by Ryan Ponto | Nov 9, 2016 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes
Sane New Yorkers regard them as rats with wings, and they make use of the many tools to combat pigeon on their property. But things get complicated when a neighboring property owner doesn’t care that pigeons are emitting toxic piles of excrement in a shared space between buildings.
Such was the case on the Upper West Side, where pigeons set up housekeeping on a grocery store’s outdoor air vents and cooling system. Residents of a co-op that shares a courtyard with the grocery store hired an exterminator, but the nests remain. The store’s management did not respond to calls. What’s a co-op board to do?
“The mere presence of pigeon droppings in the courtyard is an unsanitary condition” and could be grounds for a violation, Kempshall McAndrew, a real estate lawyer at Anderson Kill, tells the New York Times’ Ask Real Estate column. The board should keep the courtyard free of pigeon droppings in case an inspector visits.
Beyond that, McAndrew advises the co-op board to call the Department of Health and Mental Hygienedirectly, bypassing 311. The board should photograph the area, documenting the nests as the source of the problem. It should also keep records of calls to the grocery store and of the exterminator’s efforts.
If such measures fail? The board could sue the grocery store for an injunction and for monetary damages.
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 | Nov 8, 2016 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Bird Deterrent Products
FOR a pigeon breeder, it’s the ultimate feather in the cap: to win the Australian National Pigeon Show.
Phil Young, from New Norfolk in Tasmania, has been breeding pigeons for nearly 40 years, yet so far the victory has remained elusive.
“I’ve got a four-door dressing table in the garage that is full of trophies and ribbons from agricultural shows around Tasmania and Australia,” says the 68-year-old, who is the president of the Royal Hobart Show pigeon and poultry committee.
“The Melbourne Cup is the pinnacle of racing and for our sport, the Australian National Pigeon Show is the big one.
“But no, I’ve never won it.”
Heaven knows he has tried hard enough.
Starting with a breeding pair 38 years ago, Phil now has 250 pigeons in six breeds, kept on his residential block in lofts in four aviaries, measuring 25m long and 6m wide.
“It’s like an alarm clock in the morning with the cooing,” Phil says.
“There can be a fair bit of noise, but we’ve got very good neighbours — they used to show parrots so they understand.”
Every morning and night Phil feeds his brood a special grain mix (costing $100 a week), as well as a protein mix for special birds, and estimates he spends at least two hours a day tending to their needs.
In the lead up to competition day, however, he and his wife, Sue, can spend much of the day preparing the birds.
“If we’re going to the Nationals we prepare for a month beforehand. My wife can be in the yard up to midnight shampooing the birds, especially the tail feathers, then drying them with a hairdryer.
“We put powder in their feathers to sweeten them up a bit and make them soft.
“We use clippers on their feet and a nail file on their beaks.
“Some of them enjoy it. The most flighty are the magpies, they don’t want to work with you. But the dragoons or the tumblers really concentrate and do everything to help. Of course the more you handle a bird, the more they work with you.”
The Youngs have 15 breeding pairs of magpie pigeons, 20 pairs of British show racers, 10 pairs of dragoons, six of English carriers, seven Australian performing tumblers and five British racers.
Phil, who is also a judge at agricultural shows and the president of Tasmania’s Meander Valley Pigeon Club, says there are characteristics in each breed that make a winning bird.
Similar to the cattle or sheep show ring at agricultural shows, pigeons lose points based on conformation — bones, feathers, beaks, eyes and body shape are all scrutinised to establish best in breed.
This year, the National Pigeon Show in Melbourne (next year it’s in Adelaide) saw 57 exhibitors show 379 pigeons.
“It’s a very friendly atmosphere in competition,” says Phil, who this year has attended 11 events.
“You want to win. Everyone wants to be the top exhibitor, but it never gets too competitive.”
He says time and expenses add up when travelling to events, with pigeons by law needing to be transported in special cargo containers, especially when flying.
“The Australian National Pigeon Association has worked with Qantas to make it easier for breeders to move their birds,” Phil says, adding that he has a special covered trailer and van when driving.
He says the beauty of attending events is also buying cocks or hens from competitors to try to improve his breeding genetics. Phil breeds year-round, with eggs taking 21 days to hatch a squeaker (a baby pigeon).
Each year Phil sells up to 80 of his own birds, ranging from $10 to $100.
“The most I’ve ever seen a pigeon sell for was $1000. It was a top bird and the breeder just wanted it.”
Even though he breeds racing pigeons and is a member of a homing society, Phil has never become involved in the sport, mainly because he lives further than the 10km radius from the Hobart club – a required distance so pigeons can fly home.
Phil grew up in Tasmania and worked in the railways out of Launceston and Hobart before spending the next 40 years as a harness racing trainer.
