by Ryan Ponto | Jan 18, 2017 | Pigeons in the News
As night-time approaches in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey, most of the alleyways of the city’s old bazaar are emptying out, except for one.
The bustle of daytime trading has died down, but on this little street, a stream of men carry cardboard boxes filled with pigeons to a cluster of three teahouses.
Here, they sell the birds at Sanliurfa’s famed auctions to a dedicated band of pigeon keepers and breeders, a pastime that has been thriving for hundreds of years across the region and over the nearby border into war-torn Syria.
In a country where the minimum wage is about 1 400 Liras ($367) a month, enthusiasts regularly easily spend hundreds of dollars for one bird.
“I once sold a pair of pigeons for 35 000 Turkish Lira,” says auctioneer İmam Dildas. “This is a passion, a hobby you cannot quit. I’ve been known to sell the fridge and my wife’s gold bracelets to pay for pigeons.”
Sanliurfa sits just 50km (30 miles) from Syria, in a southeastern region rocked by its own clashes between government troops and Kurdish insurgents. But the trade has taken the turmoil in its stride and carried on.
In the early days of the conflict next door, there was a glut of birds on the market as enthusiasts from northern Syria fled into Turkey with their pigeons.
“Prices fell due to oversupply but as the conflict escalated and there were no more pigeons coming from Syria, prices rose again,” says 23-year-old breeder İsmail Ozbek.
He keeps about 200 pigeons – together worth about 50 000 lira – in lofts fitted with alarms and closed circuit TV cameras.
At the auction, men sip tea and smoke cigarettes as Dildas picks up a bird and shows it to the crowd. He gives a starting bid price and buyers shout out their offers.
Prices vary from 30 to 3 500 Lira. Some birds wear silver adornments on their feathers or feet to boost their value.
At the end of the night, Dildas has sold around 13 000 Lira worth of birds. His commission is 10 percent.
When they are not trading, most of the city’s pigeon fanciers head to the rooftops at sunset and let their birds stretch their wings. Hundreds fill the sky – a familiar sight in the city – before following their training and heading home.
“The birds are my friends. They give me peace,” says 55-year-old enthusiast Resit Guzel.
He gives his 70 birds quality feed and regular vitamins.
“Upkeep … costs 5 Lira a day, which is not much. Even if it cost me more, I wouldn’t mind,” he says.
“They have been my hobby for the last 40 years … You can only understand if you keep 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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | Jan 17, 2017 | Pigeon Spikes
Activists involved in rescuing and providing medical treatment to birds that get injured due to kite strings are a worried lot. According to them this year with the number of kites being seen in the sky being much higher compared to last year, it could mean that the number of mortalities and injuries will only rise in the coming days.
In fact by Saturday evening there were over 150 birds reported to be injured with various organisations working for birds. “We have got around 100 birds from across South Mumbai and Western suburbs mostly pigeons who have been injured and are being treated,” said Harsh Shah of Bird Helpline who along with several volunteers had set up several camps across Mumbai.
Shah voicing his concern said that this year since the Kite Festival fell on a weekend there were more people seen flying kites. “Our observation across the city suggests that this year there were more kites, which means that more chances of the manjha being left on branches, walls and other places where birds might get stuck. Normally the cases of bird injuries begin flooding a day after the festival,” he said.
Bharat Amin a Ville Parle resident who found a kite hanging and struggling to free itself from the manjha said that it took four hours to free the bird. “The birds feet got stuck in manjha that was left on a tree at Irla and we spotted it at around 1pm and despite trying call almost everyone for help it was only at 4pm that it could be freed,” he said adding that the fire brigade did not come on time.
Sunish Subramanian Secretary, PAWS- Mumbai said that while they rescued six pigeons one crow and a kite on Saturday they were left stunned while trying to rescue a crow from a tree at Borivali. “As our volunteers saw a crow hanging stuck in manjha, a monkey was spotted making several attempts to free the crow by pulling the branches and even the manjha but without any success it left soon and our volunteers managed to free the bird,” he said.
Mumbai Fire Brigade too was busy as its control room kept buzzing with bird rescue calls. “On an average we receive two calls a day informing about bird stuck in majha but on Saturday we received around 25 phone calls from across Mumbai related,” said a fire brigade official.
By Saturday evening, there were over 150 birds reported to be injured with various organisations working for birds. “We have got around 100 injured birds from across South Mumbai and Western suburbs, mostly pigeons, in need of treatment” said Harsh Shah of Bird Helpline.
Shah said since this year the festival fell on a weekend there were more people seen flying kites.
Mumbai Fire Brigade too was busy as its control room kept buzzing with bird rescue calls. “On an average we receive two calls a day informing about bird stuck in majha but on Saturday we received around 25 phone calls from across Mumbai related,” said a fire brigade official.
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 | Jan 16, 2017 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
As the new year starts, it is truly a renewal for us birders who keep a year list. On Jan. 1, common birds like house sparrows, starlings and pigeons are noticed again, if only for a moment, to check them off for the new year. It gives us fresh eyes and a renewed interest in observing even the most common birds.
Margo and I planned to start the year birding with our young friend Sam. Before we headed north to Georgetown to pick him up, we decided to start at the Victory Garden area of the Fenway in Boston to see the white-winged doves that had been visiting a feeder in one of the gardens. It was one of our last rare birds for 2016 and it should be a quick addition to our 2017 list if they were still around.
As we left the house in Cambridge, house sparrows predictably became our first bird of the year. Along the way we added starlings, herring gulls and rock dove (aka pigeon) to our year list.
When we arrived at the Fenway just after sunrise, we were surprised that there were no other birders there to look for the rare doves. There were many house sparrows and morning doves feeding at the feeder inside the gated garden. Margo first spotted a white-winged dove feeding among the other doves. We finally found the second white-winged dove feeding nearby.
We tallied song and white-throated sparrows, chickadees, titmice, white-breasted nuthatch, cardinals and robins in the immediate area. Also at the feeders were a couple of red-winged blackbirds and a grackle, nice birds to see in January. The local red-tailed hawk also made an appearance overhead.
