, 2017 | Bird Netting
With a hungry nation at war against Germany in spring 1917, the Arkansas Gazette encouraged gardening. And people gardened.
But not simply because one Little Rock newspaper said to. Many entities and agencies heard the call from Assistant U.S. Agriculture Secretary Carl Vrooman for more planting of food crops.
His “war gardens” didn’t acquire the nickname remembered today — victory gardens — until World War II, but the concept was full blown in 1917. Families should grow their own so the commercial food supply could be diverted to troops and starving allies.
Among patriotic efforts, the Cotton Belt, Iron Mountain and Rock Island railroads offered unused land along their rights-ofway to gardeners, free of charge. Iron Mountain even had its own agriculturist, one Clyde O. Carpenter, son of Perrian P. Carpenter of Little Rock. “C.O.” only rarely appeared in print as “Clyde O.,” which suggests he had a friend inside the press.
On March 23, 1917, the Gazette added a gardening advice column written by Carpenter, who also was — inhale — “agricultural commissioner of the Arkansas Profitable Farming Bureau of the Little Rock Board of Commerce.” Fred Heiskell, managing editor of the Gazette, also belonged to the profitable bureau, and the newspaper covered its doings like white on rice. Carpenter’s first advice?
Home gardeners should not be discouraged because of the recent rainy and unfavorable weather. There still is time to plant and raise all the vegetables that have been mentioned in the bulletins issued by the Board of Commerce except early peas. However, there are some late varieties of peas that may be planted. “Iron Mountain” was the nickname of the debt-ridden St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, which in May 1917 completed its merger with the no-longer bankrupt Missouri Pacific Railroad. Also in May, Carpenter left to lead the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce. He had been Iron Mountain’s farm man for six years.
Announcing his loss to Little Rock on May 13, the Gazette published an interview with a photograph. Readers saw a clean-shaven, fair-haired 30-yearold with an altar-boy sort of face and round wire glasses.
Just a year later, Carpenter left the Chamber to manage a big
cotton and ranching concern owned by Mann Land & Investment Co. on the Red River. And it wasn’t long after that he landed another new job, as farm agent for the Bank of Jonesboro.
The Gazette continued to find in him a highly quotable source on Profitable Farming Bureau affairs through early 1920, when he was hired away from Jonesboro by the Fourth National Bank of Macon, Ga.
Two other bureau stalwarts soon cut a pigeon wing (left rapidly) for that bank, and for a while afterward the Gazette took a keen interest in the wondrous advances in farm practice being made in Macon.
Besides earnest gardening advice, humor cropped up here and there, such as this from April 15, 1917:
Fervid Request for “Dope” on Home Gardens
Grown desperate by facing the rising cost of “sowbelly” et al., T.H. Hale, 3516 West Tenth street, Little Rock, Ark., sent the following appeal to the Profitable Farming Bureau of the Board of Commerce for instructions on raising a home garden.
“Enclosed find stamp, for which please send to my address … the bulletin on ‘The Home Garden in the South.’
“Sowbelly at 40 cents per, chops (mostly bones) at 25 cents and all necessaries competing with the zeppelins in soaring ability, is sufficient inducement for one to try to raise something, even though it be nothing but hell, for that is about as good a term as I can think of when I break my back trying to reach the bottom of a bed of slate through the medium of a pick in an effort to persuade a radish to look at the rising sun — to say nothing about the neighbors’ chickens adding to the torments in successful efforts to resurrect the
radish, thereby adding fuel to the already hot flames.”
Here’s a different horticultural hell, from April 18:
Pigeons Ruin Gardens
Fred Parrett, 2318 West Seventh street, who is growing, or attempting to grow, a home garden, complained to the police yesterday that his chickenwire fence was ineffective for pigeons, which fly into his garden all day long to feast on the seed he plants.