He’s still the president of the Tasmanian Pacing Club and helps his stepsons train their trotters.
“I got into pigeons because it took some of the stress away from harness training,” Phil says.
“A friend of mine gave me a pair of breeding pigeons and I was hooked. The bug started from there.
“The sport is very social.
“Everyone makes you feel warm and welcome.
“If you get down, you go out to the pigeons. I appreciate them and it’s also a buzz to win.”
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 | Nov 7, 2016 | Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes
Miami police are looking for a man who stole pricey pigeons from a store while wearing a bucket on his head. The store’s owner says the same thing happened in May and if it continues, he’ll be out of business. Surveillance footage shows the robber searching through cages inside a gate before he finds the birds he wants. He collects the animals in one enclosure and then sets up a ladder to escape. Outside in the parking lot, he climbs a fence before falling off a ladder with the birds in hand.
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 | Nov 6, 2016 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Pigeon Spikes
Actor-director Soubin Shahir’s directorial debut Parava has not just humans, but also birds as significant elements in the story. “As the title says, the movie has birds, especially pigeons, in many scenes,” says director Soubin Shahir.
“Not just the birds, Parava is about every living being,” added Soubin. “Though we have started shooting, it is too early to discuss the plot in detail,” added Soubin. Parava, shot in and around Kochi, is a comical ride with tinges of adventure. The story revolves around a group of children.
Parava will be produced by Anwar Rasheed. The movie has Shane Nigam.
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 | Nov 5, 2016 | Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
In my apartment, there is a picture window that looks out on the Glennland Building, a half-block to the east.
There, in late spring, two pigeons built a nest in one of the air-conditioning vents. It has been a pleasure to look out at their progress in this and, finally, at their expeditions to find food for their babies.
Meanwhile, the president, commenting recently on police killings, mentioned the anxiety and tension caused by the 24-hour news cycle.
In fact, some of the reporters claim their work is now reaching the immediacy of real time.
But truly this is not so. All of these machines, starting with the book, give only abstraction and an aid to memory. For me, at least, the “real time” very quietly is watching the pigeons down the block. In that quiet you can then look up, see the sky, find the ground beneath your feet and so have the confidence to act if action is required.
Now the book-internet development offers a kind of very important liberty. It may be a harbinger of the united world as a fulfillment of that liberty. But you must be weaned of it to use it or it might swallow you alive.
So I say real time is not in these fascinating marks on paper or in sounds from cellphones, but in quietly looking out the window and enjoying the pigeons.
They tell me this is true, and asked me to tell you as well.
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 | Nov 4, 2016 | Bird Deterrent Products, UltraSonic Bird Control
CHICAGO (FOX 32 NEWS) – Residents of the city’s North Side Uptown neighborhood said it’s not that they have anything against birds, but when it’s this many birds… Yeah, it’s a problem.
“It’s nice that she feeding pigeons, but she’s creating a home for them and there’s hundreds of them,” Uptown resident Peter Wood, said.
There is 2012 cellphone video of Young Kang, better known as the “pigeon lady” of Uptown.
For years she has run afoul of city laws banning the feeding of pigeons and last week she was ordered to pay the price.
A city administrative hearing judge found Kang guilty of 10 ordinance violations and ordered her to pay $300 apiece. All in all, a total fine of $3,000.
It came after frustrated property owners installed a surveillance camera aimed at one of her favorite spots and documented Kang feeding the birds on multiple occasions.
“I see her coming along every so often,” Wood said. “She comes around 8:30 at night. Just kind of quietly slips in, throws some rice on the grass right here and then disappears.”
What doesn’t disappear, residents say, is the pigeon poop left behind on cars, sidewalks and buildings.
“My car is parked right by there where she drops it every time, so I got bird droppings all over my car, you know?” Wood said.
Other residents said they’ve seen an influx of rats and raccoons because of the food left on the ground.
This isn’t the first time Kang has been in trouble.
In 2012, Ald. James Cappleman (46th) told police Kang assaulted him when he tried to clean up her bread crumbs, prompting the City Council to raise the fines for illegally feeding birds.
We couldn’t find Kang to get her side of the story but residents are hoping this latest big fine will finally force the pigeon lady to fly the coop.
“I don’t want any harm to come to the woman who’s doing it. I know she’s doing it out of the goodness of herself but it needs to stop,” Anne Marie, an Uptown resident, 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 | Nov 3, 2016 | Pigeon Patrol's Services, UltraSonic Bird Control
MIAMI, Dec. 14 (UPI) — A thief broke into a Florida business to steal several high-priced pigeons while wearing a bucket to hide his identity.
Surveillance showed the strangely disguised burglar, dressed in a trash bag, pilfering the expensive birds from El Viejo Lazaro Botanica in Miami despite security cameras and barbed wire, according to WSVN.