With about 20 birds logged, we headed north to pick up Sam. As we were loading up the car at his apartment complex, we heard the “caw” of crows and then a “croak” of a raven! The raven flew out from the nearby woods, closely chased by a few crows. A nice start for Sam, and first of the year raven for all of us!
We decided to head to Salisbury first to try to find the elusive red crossbills that had been hanging out there. Along the way, we stopped briefly for the local Newburyport screech owl that was obligingly sunning itself in its tree hole. When we arrived at the entrance to the Salisbury campground, we immediately saw parked cars and a small crowd with binoculars and camera lenses pointed up at the pine trees — definitely a good sign. There in the pines were the red crossbill, the males with their brick-red color and dark wings and along with the yellow mustard-colored females. Great looks at these elusive birds!
Several of our birding friends were there, and as we socialized, tree sparrows and a downy woodpecker appeared for our list. We then drove around the reservation, spotting a flock of horned larks, and adding ring-billed and great black-backed gulls to our tally. A harrier hunted the marsh, and we added a few waterbirds to our year list including black ducks and mallards, common loon, red-breasted merganser, long-tailed duck, common goldeneye, common eider, and white-winged scoter.
We next headed to Plum Island where our highlights were two hooded mergansers in the Salt Pannes, and our first razorbills, gannets and dunlin of the year off Lot 7. From there we headed to Ipswich where there was a report of the rare Ross’s goose. Along the way, we stopped at Todd Farm in Rowley to look for three white-fronted geese that were reported there. We missed them on the first pass, but we turned around to re-check and Sam’s sharp eyes spotted the three geese hunkered down in a gully.
Sam’s sharp eyes also picked out a distant bald eagle soaring high in Ipswich while we were checking a tree for another screech owl. We eventually pinned down the Ross’s goose among hundreds of Canada geese in the fields off Route 133, a life bird for Sam! We finished up the day visiting several other spots in Ipswich and adding a wintering great blue heron and a common merganser to our Jan. 1 list. We ended the day with nearly 50 birds to start off 2017.
If you would like to enjoy an afternoon of birding to start, or to add to, your new year’s list, please join me for a free bird walk this afternoon, Saturday the 14th, to try to find eagles, owls and other wintering birds along the Merrimack River. We will meet at Bird Watcher’s Supply & Gift at the Route 1 Traffic Circle in Newburyport at 1 p.m. to carpool and we will spend about three hours searching areas in Newburyport, Salisbury and/or Plum Island for birds. Dress warm and bring binoculars if you have them. Beginners are welcome and no registration necessary — just show up! Hope to see you then.
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 | Jan 15, 2017 | Bird Netting
SANLIURFA, Turkey: As nighttime approaches in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey, most of the alleyways of the city’s old bazaar are emptying out, except for one. The bustle of daytime trading has died down, but on this little street, a stream of men carry cardboard boxes filled with pigeons to a cluster of three teahouses.
Here, they sell the birds at Sanliurfa’s famed auctions to a dedicated band of pigeon keepers and breeders, a pastime that has been thriving for hundreds of years across the region and over the nearby border into war-torn Syria.
In a country where the minimum wage is about 1,400 liras ($367) a month, enthusiasts regularly easily spend hundreds of dollars for one bird. “I once sold a pair of pigeons for 35,000 Turkish lira,” auctioneer Imam Dildas says.
“This is a passion, a hobby you cannot quit. I’ve been known to sell the fridge and my wife’s gold bracelets to pay for pigeons.”
Sanliurfa is just 50 kilometers from Syria, in a southeastern region rocked by its own clashes between government troops and Kurdish insurgents.
But the trade has taken the turmoil in its stride and carried on.
In the early days of the conflict next door, there was a glut of birds on the market as enthusiasts from northern Syria fled into Turkey with their pigeons.
“Prices fell due to oversupply but as the conflict escalated and there were no more pigeons coming from Syria, prices rose again,” 23-year-old breeder Ismail Ozbek says.
He keeps about 200 pigeons – together worth about 50,000 lira – in lofts fitted with alarms and closed-circuit TV cameras.
At the auction, men sip tea and smoke cigarettes as Dildas picks up a bird and shows it to the crowd. He gives a starting bid price and buyers shout out their offers.
Prices vary from 30 to 3,500 lira. Some birds wear silver adornments on their feathers or feet to boost their value.
At the end of the night, Dildas has sold around 13,000 lira worth of birds. His commission is 10 percent.
When they are not trading, most of the city’s pigeon fanciers head to the rooftops at sunset and let their birds stretch their wings. Hundreds fill the sky – a familiar sight in the city – before following their training and heading home.
“The birds are my friends. They give me peace,” 55-year-old enthusiast Resit Guzel says.
He gives his 70 birds quality feed and regular vitamins.
“Upkeep … costs 5 lira a day, which is not much. Even if it cost me more, I wouldn’t mind,” he says.
“They have been my hobby for the last 40 years … You can only understand if you keep 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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | Jan 14, 2017 | Bird Deterrent Products
Summary: Ramesh Prajapati, a paan seller, has his stall touching the boundary of the culling site. “But when we asked the cops, they told us that some birds were being killed by the corporation. Ahmedabad: In a swift late-night operation on Friday, the animal husbandry department culled more than 159 birds, including a duck and three pigeons, at the makeshift bird rescue centre at Sarva Dharma Raksha Trust situated near St Xavier’s School Loyola Hall. He further said that he came to know about the culling from the media.Kishan Sharma, a senior citizen, said they were not even aware that birds had been culled in the area. Later on Friday, the department sealed the site and declared it dangerous to go inside.