That was followed by this, May 9:
May Shoot at Pigeons that Harm Gardens
Special to the Gazette. Pine Bluff, May 8. — Following the passage of an ordinance which makes it illegal for owners of chickens to let fowls run at large in the the city, the City Council has announced that home gardeners will be permitted to use their shotguns in defense of their gardens against pigeons, which are said to be doing considerable damage.
We must not imagine that pigeons were universally reviled.
Advertisements convey the going rate for Purina pigeon feed was $4.75 for 100 pounds; and small businesses had pigeons for sale in the classifieds. Gummer Squab Plant at 1217 College St. in Little Rock had “homer pigeons, $1.50 per pair; Carneaux pigeons, $3 per pair, also squabs.”
On June 4, rail agent W.G. Hopkins played a key role in a St. Louis pigeon race by releasing a shipment of 36 pigeons promptly at 11 a.m. at Beebe.
And this item landed in the Oct. 14 Gazette:
Pigeon in Long Flight
Members of the various Concourse Associations here — men devoted to the breeding and flying of homing pigeons — are much interested in the recent long distance flight undertaken by a dozen of the best birds belonging to members of the Pittsburgh association. The birds were taken to Denver, Colo., and there released for a flight to the home lofts, a distance of approximately 1,500 miles.
Fritz, a pigeon which has made a number of long distance flights for his owner, Dr. O.J. Bennett, won the race by making the trip in 11 days and five hours, after making a long detour to the north to escape the torrid heat across the Mississippi valley, as did all the birds, shortly after their release at Denver. The flight is supposed to be a record for the route, though the 1,500 miles has been covered by old birds in fewer hours, when flying from the South to the North on clear days in midsummer.
Only seven birds arrived, the last after 21 days and three hours.
“Pigeon handlers” were among the skilled recruits sought for the Army when Maj. Walton D. Hood, commander of the 312th Signal Battalion at Little Rock, announced in December 1917 that he had 200 openings.
So there were pigeon fanciers and pigeon haters, and both may have cited the war to back up their opinions. Might have … but I haven’t found evidence in the archives that anyone did.
by Ryan Ponto | May 1, 2017 | Bird Netting
With a hungry nation at war against Germany in spring 1917, the Arkansas Gazette encouraged gardening. And people gardened.
But not simply because one Little Rock newspaper said to. Many entities and agencies heard the call from Assistant U.S. Agriculture Secretary Carl Vrooman for more planting of food crops.
His “war gardens” didn’t acquire the nickname remembered today — victory gardens — until World War II, but the concept was full blown in 1917. Families should grow their own so the commercial food supply could be diverted to troops and starving allies.
Among patriotic efforts, the Cotton Belt, Iron Mountain and Rock Island railroads offered unused land along their rights-ofway to gardeners, free of charge. Iron Mountain even had its own agriculturist, one Clyde O. Carpenter, son of Perrian P. Carpenter of Little Rock. “C.O.” only rarely appeared in print as “Clyde O.,” which suggests he had a friend inside the press.
On March 23, 1917, the Gazette added a gardening advice column written by Carpenter, who also was — inhale — “agricultural commissioner of the Arkansas Profitable Farming Bureau of the Little Rock Board of Commerce.” Fred Heiskell, managing editor of the Gazette, also belonged to the profitable bureau, and the newspaper covered its doings like white on rice. Carpenter’s first advice?
Home gardeners should not be discouraged because of the recent rainy and unfavorable weather. There still is time to plant and raise all the vegetables that have been mentioned in the bulletins issued by the Board of Commerce except early peas. However, there are some late varieties of peas that may be planted. “Iron Mountain” was the nickname of the debt-ridden St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, which in May 1917 completed its merger with the no-longer bankrupt Missouri Pacific Railroad. Also in May, Carpenter left to lead the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce. He had been Iron Mountain’s farm man for six years.
Announcing his loss to Little Rock on May 13, the Gazette published an interview with a photograph. Readers saw a clean-shaven, fair-haired 30-yearold with an altar-boy sort of face and round wire glasses.