“People are crazy. People know I have security cameras,” owner Nelson Hernandez said. “People know I put the wires. More security, and these people don’t care.”
The brazen robbery was the second time within a year burglars had target the store owned by Hernandez and his wife Mae.
“I don’t know what’s going here in Miami,” she said. “People don’t have respect for anything.”
Hernandez said the most recent robbery saw the bucket clad thief make off with 40 racing pigeons valued between $100 and $1,000.
“If this keeps happening I will be out of business,” he told the Miami Herald.
The clumsy thief was seen tumbling over a fence surrounding the store and potentially causing harm to his stolen cargo.
“These little pigeons, he breaks the eggs and everything. It’s animal abuse,” Hernandez said. “The way he took the pigeons was very rough.”
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 | Nov 2, 2016 | Bird Netting, UltraSonic Bird Control
A couple of weeks ago I answered a letter from Greg Thornbury, who thought he was seeing a peregrine falcon flying around high-rise building where he works in Concord.
I checked with Glenn Stewart at the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group, who said he wasn’t aware of any peregrines in that area, but that it was very possible.
Stewart says peregrines can thrive in developed areas because of the plentiful supply of pigeons. The tall buildings also mimic the cliffs that peregrines prefer for nesting sites. There are pergrines on Mount Diablo that often are seen in Lime Ridge Open Space that stretches from the base of the mountain in Walnut Creek into Concord.
Thornbury was able to get a photo of the bird and Stewart identified it as an adult peregrine falcon.
“It is a wonderful thing that a person can take a picture like this from a downtown office building,” Stewart says. “Gives a whole new meaning to urban wildlife.”
The Concord peregrine may nest on Mount Diablo, but come into the city to feed during the winter.
DEAR JOAN: I thoroughly enjoyed reading the letters about the foods some animals crave. As the wife of a veterinarian and a veterinary hospital owner for over 30 years, I have answered many emergency calls concerning ingested items.
With the holiday season coming, I would like to add some non-food items that we personally come across this time of year.
Never leave rubberbands, plastic foam peanuts, ribbon (especially the curling type), pieces of plastic or tinsel lying around. Once we treated a dog, a Lab, that had eaten a string of Christmas tree lights. All of these and much more can cause serious harm to pets, and frequently the lodged item will require emergency surgery, not a very merry event this time of year.
In addition, on the days after Thanksgiving and Christmas, we see turkey, ham and garbage overdoses. Please hide your leftovers!
May I add a few words in defense of veterinarians and their “exorbitant” bills? Nothing frustrates a veterinarian more than the Sunday afternoon emergency call when the owner says the animal has been sick since Friday and it may have eaten something bad. All a vet can offer at this point, without support staff, is a recommendation to the best emergency clinic in the area. It takes several employees to help x-ray and assist an emergency surgery. Veterinary emergency clinic services are life-saving, but expensive.
A veterinarian completes the same amount of schooling as an M.D., but unlike R.D.s (real doctors, as we jokingly call them), a veterinarian also must have the skills of a surgeon, a radiologist, a pharmacist and a pediatrician, just to name a few.
They must be able to diagnose and treat many different species, and that explains why a veterinary hospital, unlike a doctors’ office, is a full-service hospital, complete with a surgical suite, in-house lab, x-ray, pharmacy, and specialty pet food store. No one wants to drive their unhappy pets around to specialists, and my personal co-pay on my health insurance is just about the same as our office call.
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 | Nov 1, 2016 | Animal Deterrent Products, Pigeon Patrol's Services, UltraSonic Bird Control
People living near a railway bridge in Frome say they have been plagued by pigeon faeces since an £8,000 pest control project forced the flock to move.
Felicity Young, who lives near the Rodden Road railway bridge, said around a dozen birds have taken up residence on the roof of her house and are bombarding her property from above.
She said the smell of faeces is overwhelming and is worried the birds may be damaging her home.
Pigeon-proofing spikes were installed on the bridge at a cost of £8,000 in November.
Frome Town Council and Network Rail teamed up to solve the problem of bird droppings under the bridge and chipped in half the money each.
Ms Young’s fire extinguisher has been peppered in bird feceas
Since spikes were installed there has been a reduction in the number of pigeons on the bridge, but a few remain.
A large number appear to have moved to a nearby telegraph pole and are continuing to defecate on the footpath below.
Ms Young thinks some of them have also moved to her house.
She said: “Since the works were carried out on Rodden Road railway bridge, a dozen or so pigeons have taken up residence on the roof of my house, so I have had a very unpleasant experience.
“You can see the sort of mess they are causing, not to mention the smell. As I cannot access my roof I have no idea what other damage they might be causing up there.