Ahmedabad: In a swift late-night operation on Friday, the animal husbandry department culled more than 159 birds, including a duck and three pigeons, at the makeshift bird rescue centre at Sarva Dharma Raksha Trust situated near St Xavier’s School Loyola Hall. Three infected birds, including a duck, a rock pigeon (common pigeon) and guineafowl, were also among those culled.Animal husbandry department officials said that the decision to cull the birds was taken after officials received a mail from the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal. The mail stated that the samples of guineafowl droppings sent to them were bird flu positive and infected by the H5N1 virus.It was on January 3 that one Banarasilal Sonkar, a resident of Allahabad, had left these birds in a shallow wasteland on SP Ring Road, Vastral.
Of the 1,400 birds, around 155 were brought to the makeshift rescue centre in Memnagar locality.However, despite the protocol mandating that the area should be sealed, neither the AMC nor the animal husbandry department carry out an awareness exercise. Ramesh Prajapati, a paan seller, has his stall touching the boundary of the culling site.”My stall is near the affected site,” Prajapati said. “On Friday, I came here and set up my makeshift shop with other vendors.
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 | Jan 13, 2017 | Animal Deterrent Products
TOWN bells have historically been a part of our culture as one of the earliest ways to call people together or warn of imminent danger.
Before the advent of telephones and social media, the bells would call us to work, prayer and sound out celebrations for special events.
Even when the telephone took over as the first means of spreading information, the bells helped everyone keep time, and ensured a town ran smoothly.
As such it was an important job and it lay with the timekeeper.
Fifty years ago in Haddington, that job fell to 62-year-old William Barber, who, reported the Haddingtonshire Courier in 1967, was facing a particular problem with lazy pigeons.
The town clock, often relied on by the townsfolk, was being knocked out of time by pigeons who apparently had taken to resting on its hands.
Mr Barber revealed that their favourite resting place had become a problem.
He said: “Often a pigeon will land on a hand which is going down and the weight of the bird will make the clock go fast, but if the pigeon is sitting on the hand while it is going up, it will more than likely stop the clock altogether.”
Haddington Town Council’s attempts to deter the pigeons saw netting introduced to try and keep them away, but it quickly deteriorated as the pigeons used it for nests.
Mr Barber must have seen it all in his years as the official timekeeper of the town clock.
At the age of 62, he had climbed the steep stone stairs into the steeple every week for 27 years to wind up the weights which drove the hands, correct the faces and clean any obstructions.
He took over the mantle from his predecessor James Pringle, a well-known Haddington watchmaker and jeweller, when he retired, having studied at his side for a number of years, learning all the old clock’s idiosyncrasies.
The Town House, from which the clock tower rises, was built in 1748 and designed by William Adams. The steeple itself was added in 1830 and designed by Gillespie and Graham. As late as 1967, it involved some heavy work to keep the clock in check.
Working on the same principle as a grandfather clock, the weights were suspended on steel hawsers and winding them up was not as simple as turning a handle. Instead, they used machinery adapted from agriculture to move them.
And the clock itself had its own clock – a small electric one which controlled when the faces of the larger clock were lit up.
Mr Barber revealed that pigeons were far from the only problems faced as he tried to keep time for the town.
He said: “The clock is not terribly accurate but it is unusual in that it strikes the quarter, half and hour. There are not so many town clocks that do this. Besides the pigeons, there are many other factors which dictate whether the clock goes fast or slow. The weather can affect the clock badly. Quite often snow or ice sticks to the face and stops the hands from going round.”
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 | Jan 12, 2017 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent
DOWNTOWN — Sarah Thompson knows she’s not alone in her appreciation of Chicago’s massive pigeon population.
“Most wildlife runs away when you’re near it, but pigeons will just walk next to you, and they don’t care,” said Thompson, the creator of “Chicago Pigeon Society” Facebook group. “You’re able to watch them while you’re close to them.”
Thompson, a former Lakeview resident who works in the Gold Coast, created the page in mid-2013 simply because she’s “always liked pigeons.” Her group has only a handful of members, but there are at least two other Facebook pages devoted to pigeons in the Windy City: “Chicago Pigeons,” which has more than 1,000 followers, and “Pigeons of Chicago,” which has a few dozen.
The “Chicago Pigeons” administrator declined to comment, while the admin for “Pigeons of Chicago” did not respond. Both of those pages, like Thompson’s, feature photos of pigeons flying, hanging out and feeding on Chicago’s streets.
Thompson’s favorite pigeons are the ones who chill at Connors Park near her office in the Gold Coast. She visits the park during the work week around lunch time.
“Sometime people feed them, even in front of a sign telling them not to,” Thompson said.
Thompson said a pigeon landed on her head once as she waited for a bus on the North Side. But that experience didn’t faze her in the least.
“I like that they’re not afraid of people,” she said. “They’re kind of underappreciated. People think of them as pests, but I think they’re interesting.”
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 | Jan 11, 2017 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent
NEW CUMBERLAND — While the sight of pigeons may be nice to some, for others, including city officials, it has created cause for safety and structural concern to some of the buildings.
The topic of pigeons was discussed during last week’s City Council meeting. Several dozen of the birds often are spotted sitting along rooftops of buildings and other structures throughout the city.
Mayor Linda McNeil said she has often seen the pigeons — on one occasion numbering close to 100 — waiting for food. She also acknowledges the risk of structural damage to buildings, along with safety and health concerns, for residents due to the pigeons.
“There are, probably the last time I looked at them and saw them, there’s probably a hundred pigeons roosting on top of a building waiting to be fed,” McNeil said. “And they go down to be fed and come up and they wait until the next feeding.
“In the meantime, they roost on that one building and neighboring buildings, and it causes property damages to the roofs and to cars, and it’s just a big health concern.”
McNeil said council will need to look into ways to have property owners and landlords be more responsible in preventing the property damage and health issues due to the pigeons.
In a separate matter, but related to safety issues, council is in the process of creating a new ordinance, which requires an occupied residence in the city to have electric, gas (or both), water, trash pick-up service and sewer service.
“There are buildings here that have people living in them who sometimes have no water, sometimes use generators for their electricity, and for safety issues, we have to assume our responsibility in creating this ordinance and saying, ‘If there is an occupied residence in our city limits, it has to have electric, gas or both, water, trash pick-up and sewer service.”