Just a year later, Carpenter left the Chamber to manage a big
cotton and ranching concern owned by Mann Land & Investment Co. on the Red River. And it wasn’t long after that he landed another new job, as farm agent for the Bank of Jonesboro.
The Gazette continued to find in him a highly quotable source on Profitable Farming Bureau affairs through early 1920, when he was hired away from Jonesboro by the Fourth National Bank of Macon, Ga.
Two other bureau stalwarts soon cut a pigeon wing (left rapidly) for that bank, and for a while afterward the Gazette took a keen interest in the wondrous advances in farm practice being made in Macon.
Besides earnest gardening advice, humor cropped up here and there, such as this from April 15, 1917:
Fervid Request for “Dope” on Home Gardens
Grown desperate by facing the rising cost of “sowbelly” et al., T.H. Hale, 3516 West Tenth street, Little Rock, Ark., sent the following appeal to the Profitable Farming Bureau of the Board of Commerce for instructions on raising a home garden.
“Enclosed find stamp, for which please send to my address … the bulletin on ‘The Home Garden in the South.’
“Sowbelly at 40 cents per, chops (mostly bones) at 25 cents and all necessaries competing with the zeppelins in soaring ability, is sufficient inducement for one to try to raise something, even though it be nothing but hell, for that is about as good a term as I can think of when I break my back trying to reach the bottom of a bed of slate through the medium of a pick in an effort to persuade a radish to look at the rising sun — to say nothing about the neighbors’ chickens adding to the torments in successful efforts to resurrect the
radish, thereby adding fuel to the already hot flames.”
Here’s a different horticultural hell, from April 18:
Pigeons Ruin Gardens
Fred Parrett, 2318 West Seventh street, who is growing, or attempting to grow, a home garden, complained to the police yesterday that his chickenwire fence was ineffective for pigeons, which fly into his garden all day long to feast on the seed he plants.
That was followed by this, May 9:
May Shoot at Pigeons that Harm Gardens
Special to the Gazette. Pine Bluff, May 8. — Following the passage of an ordinance which makes it illegal for owners of chickens to let fowls run at large in the the city, the City Council has announced that home gardeners will be permitted to use their shotguns in defense of their gardens against pigeons, which are said to be doing considerable damage.
We must not imagine that pigeons were universally reviled.
Advertisements convey the going rate for Purina pigeon feed was $4.75 for 100 pounds; and small businesses had pigeons for sale in the classifieds. Gummer Squab Plant at 1217 College St. in Little Rock had “homer pigeons, $1.50 per pair; Carneaux pigeons, $3 per pair, also squabs.”
On June 4, rail agent W.G. Hopkins played a key role in a St. Louis pigeon race by releasing a shipment of 36 pigeons promptly at 11 a.m. at Beebe.
And this item landed in the Oct. 14 Gazette:
Pigeon in Long Flight
Members of the various Concourse Associations here — men devoted to the breeding and flying of homing pigeons — are much interested in the recent long distance flight undertaken by a dozen of the best birds belonging to members of the Pittsburgh association. The birds were taken to Denver, Colo., and there released for a flight to the home lofts, a distance of approximately 1,500 miles.
Fritz, a pigeon which has made a number of long distance flights for his owner, Dr. O.J. Bennett, won the race by making the trip in 11 days and five hours, after making a long detour to the north to escape the torrid heat across the Mississippi valley, as did all the birds, shortly after their release at Denver. The flight is supposed to be a record for the route, though the 1,500 miles has been covered by old birds in fewer hours, when flying from the South to the North on clear days in midsummer.
Only seven birds arrived, the last after 21 days and three hours.
“Pigeon handlers” were among the skilled recruits sought for the Army when Maj. Walton D. Hood, commander of the 312th Signal Battalion at Little Rock, announced in December 1917 that he had 200 openings.
So there were pigeon fanciers and pigeon haters, and both may have cited the war to back up their opinions. Might have … but I haven’t found evidence in the archives that anyone did.
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