“The pigeons only appeared once the spikes were fitted at the bridge, and I had never had pigeons roosting on my roof before that. I’m not sure if other houses are affected in the same way as although they settle for a while on neighbouring roofs along New Road at dusk, they then roost overnight on mine. Last night I estimate there were at least a dozen.
“I have been in touch with the town council which has suggested it may have to consider a cull. It can’t come soon enough for me.”
A large number of pigeons have taken up residence on Ms Young’s house
Another resident recently voiced concerns at a town council meeting over the continued presence of pigeons in the area.
She said: “I’ve been campaigning to have spikes put under that bridge for six years and now that we’ve got them it has had an effect on the pigeons underneath – there are a limited number still there.
“The problem still remains on a telegraph pole just next to the bridge however. The pigeons are continuing to poo on the footpath below and when it gets wet the path can become incredibly slippery.
“There must be around 40 pigeons on that pole at any given time.”
Some have even moved to a nearby telegraph wire
She said: “The footpath (near the bridge) has not been cleaned and it’s still very sludgy. You would have thought that when the spikes were installed the path would have been cleaned.”
Frome town councillor Colin Cobb said: “We have been dealing with this issue for a while now. There are a few bits that have been missed under the bridge but there are certainly far fewer pigeons than there were before.
“With regards to the cleaning of the footpath, The Landscape Group should have seen to that and it is something we will have to chase up with them.
“It’s difficult for us to police the telegraph pole. There were some 50 pigeons living under the bridge so it’s natural that they would now look for somewhere else to sit.”
Frome Town Council has been approached for further 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 | Oct 31, 2016 | Bird Netting
FALL IS WILD GAME SEASON in France, and discerning diners at Parisian outposts like L’Ami Jean, La Régalade and Spring come especially for the composed dishes of just-hunted, rich-tasting game. That one might bite into one’s mallard or grouse and land on stray birdshot is perhaps a badge of honor, proof that what’s on your plate has a woodsier back story than the steak. And palombe, or wood pigeon, has a better back story than most. “As a chef, you want something that tastes delicious, but also that’s coherent and has its own tradition,” says Daniel Rose, who serves it rare-roasted at his First Arrondissement restaurant Spring during the bird’s month-and-a-half season from mid-October to the end of November. Generally grayer than its close cousin, the standard pigeon, with distinctive white marks on its neck and wings, the wild-caught palombe is more delicately gamy and less rich. Rose serves his with braised foie gras and cabbage, and a purée of smoked beet. At L’Ami Jean, Stéphane Jégo goes a more traditional route, roasting the birds with thyme and garlic, or stewed in salmi, a mixture of giblets, wine and foie gras. “Wild palombe brings a rustic, old-fashioned moment to the table,” Rose notes. “It evokes the deliciousness of nature and cooking on an open fire.”
While palombe has always been popular along the west coast of France, its more abundant recent appearances on Parisian menus is in keeping with the contemporary trend, led by the foraging Danish chef René Redzepi, of a re-emergence of back-to the-forest romanticism and a championing of traditional foodways.
On the palombe’s annual migration south — from northeastern Europe through western France and into Spain — there is one spot where hunting the bird has been done the same way for hundreds of years. In the Basque Country straddling the border between France and Spain, the tall peaks and narrow byways of the Pyrenees bottleneck the palombes, making the flocks denser and easier to track. Through the centuries, the annual hunt has become intimately intertwined with local life, in ways that tracking wild boar or deer, which requires isolation and a more masterful skill level, cannot hope to replicate.
Unlike in the rest of France, where villages are emptying out due to urban migration, here, whitewashed split-timber hamlets dot the velvety mountainsides, and close, intergenerational family networks are doing better than most. Every fall, local men of all ages are stricken with what Hervé Etchemendy, who comes from the village of Lecumberry, calls “the blue fever,” taking off work to disperse throughout the peaks of the Pyrenees to hunt. “When October arrives,” he says, “work isn’t too productive. We’re constantly looking to the sky. We’ve all had the fever since we were little.”
THERE ARE two traditional methods of hunting palombe here: with shotguns or with a more complicated, older practice called la chasse au filet, which combines nets, horns and paddles, and has been performed at least since the 16th century and possibly long before that. There are nine net-hunting sites in the Pyrenees, the only region in the world where this type of chasse au filet is practiced, and there will never be more. The number of installations is rigidly controlled by the regional governments, and rights are reserved for lifetime inhabitants of the villages: You have to be born there.