McNeil said in the ordinance, in the early stages, building owners and landlords can face fines for being in noncompliance.
Meanwhile, another building that was brought up for discussion was right down the road the funeral home, that being the current New Cumberland Municipal Building.
Prior to serving as headquarters for city hall, the building served as the former New Cumberland School — which housed classes for students in first through 12th grade — and had been taken over by the city following the school’s closure, with many of the rooms rented out to businesses.
McNeil said council will need to make a decision regarding the building’s future noting the upcoming departure of the Hancock County Board of Education.
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 | Jan 10, 2017 | UltraSonic Bird Control
HYDERABAD: The blue rock pigeon, one of the commonest birds in urban areas, has been given notice. At least at the main entrance of the KBR National Park in Banjara Hills. Every morning and in the evening, a man armed with a stick stands guard there and drives the birds away from the driveway outside the park gates.
“It is my turn to do this job now,” says Sridhar, a guard at the park, who otherwise patrols its pathway that is popular with morning and evening walkers.”We used to have hundreds of pigeons here, but now this place is clean,” he says, pointing to the cemented stretch with pride. “Yesterday, I asked sweepers (employed by the municipal corporation) to clear this place of droppings. See how clean it looks today,” says Sridhar, beaming with pride after a job well done. “We paid them extra money , given by our officials.”
KBR National Park has been for some time a favourite spot for people to feed pigeons, with nearly a couple of thousand birds converging at the gates. “The situation was getting out of hand and there were even complaints from road users that when the birds flew in large numbers, they were obstructing traffic,” says district forest officer Vinod Kumar. “So a decision was taken to try and get the place clean again.After all, hundreds of people come to the park for morning and evening walks and runs, and we cannot put their health in danger.”
Explains senior veterinarian and former ‘zoo doctor’, M Naveen Kumar, “Pigeons in large numbers are known to carry bird influenza (bird flu) and even avian tuberculosis.While bird flu is passed on to humans, in case of avian tuberculosis, it is a two-way street. Humans catch it from birds and birds can catch TB from humans.”
But with no studies ever conducted in Hyderabad on the health impact of large congregations of blue rock pigeons on humans who come in close contact with them, Naveen says the case so far is of “noth ing reported, nobody both ered”.
Studies like the one pub lished in the Indian Journal of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology by Shrikant Deo and nine other researchers in 2014 establish that feral pigeons are “reservoirs and potential vectors of a large number of microorganisms… causing infections and allergic diseases that can be lethal.” The 2014 study says that direct contact with pigeons is not required for humans to catch such diseases. “Pathogens can be transmitted to humans mainly via excreta, secretions, or dust from feathers spread in the environment.”
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 | Jan 9, 2017 | Animal Deterrent Products
Faunal extinctions are calamitous events. There is something tremendously unsettling about the passing of a species into oblivion, especially if there are local implications.
Such was the case with regard to the passenger pigeon, which officially became extinct a century ago. Historically, the bird was a prominent part of Ontario’s avifauna. Anecdotal evidence confirms it occurred in Ontario in enormous numbers.
Accounts of its historical abundance defy belief. In the 1840s, it comprised fully 40 per cent of the entire total bird population of North America. It bred in 45 of Ontario’s 55 counties, often at communal rookeries comprising tens of thousands of nests.
There is astonishing eyewitness evidence of its staggering numbers.
“A grand migration of passenger pigeons (took place at Niagara-on-the-Lake) including a flock one-mile wide and 300 miles long … that took 14 hours to pass by,” reported a soldier at Fort Mississauga in 1860.
In 1832, flocks of passenger pigeons migrated over Toronto for four consecutive days and Royal Ontario Museum records indicate the smallest of the flocks comprised 500-600 individual pigeons.
According to C.J.S. Bethune, in 1858 he encountered a 10-acre stubble field “literally blue with pigeons so thick that one could hardly see the ground.”
A huge pigeon rookery along both sides of the Speed River, from Guelph to Rockton, in 1835 had so many pigeons that “trees were broken down by the weight of the pigeons … (and) wagonloads were shot for food,” a local historian confirmed.
In addition to several rookeries in Oro-Medonte, a profusion of reports illustrate immense flocks at Blyth, Huron County, at Goderich, at Sunnidale, Simcoe County and in Guelph.
At Clearview, near Lake Huron, “vast clouds that darkened the sun” were reported in the mid-1850s. In 1870, pigeons were so plentiful that one market gunner reported he shot “400 before 10 a.m.”
Apparently, people back then thought the pigeon population was inexhaustible. According to researcher P.H. Ehrlich, “the birds were netted, baited with salt, shot at nests, clubbed, live-trapped and later shot in competitions … pigeons were sold for food for 50 cents per barrel.”
One market gunner reported he shot three million pigeons over a 30-year period. In 1878, at a Michigan pigeon rookery, 50,000 were shot each day for almost five months, according to Pete Petosky a former Michigan Department of Natural Resources official.
Eventually, the pigeons could not withstand the relentless slaughter.
The last surviving rookery in Ontario was confirmed near Kingston in 1898 (20 birds and 12 nests). Two specimens were collected at Toronto in 1890 and the last confirmed Ontario specimen was shot by Otto Reinecke near Niagara Falls in September 1891.
The last wild adult in North America was shot in Illinois on March 12, 1901.
Three captive passenger pigeons survived in the Cincinnati Zoo a few years later: one died in April 1909, another in July 1910 and the last living passenger pigeon (Martha) died on Sept. 1, 1914.
All that remain of the billions of passenger pigeons that once darkened the skies over North America are 1,535 skins and 16 skeletons.
Passenger pigeons were about 15 inches long. They fed on fruit, nuts, berries and seeds. Scientists think it might be possible to re-create the species using advanced DNA technology.
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 | Jan 8, 2017 | Bird Deterrent Products
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani pigeon fancier has taught his pet to fly alongside him while he rode a motorbike at 50mph.