Net setups vary by locale. Etchemendy’s is a compound of three distinct stations up and down the mountainside, and the hunters divide themselves between them. Uppermost are the lookouts, with large white sheets. “Their job is to send the birds down,” says Etchemendy, which they accomplish by vigorously waving the sheets to startle them. They also blow brass horns, to alert the next station a mile downhill. There, in one of six tiny ramshackle cabins perched 50 feet in the air — accessible by a dangerously rickety ladder — the second group awaits. After the horn sounds, they blow loud whistles to alert the next group and simultaneously hurl white wooden paddles, rapid-fire, at the birds. They’re hoping to cause the palombes to lower their flight pattern — enough that when they come to the last station, several hundred yards farther downhill, they will fly into a ring of nets, raised on pulleys. The necks of the birds are then snapped.
Etchemendy and his fellow net hunters choose this method for “the challenge between the birds and man,” he explains, outsmarting nature rather than blasting it into submission.
American hunters will recognize the blasting, and the majority of the hunters in Basque Country do too. This more common practice has its own time-honored rituals. “It’s like a vacation where we rediscover our childhoods,” says Eric Ospital, one of France’s most prestigious charcutiers, who comes from the foothills near Biarritz. “In the same way that we built little cabins when we were kids, only now they’re furnished with stoves and beer and a TV to watch rugby in the afternoon.” Depending on the weather and variations in the palombe’s migratory pattern, “you could wait a week to even see a bird, but it’s not a big deal,” Ospital says. “You’re outside of time.” Jean-François Larramendy, who has brought Ospital and Jégo along to observe on hunting trips, adds, “It’s not about killing,” though of course that happens. “It’s about spending time with friends, boss and worker shoulder to shoulder.”
Every year, Larramendy, the owner of a local bar in the resort town of Anglet, organizes a group of friends from his village of origin, Villefranque, to spend a month in an isolated cabin near the Pic de Béhorléguy. “I started hunting with my father when I was little, and my grandmother used to put big white sheets out on the yard to tell us when it was time to come home,” Larramendy says as we charge up the mountain to a friend’s shack, a former lean-to that is now kitted out with bunk beds, a shower and stove, shelves of aspirin, 70-millimeter cartridges and a massive wood table covered in a plastic cloth, where hunters spend evenings playing mus, a pokerlike game thought to have originated in Spanish Basque Country. The game’s reliance on bluffing makes for especially animated evenings, fueled by multiple glasses of Ricard and water — the amount consumed in inverse proportion to the amount of palombes in the sky. By all accounts, there are fewer passing through the area than there used to be. The local paper had only counted 155,000 two weeks into the season.
When we arrive, it’s overcast and the other hunters, ranging in age from 40 to 84, are mostly focused on their bowls of beef and mutton stew, and making a dent in the many cases of wine they’ve hauled up for the month. Since even under ideal conditions the birds are only visible from sunrise, which takes place around 8 a.m. at this time of year, until midafternoon it’s more about waiting than hunting. The men are identically dressed in camouflage polar fleece, though one, Peio Amestoy, has added a dapper silk foulard tied ascot style and a loden green beret, patting after-shave on his cheeks after freshening up with a straight razor. “Please don’t say that all Basques are savages,” he entreated.
WHAT MOST HUNTERS catch is mainly eaten or shared with friends, though for some it’s a business. There is even one restaurant in French Basque Country that has its own nets. On the afternoon I stop in to the Hôtel Restaurant du Col d’Osquich, its vast dining hall, with old timber beams and a massive hearth, has welcomed several busloads of tourists from Charente-Maritime, several hours north.
The restaurant’s chef, Pantxoa Idiart, trained alongside Stéphane Jégo under the notoriously tough Yves Camdeborde, of the Paris bistro Le Comptoir. He invites us into the kitchen while he prepares our palombe au capucin, roasted bird basted with a cone of flaming pork fat, causing the delicate skin to bubble and crisp up.
Back in the dining room, as it’s delivered to our table, the owner sets up the afternoon’s entertainment. Mounting a chair to approach two tame palombes, each chained to a perch, he bears a glass of water from which they guzzle when he whistles a command. As the cognac and plum brandy are passed around, groups of locals in black berets strike up traditional Basque songs. A table of old ladies next to us sniff dismissively at the spectacle, returning to their game of mus.
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 | Oct 30, 2016 | Bird Netting
The ninth annual event will be held at on Nov. 19 at the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center in Old Greenwich.
Here is more information about the event from the organizers: “The show has large entries of pigeons in many breeds, a wide variety of breeds on display, large pigeon for-sale areas, several large vendors, great selections of food, and a tremendous number of visitors and buyers of products and pigeons. 2016 looks to be as large or larger than last year.”
Entries will be accepted for the following breeds: Show Racers, German Beauty Homers and Racing Homers. Other breeds will be accepted, but need a special form for entry.
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 | Oct 29, 2016 | Bird Netting
Humidifier sterilizers were big sellers back in early 2000s, but Pigeon, a Korean household product maker, refused to manufacture them.