The man was filmed travelling along a road at sunset while the pigeon fluttered alongside him. He released the bird after starting up his motorbike and it flew just behind him as he built up speed. After a few minutes, the pigeon was clearly straining to keep up, so the man pulled up by the roadside to give it rest.
Racing pigeons usually travel at speeds just under 40mph and are known for their ability to navigate home across long distances. A recent study found that pigeons increase their homing speed by around 7mph while travelling through polluted conditions. Scientists are not certain why this happens, but it may be because pigeons do not like the smell of fog. So they fly faster to get away from 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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | Jan 7, 2017 | UltraSonic Bird Control
This photograph illustrates one important reason for maintaining and hopefully extending the population of our native wood pigeon or kereru.
About to be swallowed is a red plum about the size of a $2 coin. Most observers, when comparing the size of the plum with a pigeon’s quite narrow red bill can’t really imagine how the bird’s bill could open wide enough to allow the plum to be swallowed.
However, a few seconds after the photograph was taken the plum was gone.
The bill is hinged in such a way that quite large fruit can be swallowed whole with ease. Five more plums were eaten before this bird flew away to a nearby gum tree for a rest.
Now a number of our native trees such as miro, karaka and tawa have large fruit and the native pigeon is the main disperser of the seed of these trees.
Without the pigeon, conservationists predict that there would be minimal regeneration of these important native forest trees.
The trouble is that kereru is under threat.
Predators such as stoats, cats and opossums take both eggs and young pigeons and unfortunately they are still being poached by short-sighted humans who believe that a feed of pigeon is more important than the efforts to conserve this valued species.
Fast moving cars also injure and kill a number of low flying pigeons and it’s good to see “watch out for kereru” road signs appearing in many districts.
Four pigeons visited this particular plum tree and during about a week the red plums were gone, and so were the pigeons.
Where did they go to?
Just down the road was a yellow plum tree with slightly larger plums and the change of colour didn’t seem to bother the 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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | Jan 6, 2017 | Pigeons in the News
PIGEONS have become the talk of Caldicot town centre with local councillors aiming to crack down on the public feeding them.
Councillors Jim Higginson and Frank Rowberry are calling for firmer backing from Monmouthshire County Council to control the pigeon population.
In recent years the local authority’s environmental health department have installed posters around the town centre dissuading people.
Head of public protection David Jones said: “Monmouthshire’s Environmental Health team has liaised with the town council and local shop owners to raise awareness of the difficulties caused by the increased number of pigeons in Caldicot’s shopping centre and give advice on appropriate measures to control the problem.
“Posters have been placed on local notice boards asking visitors and residents not to feed the pigeons.
“Our environmental health officers will approach any persons who are seen feeding the pigeons on a regular basis and will advise them of their responsibilities under littering laws.”
But Cllr Frank Rowberry believes that more permanent measures need to be taken to combat a “serious health and safety risk”.
“We’ve called for culls and a by-law to be put in place by the county council but we just keep getting knocked back.
“There were concerns about a hawk attacking pigeons in front of people.
He added: “We haven’t got a problem with them doing it in the wild, why shouldn’t we here?”
An image of members of the public feeding birds in the town centre posted on a Facebook page last week attracted more than 100 comments and interactions.
The post on the Caldicot Community Page has since been closed by the page’s administration.
According to Cllr Higginson, the council are aware members of the public continue to feed the birds.
The county council chairman has also claimed that he was threatened outside one of the village’s eateries when the attempted to stop someone from feeding the pigeons.
He said: “It’s a nuisance, especially to youngsters in particularly who frequent the town centre who can get scared by the birds flying quite close to them.
“At the end of the day, feeding these pigeons is littering and in my opinion it is completely indefensible.”
A spokeswoman for London & Cambridge Properties (LCP), the property developer who own the majority of buildings in the town centre, said: “We are aware of the issue with pigeons, and we will be working with the town council and local authority to address the problem going forward.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | Jan 5, 2017 | Pigeon Spikes
LAHORE – Police have launched investigations after some 150 racing pigeons were stolen from the rooftop of a roadside building located in Sundar police precincts.
Police said the stolen birds are estimated to be worth Rs 500,000. A criminal case (under section 457/380 of the Pakistan Penal Code) was registered with the Sundar police on complaint of the owner, Maqsood Ahmed. Investigators are probing into the incident with no arrest made yet.
The owner told the police that he had set up a pigeon box on the rooftop of a multi-storey building, Jaan Traders, on the Multan Road. Maqsood, who sells building material in the area, further said that unidentified thieves broke into his building late night on January 9. The thieves reached the rooftop, broke the lock of the pigeon box, and made off with more than 150 racing pigeons.
A police officer last night told The Nation that they were working on the case to recover the stolen pigeons and arrest the thieves.
DANCE PARTY RAIDED
City police yesterday raided a dance party in the Ghalib Market area and seven persons including three young women.
The arrests were made as police raided a guesthouse in the posh locality after midnight. A police official said the arrested men and women were heavily drunk. The police team also seized bottles of liquor from the guesthouse. The police registered a case against the accused and sent them to the lock up. Further investigations were underway.
AUTO LIFTERS ARRESTED
City police arrested three motorcycle lifters and seized seven stolen bikes from their possession. The suspects were named by police as Shan, Shafique, and Nadeem. A team of Sundar police conducted raids and arrested the suspects.
According to a police officer, they also seized cell phones and fire arms from their possession. The suspects were handed over to the investigation police for further interrogation.
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 | Jan 4, 2017 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
HOUSTON – Every day for the last 10 years, the owner of a gas station at the 59 Southwest Freeway at Weslayan puts out a bag of feed for birds on the sidewalk.
For lunch, breakfast and dinner, the birds eat for free outside the Chevron.
“I feel inner peace,” owner Ishwar Desai said.
He said he loves animals and especially birds.
“The birds (were here flying around) and they were looking for the food so I give them a little food,” Desai said. “It’s really interesting, so I started giving more.”
Not everyone feels Desai’s passion for the birds.
I asked David Smith, a man getting gas, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your feelings towards birds?
“A four, and that’s being pretty generous,” Smith said.
At $19 a bag, the bird feed isn’t cheap, but fortunately, Desai has some support. He said some of his regular customers offer him money to keep paying for the feed.
“I feel inner peace. If I give them the food and then I see them eat the food, I really like it,” Desai 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 | Jan 3, 2017 | Bird Netting
Overcast with a chance of rain, only -3 Celsius outside and this is how 2017 arrives in our area.
Rock pigeons are freely clustered around a slice of offered white bread just across the street from CBC as I walk by. Two European starlings; European, because they were introduced around the 1890s in New York’s Central Park, fly from an open window area in one of the downtown renovation projects.
No doubt they have a warm temporary niche in one of the buildings at night and are leaving some gifts on the floor.
I have to kill some time while waiting for an appointment so I walk by several regulars on the street and make my way into the downtown mall that use to be Sudbury’s sole mecca. Winter promises to be cold for bird watching and nothing beats a warm head like the colourful touques of wool made in Nepal.
I decide to visit one of the more unique stores in the mall and check out his fine collection of hats and mitts. Entering the portal, I break a beam of hidden light and off goes a Christmas tune to announce an arrival. A very friendly and sincere greeting awaits from a gentleman sitting low behind a counter.
The New Year is a start of meeting new people and having new experiences. I casually ask the owner if Christmas was good to him and with a friendly response he says, “It was.” We get into a brief conversation about Buddha, Christ and other religions and how life can be good or bad, but to face these challenges, we can always think about others and how they may have had to cope with their individual and group challenges.
Quiet a conversation while looking for a hat! We ended our chance meeting on a friendly note with the caveat that a positive outlook certainly helps the day go by.
As I leave the mall, the outside walkway and snow triggers some reminiscent thoughts about the time the mall was called Bonimart, and a time when Eaton’s was here.
A bird we took for granted lived along the eaves of the upper parking lot and would use the Virginia creeper that used to attach itself to the walls of the adjacent buildings. House sparrows were introduced at the turn of the past century like the European starlings. They made their way across much of the country over the years and had been established in Greater Sudbury, numbering in the hundreds downtown.
Sudbury’s annual Christmas bird count says it all. In 1981, there were 1,361 house sparrows counted. In 1991, there were 162 counted. Ten years later in 2001, there were none found, and have not been seen since during the count.
Their disappearance is a mystery, but habitat changes, insect availability and a possible disease are not ruled out. The species can still be found in other larger cities like Toronto.
It might be expressed as part of the yin and yang of wildlife. Some species do well, become established and last a long time in a given area, while other species come across an obstacle that alters their lifestyle. Sudbury is no different in offering these changes as time moves on.
As for the hat, orange and white seems good this year.
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 | Jan 2, 2017 | Bird Deterrent Products
Possibly the world’s first domesticated bird, the pigeon, and its association with mankind is recorded in more than five-thousand-year-old Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets and Egyptian hieroglyphs. The bird which over centuries has garnered a reputation for carrying messages, a symbol of peace that has also proved invaluable in wartime, has nowadays become Noakhali’s bird of hope. Across the district both established farmers and otherwise unemployed hobbyists are achieving success and economic self-reliance through raising pigeons.
Since he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Md Mohsin from Noakhali municipality’s Maijdee has been unemployed. “As I had no job, I started a pigeon farm with 50 pairs of birds. Already my flock has grown to 150 pairs,” he says. “After expenses I make a monthly profit of up to Tk 18,000.” Mohsin is looking for government or private sector assistance to help him expand.
Second year honours student Fazlur Rahman from Krishnarampur village in Sadar upazila began raising pigeons as a hobby, with ten pairs. “Already I have 125 breeding pairs at my pigeon farm,” he says.
Dedicated pigeon farmer Jamal Hossain Bishad, 38, from Sadar upazila meanwhile has established a larger operation on a floor in his rented house in Maijdee. “I have around 225 pigeon pairs. It’s a Tk. 2.5 lakh farm,” he says. “After costs like food and medicine for the birds and staff salaries I earn upwards of Tk. 30,000 per month, slightly less during winter.”
His colleague Dolon Kumar Nath, 42, houses his pigeon farm on the second floor of his own building which fronts Sadar upazila’s main road. “My farm is completely business oriented,” he says. “Currently I have 300 pairs of local and foreign pigeon varieties. I started the farm with Tk 3.5 lakh capital and now earn Tk 40,000 per month in profit.”
Several farmers expressed hopes that pigeon-rearing could prove to be a useful activity for the district’s drug-affected youths, to steer them clear of the menace.
Yet Noakhali’s pigeon industry faces a number of hurdles in operating with limited technical cooperation, no dedicated treatment facilities and no government financial assistance. While medicines for cattle, chickens and ducks are available in the market, for example, medicines designed specifically for pigeons aren’t. Pigeon farmers currently rely on medicines targeting other poultry to treat their flocks.
Nonetheless pigeon-rearing either as hobby or profession is growing in popularity. Recognising an opportunity, local youths are bringing different varieties of pigeons from the capital and Natore in particular, to be sold across Noakhali, Lakshmipur and Feni districts. Depending on the variety, a pigeon pair can sell for between Tk 3,000 and Tk 1.2 lakhs, according to farmers.
Indeed, inspired by the success of Noakhali’s professional pigeon farmers, many youths are simultaneously establishing their own flocks, on rooftops, in yards or even within their homes.
Noakhali’s District Livestock Officer Md Ziaur Rahman says there are at present 284 big and small pigeon farms in the district, housing an estimated 7,142 pairs of birds. “If the farmers visit our livestock office we do our best to provide them with advice,” he says, “though due to manpower shortages the service available to them isn’t always optimal.” Rahman says additional recruitment will be completed soon.