The company examined the necessity of the product, questioning whether the customers would want the product consistently and whether they would last in the years to come. Pigeon also looked into the origin of the substances used in the product and discovered they were not the outcome of a lengthy research and development process, but a chemical compound mostly supplied by OEM companies.
“We chose not to release the product, focusing on the possibility of the substances being inhaled by humans,” the company said in a statement Sunday. Pigeon is one of only a few households product companies not mentioned in the recent toxicity scandal surrounding companies that sold toxic disinfectants, resulting hundreds of death.
There has not been a single boycott sparked over its products, as they are made on the company’s founding philosophy that prioritizes nature and consumer safety, the firm said.
None of Pigeons’ products contain the harmful substances CMIT and MIT, according to a government report on all household biocide products sold in the country. The study was conducted following a report which found toxic chemicals in daily household goods, including toothpastes.
According to Pigeon, its multipurpose antibacterial cleaner Bisol only kills harmful germs, wiping away 99.9 percent of some 50 different germs that are responsible for food poisoning, diarrhea and more in less than 3 minutes.
Bisol-line products, made with substances approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, were the first in Korea to acquire the Korea Testing and Research Institute’s validation for safety and sterilization.
“Sticking with the brand’s eco-friendly formula and founding philosophy, we will continue efforts to produce safe household goods, as the pioneer and forerunner in local household products market,” a company official said.
In order to offer a variety of goods that are safe for consumers to use, the brand has ramped up its production line.
Its newly released hand sanitizer, dehumidifying agent and bleach are made with a self-developed formula, which the brand researched for 3 years. Pigeon also plans to roll out mild products for babies by the end of this year, the company said.
Fabric softener and detergent that the firm will unveil next month have obtained an atopic eczema certification from Korea Atopy Association.
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 | Oct 28, 2016 | Bird Netting
Researchers at the University of Ghent have isolated Salmonella Enteritidis phage type 4 (PT4), an important human pathogen, from a population of feral pigeons in Brussels.
Salmonella enterica infections in pigeons are generally associated with pigeon-adapted strains of serovar Typhimurium that are of little public health concern. A high prevalence of 33% of Salmonella Enteritidis in Brussels combined with dense pigeonpopulations suggest that feral pigeons may constitute a significant, but unrevealed reservoir forcontracting salmonellosis in the urban 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 | Oct 27, 2016 | Bird Netting
A council is still fighting a long-term war with pigeons over the blight of droppings in the town.
Members of Mold Town Council are still looking into humane ways to deal with pigeons in the town centre, especially in the Daniel Owen square.
During a meeting of the council, members were told that several options were being explored to deal with the scourge.
Cllr Phil Thomas questioned whether the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds should be contacted to advise the best way to deal with the birds.
Cllr Chris Bithell added: “We have had offers from one of the pigeon farriers, who is prepared to come and give us advice on how to tackle this issue in a bird friendly way.
”I don’t think we should lose sight of this and it is a long term problem which is not going to go away.”
Minutes from a meeting of the town council’s community, development and regeneration committee, held earlier this month, also included details of the ongoing problem.
It said: “Pigeons within the town, especially around the Daniel Owen Square area, were still causing issues with regards to droppings on the benches and pavements.
”Streetscene were now cleaning the benches on the square once a week to help reduce the problem.
”A number of humane deterrents had been looked into but not considered suitable.
”The town manager has contacted Flintshire Council regarding placement of spikes on the roof of the town hall and was awaiting reply.”
The debate is the latest in a string of conversations about how to tackle the problem, with the introduction of birds of prey and dishing out fines for people feeding pigeons all being considered.
Earlier this year, the Mold Invitation Homing Society was invited to meet with the council to discuss the problem of pigeons fouling in the town centre after it raised concerns about plans to introduce falcons and hawks.
Last year the council considered whether it should ban people feeding birds in the Daniel Owen Square in Mold, which had just undergone a £500,000 revamp.
Mr Hill said at the time the council had been exploring using a Public Spaces Protection Order to deal with issues of anti-social behaviour and could include the issue of bird feeding.
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 | Oct 26, 2016 | Bird Netting
A retired worker man has been scrupulously looking after a pigeon that was born blind in the Black Sea province of Amasya.
Halil Kuru, who lives in Amasya’s Taşova district, carries the blind pigeon named “Pamuk” (Cotton) everywhere he goes. He expressed his affection for pigeons and said that he loved keeping pigeons from a young age.
Kuru keeps the pigeon in a cage he built in his garden and looks after 10 other pigeons too. The man feeds the bird himself, as it is unable to eat by itself.