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 | Jan 1, 2017 | Animal Deterrent Products
Incoming US President Donald Trump threw a cat among the European pigeons this week after he said that the EU was heading for breakup and that he didn’t care much if that were to happen.
In interviews with British and German newspapers, Trump said a whole lot more too. He described Britain’s decision to split from the EU as a “great” move, and that more countries would follow the Brexit; he called German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door immigration policy a “disaster”; and on the NATO military alliance, the new president said it was “obsolete”.
The following day, EU leaders were huffing and puffing with rage and exasperation that Trump should dare be so disrespectful.
“Trump’s NATO, EU comments spark fury, fear across Europe,” reported the Washington Times.
Germany’s Merkel and French President Francois Hollande told Trump to mind his own business. EU foreign policy chief Federica Morgherini claimed that European states followed their own independent course and did not need Washington anyway. Former French prime minister Manuel Valls, always prone to histrionics, even went as far as decrying Trump for “declaring war on Europe”.
The hilarious thing is that Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, and the EU leaders have been for months claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin is the one who is secretly plotting the breakup of the European bloc and the transatlantic alliance.
But after all this rabid scaremongering against Russia, it is an American president, Donald Trump, who is publicly declaring that the days are numbered for the transatlantic status quo.
Russia did indeed welcome Trump’s comments about NATO being “obsolete”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “NATO is truly a relic of the past… its entire structure is dedicated to the idea of confrontation; of course, it can hardly be called a modern structure that meets the ideas of stability, sustainable development and security.”
Moscow also said that it welcomed the opportunity to normalize relations with Washington as Trump has indicated. He has intimated that he is prepared to lift economic sanctions that Washington imposed on Russia since 2014 over the Ukraine conflict.
Despite their pretentious bluster, the truth is that European leaders of all political shades have been absolute lackeys to Washington for the past several decades. Not one European state has dared to stand up to American foreign policy misconduct.
In reaction to Trump’s latest broadsides, European leaders are piously claiming to be independent from Washington. Nothing could be further from the truth about the current and past crop of European politicians.
Germany’s deputy Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel hit back at Trump’s savaging of Merkel’s “disastrous” immigration policies. He said that the real cause of the refugee crisis in Europe was America’s military interventions in the Middle East and Central Asia. Well, yes, that is true. But if Sigmar Gabriel knew that was the real cause, then why hasn’t Germany – the most powerful EU member – stood up to Washington to oppose its relentless warmongering.
The fact is that the EU has gone along with each and every US-led war around the world over the past 25 years. Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya among others.
Look at Syria, for instance. The EU has imposed economic sanctions on that forsaken country, in line with Washington’s agenda for regime change, thus exacerbating the exodus of refugees. If the EU had some independent backbone, as it likes to pretend, then it should have firmly opposed the US-led covert intervention in Syria. But it didn’t. The EU is fully complicit.
The pernicious role of Britain has to be acknowledged here. No other member of the EU has been such an avid cheerleader for NATO and American atlanticist sway over European affairs. Britain has loyally followed the US into foreign wars, thereby dragging Europe into such follies. If Britain had not been a member of the EU, perhaps the bloc might have had more critical foreign policy, one that was more critical of Washington’s lawless depredations.
Ironically now, Britain is leaving the EU after 43 years of membership. But it bequeaths a legacy of subservience to Washington that all remaining EU members find themselves bound by.
Perhaps the clearest example of European servility to US foreign policy is its acquiescence to Russophobia and the hostile expansion of US-led military forces along Russia’s borders.
European governments have colluded with Washington to meddle in the affairs of Georgia and Ukraine and then seek to cover up the tracks of conflict by blaming Russia for the unrest. Moreover, the EU slavishly followed Washington’s lead to slap economic sanctions on Russia. Those sanctions have caused minimal disruption to America’s economy, but they have wreaked havoc on European farmers, workers and businesses.
The incumbent European governments are pathetic. Special mention must be given to French President Hollande, the most unpopular leader ever. To illustrate the puppet status, recall the Mistral helicopter-ship deal worth about $2 billion with Russia. Hollande axed the contract and hence hundreds of French jobs because the Americans instructed him to do so, allegedly to maintain a unified sanctions policy on Moscow.
Europe is facing several key national elections this year, in the Netherlands, France and Germany. As with other EU countries there is a popular revolt against the status quo. The mainstream media paint the opposition parties as extremist and racist. The media also claim that Russia is covertly subverting European democracies. This is just scapegoating. Closer to the truth is that ordinary EU citizens are fed up with governments that are in hock to a foreign power – Washington.
The atlanticist “alliance” has been nothing but a euphemism for Washington to dominate politically, financially and militarily over Europe. To the point where Europe has trashed its historic links and natural relations with Russia.
After decades of kowtowing to Washington, there is now a new US president who is snubbing the “loyal Europeans” and showing disregard for atlanticism.
Trump’s comment that he trusts Vladimir Putin equally with Angela Merkel is surely a sharp putdown to Europeans who have allowed his predecessors to dictate disastrous policies for the EU.
Under Trump, the US may well move to cancel its sanctions on Russia. What will European lackeys do then? Keep their own futile anti-Russian sanctions that are wrecking their economies, or sheepishly repeal the sanctions because the Americans have done so?
But by then it will be too late for the EU. The European Union is already teetering on implosion because for decades its leaders had no courage or vision to serve the interests of their citizens instead of Uncle Sam’s atlanticist designs.
Trump’s indifference towards European subservience and the NATO project is a potentially promising new direction to a more balanced international configuration, especially with regard to restoring relations with Russia.
It may not work out, of course. Trump has plenty of enemies at home among the Washington establishment who see atlanticist domination of Europe and antagonism towards Russia as a cornerstone of US global hegemonic ambitions.
Nevertheless, Trump’s skepticism towards the EU and NATO is setting the cat among the European pigeons. Because it is exposing them as impotent flunkies who have ruined their countries by prostrating themselves as pathetic dependents on American patronage.
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 | Dec 31, 2016 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent
Last week the Japanese islands were attacked by a great cold wave blasting south from Siberia. Even in the Kanto area nighttime temperatures dropped below freezing, and some of the more shaded ponds are now covered by a thin layer of ice. In the sekki, a traditional Asian calendar system that divides the solar year into 24 equal segments based on changes in weather and the natural world, we are still in the Shokan or “Small Cold.” This Friday, however, will mark the start of the Daikan or “Big Cold”!
But there is no cause for concern. The Daikan will last only until the Risshun or “Start of Spring” on Feb. 4. In fact, the winter Doyo starts today. Doyo are 18 day periods preceding the official start of each of the four major seasons. They are considered to be unstable times when the weather and other factors can change rapidly without warning.
Japanese traditional almanacs advise extreme caution when starting new projects during one of the Doyo. For people thinking of getting into bird-watching, however, right now is actually a great time to begin. Birds are easier to spot when the trees are leafless. Also, with food in the forests depleted, birds are far more likely to spend time on open fields and lawns.
All that is needed to start birdwatching is a pair of binoculars. For beginners I recommend 8-power magnification. More powerful models suffer from blurring due to hand shake, and also afford a very narrow field of vision, making it hard to fix them on a small bird. Weight and size are always a trade-off with image quality. Models with large front lenses produce brighter images, but are bulkier and heavier.
All birds are excellent subjects for study, even the ubiquitous feral pigeons and native turtle doves, both of which are common in local parks and gardens. Feral pigeons, called dobato or kawarabato in Japanese, are all derived from a species known as the rock dove, native to Europe and the Mediterranean, which was domesticated at least 5000 years ago and perhaps even much earlier. The first pigeons were brought to Japan between 1500 and 1000 years ago.
Pigeons have a fine homing sense, and when taken away and released will fly straight back to their home loft. Throughout history humans have capitalized on this ability by using them to carry messages. Specially bred and trained pigeons also compete in races, and pure white strains are released ceremoniously at weddings, anniversaries and other auspicious occasions.
Feral pigeons come in a variety of colors and markings, but those close to the original wild rock dove have dark gray and green heads and chests, with lighter gray bodies. The wings are light gray, with two black stripes on the upper surface. The base of a pigeon’s top bill is covered by a patch of waxy skin, called a cere (romaku), that protects the nasal cavities. Most members of the Columbidae or Dove Family (hatoka) have ceres, as do parrots and parakeets, and many birds of prey.
The eastern turtle dove is about the same size as the domestic pigeon, but has a gray or pinkish-gray head, neck and chest, and the brownish wing feathers are tipped with a beautiful shade of rufous. For this reason this species was formerly known in English as the rufous turtle dove.
At this time of year the bill and cere are black or dark gray, but during the spring and summer breeding season the cere, as well as the bare skin surrounding the eye, turn purplish. At any time of year the kijibato’s best field mark is a patch of light gray and black lines clearly visible on the side of the neck.
To Japanese ears these doves’ soft cooing sounds like “De-deh-poh-poh.” Hato or bato are the generic Japanese terms for dove or pigeon. The turtle doves’ formal name is kijibato or “pheasant-dove,” but most local people call them yamabato or “mountain-dove.” The kijibato is native to Japan, and is considered to be the same subspecies as that found across central and eastern Asia. The birds in the Ryukyu Islands, however, are designated a separate subspecies.
Many birds have a crop (ebukuro), a part of the gastrointestinal tract where food is stored before being digested. In the pigeons and doves a semi-liquid substance, called crop milk or pigeon milk, sloughs off from the inner lining of the crop. Crop milk is very rich in both protein and fats, and is used to feed the squibs, as pigeon chicks are called.
Both males and females produce crop milk, which allows the Columbidae to raise their broods without depending heavily on insects and worms.
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 | Dec 30, 2016 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent
Scottish Parliament bosses look set to carry on flying hawks at Holyrood to scare away pigeons despite saying the number has come down as much as it is ever likely to.
Birds of prey were brought in eight years ago as a deterrent after other measures such as bird wire, netting and anti-roosting spikes all failed.
A year ago, the parliament said the £16,000 a year contract was due to be reviewed and Holyrood bosses were considering ending it.
Monthly monitoring had shown there were between 11 and 18 pigeons regularly on the Holyrood campus and officials felt it may not be possible to reduce it any further.
But no review has yet taken place and now the parliament says the future of the contract with NBC Bird and Pest Solutions will only be looked at when the bigger high-level maintenance contract comes up for renewal in October 2017.
And despite the previous suggestion that the use of birds of prey would probably come to an end, parliament officials now say it is likely to continue.
But MSPs questioned why Holyrood should carry on paying out money if the hawks have now done their work.
The pigeon problem plagued the Holyrood building right from the start with its many nooks and crannies proving attractive perches.
Pigeon poo and feathers were blown through vents on to researchers’ desks and some birds even got into MSPs’ offices.
Monthly monitoring reports for the past year, released under freedom of information, no longer give average totals for the number of pigeons counted at the Holyrood campus but do highlight hotspots, particularly the MSP block.
Some of the politicians working there urged a review.
Lothian Tory MSP Jeremy Balfour said: “If the contract runs out this year, it is a good time to review the whole situation. Just to renew it automatically would be a mistake.
“It’s quite a lot of money and if we have reached the optimum number [of pigeons] and the situation cannot be made any better, it is not the best use of public money.
“I will write to the chief executive and seek clarification of the position and ask if we have now got as much as we can out of it.”
And Lothian Green MSP Alison Johnstone also urged a review.
She said: “It’s important we know how effective this spending is. We should not continue with a contract that costs £16,000 a year unless we are clear it is proving effective.
“The evidence base must be available and I would welcome site of it to help parliament come to a decision as to whether or not this ongoing expenditure should be continued.”
A parliament spokeswoman said there were no plans to end the NBC contract early.
She added: “Like many buildings in Edinburgh, a small number of pigeons visit regularly.
“We are aware the problem can never be fully eradicated and it is likely we will continue with the current approach.”
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