“I like keeping and taking care of it, it’s not hard to do this. Everyone can keep a healthy bird, but it’s extra important to take care of a disabled bird. I show motherly affection and support it to survive, however I struggle to keep it alive. If I hadn’t showed it enough attention, it would have been dead by now. I cannot go to town because of Pamuk, but if I have to, I take it with me wherever I go, there is no one at home who could look after it, my wife is working, and my daughter goes to school,” he said.
He said the biggest problem they face were cats that prey on pigeons. “I have other pigeons too, but I love Pamuk the most. I feed it and put its cage with the other pigeons when I’m out, and the first thing I do is feed him when I come back home.”
Kuru said Pamuk was now a member of their family.
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 | Oct 25, 2016 | Bird Netting
A 50-year-old Israeli traveler returning from Germany was stopped Tuesday afternoon at Ben Gurion Airport attempting to smuggle six live pigeons in his suitcase, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.
The pigeons are of a rare Uzbek species and are worth about €100 each. They were tied up inside three shoe boxes inside the man’s suitcase, which was tagged with a label showing it belonged to a disabled passenger in an attempt to avoid raising suspicion.
That plan did not work out, however, and the Agriculture Ministry and Tax Authority employees at the Israeli international airport were able to thwart the somewhat unusual smuggling attempt.
The inspectors concluded that the pigeons had been brought in without the mandatory veterinary health certificate, and had not undergone the necessary examinations required to import birds into Israel. The Agriculture Ministry statement said the birds posed a health threat to Israel’s citizens and its wildlife.
The suitcase in which rare Uzbek pigeons were hidden, during a smuggling attempt thwarted at Ben Gurion Airport. The bag had a disabled luggage tag in order to avoid suspicion. (Agriculture Ministry)
The passenger also failed to obtain an import license from the Veterinary Services at the Agriculture Ministry or approval from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, as required by law.
The inspectors also highlighted the inhumane conditions suffered by the pigeons during the flight. They were crammed into the small boxes and tied up in a net, without ventilation, water or food.
The man was detained and taken for questioning. He said his paperwork was lost on the way, but no record of an import license was found in the systems. A legal case has been filed against him.
The pigeons were immediately taken to a facility belonging to the Veterinary Services to receive food and water. After their recovery they are expected to be returned to Germany, after it was ascertained that they would be taken care of there.
“Animals arriving from abroad without the required health certificates and licensing might bring with them diseases which could endanger both public and animal health in Israel, and might even cause death,” said Tzvika Avni, chief veterinary doctor at Ben Gurion Airport. “The importation of birds without the required health certificates endangers public health by running the risk of spreading avian influenza, while also endangering the health of animals in Israel by running the risk of spreading avian influenza or Newcastle disease.”
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 | Oct 24, 2016 | Bird Netting
An epic report for the LH Martin Institute by former senior public servant Mark Warburton makes for exceptionally interesting reading. He doesn’t just have a unique perspective on policy, he also has some very valid and courageous ideas about the future. Warburton also isn’t afraid of setting the cat among the pigeons: he reckons the government’s mantra of cost blow outs under the demand driven system are a little myopic and self-serving because a series of budget cuts have kept the budget — as a proportion of GDP — pretty stable at 0.8 per cent of GDP since 2000. However, Warburton joins the conga line of experts voicing their escalating concerns about the disparity between higher education funding and policy and that of vocational education. Warburton argues post-school education financing should be completely overhauled, with vocational and higher education treated similarly and all courses backed by government subsidies as well as the unified loan scheme. He even has some pretty well developed ideas for HECS.
More please
HW often bemoans the state of independent higher education policy analysis. So we doff our cap to LH Martin for backing weighty reports such as this, and also the series of articles on funding by Frank Larkins and Ian Marshman.
Race day
While Victoria shut down for the race that stops the nation on Tuesday, Melbourne University was hard at work. It appears the public holiday was traded years ago as part of an enterprise bargaining round. Besides, the race always falls in the middle of exams. And so it was that students were lining up to sit exams as the rest of Melbourne was falling over in their stilettos at Flemington.
Race daze
One VC admitted to HW he had attended the Melbourne Cup just once. “That was enough. Unless you like hanging around a lot of people drinking champagne and watching TV, there’s not much point to it,” he said. HW couldn’t agree more.
Concerning times
Turkey’s state-run news agency says 10,130 more civil servants have been dismissed for alleged ties to terrorism while 15 mostly pro-Kurdish media outlets also have been shut down. Academics are among the most targeted, with 1267 academics being dismissed from universities.
Turkey declared a state of emergency following the July 15 coup attempt allowing the government to rule by decree.
Welcoming times
Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Graham Quirk will hold a giant party for 700 international students tonight. “The ceremony allows Brisbane to showcase itself as one of the world’s most welcoming and friendly cities for international students,” the press gumph says. The party comes as international education market research firm StudentMarketing estimates that a destination realises $14.4 million in economic impact, and 300 full time jobs, for every 1000 students it hosts. The report says part of the impact is derived from overseas students, along with their family and friends, making repeated return visits not just to the city but the region. It says that more than a third of students would like to stay and work following graduation. of student travellers wish to stay, work, and live in the destination after graduation.
Speaking of which
The government has this morning announced the names of 3000 students, researchers and professionals from 67 tertiary institutions who have been awarded Endeavour scholarships, fellowships and mobility grants.
Appointment
ANU has appointed ecologist Saul Cunningham as the new director of the Fenner School of Environment and Society. Formerly a principal research scientist with CSIRO Land and Water, Cunningham’s research focuses on how biodiversity might best be maintained in landscapes that are modified by humans. He is known for his work on pollination ecology, from native plants to crops, and from wild pollinators to managed honeybees. Cunningham will take up the role in January, succeeding Steve Dovers, who is stepping down after leading the school since 2009.
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 | Oct 23, 2016 | Bird Netting
Despite what it might have sounded like, pterodactyls did not invade the alley between the Athens County Board of Elections and the Athens County Court of Common Pleas.
Over the past month, people walking down Court Street noticed exceptionally loud noises resembling those of distressed birds coming from the alley next to the Board of Elections.
“At first I was like, ‘what the hell?’ because I used to work at Donkey, and so I spent a lot of time walking through this alley to put trash in the dumpsters,” Mary Pyles, an Athens resident, said.
Charlie Brown, the building superintendent of Athens County, assured that people were not imagining the strange bird sounds occurring at all hours of the day.
At the end of September, maintenance workers for the county buildings in Athens had enough with the bird droppings coming mainly from the pigeons landing on the courthouse. The attempted solution was the installation of an electronic box that put out different variations of predator and distressed bird noises on a timed schedule. The hope was that the distress sounds would frighten the pigeons enough to deter them from roosting on and around the courthouse.
“I knew it was a recording. It sounded too much like a pterodactyl being attacked in the jungle. I was like ‘yeah, that’s not real,’ ” Kelly Basilio, an employee at the Board of Elections, said.
If bird droppings scattered on the outside of the courthouse were not enough to make Brown and his staff take action, the pesky pigeons sneaking into the attic of the courthouse were.
“We were just trying to test something out because two things — the droppings on the outside of the building are kind of severe, but then also they’re migrating around enough so that they’re finding their way inside of the attic because that’s where they were really creating what potentially could be a health problem,” Brown said.
Building maintenance first tried placing the device in the bell tower on top of the courthouse to take advantage of the acoustics.
“We played in there for a week and a half or two … it had some effect on them but not what we (were) hoping for,” Brown said.
The creators of the device suggested to Brown that the louvers — angled slats fixed in the bell tower to allow light and air to pass — were projecting the sound too far downward. Because the device was guaranteed to be water and weatherproof, the next location maintenance tried was the roof of the courthouse.
The experiment ended abruptly after a big rain Athens experienced last week, despite the waterproof guarantee for the device.
“The guy that works with me unplugged it,” Brown said, “brought it down and the water was dripping out of it and I said, ‘Well I thought that was supposed to be sealed,’ and he said ‘Yeah, they said it was.’ ”
Brown is uncertain what the next attempt at keeping away the unwelcome birds will be. Installing the distress device was not the first attempt he has seen to scare away the pooping pigeons.
The device likely did not work as well as planned because of birds’ ability to become desensitized to triggers supposed to scare them off, Brown said.
The device cost building maintenance about $250. However, a disappointed Brown said he has every intention of having the money refunded that went toward the bird box.
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 | Oct 22, 2016 | Bird Netting
Mangaluru, Nov 3: Vittal (32), a native of Aikala Yeradubettu near Kinnigoli in the taluk, fell into a well without protective wall and lost his life. This incident happened at Sthalantaguthu Palke within Aikala gram panchayat near Kinnigoli on Wednesday November 2 afternoon.
Vittal was member of a group of three friends who had ventured out to catch pigeons. Santosh and Rajesh from Yeradubettu Aikala had accompanied him in the hunting trip which began at around 11 AM on Wednesday.
The group of friends noticed the presence of some pigeons in an area in Sthalantaguthu Palke that looked like a small area covered by bushes. All the three darted towards the spot in an effort to catch hold of the birds. As the open well was not visible, Vittal fell into it when hurrying towards the birds, Santosh stated.
Information about the tragedy was later conveyed to the family of Vittal and to the Mulky police. Firemen attached to Moodbidri fire brigade brought the body of Vittal out of the well. It is gathered that the well, which is 40 feet deep, has 20 feet of standing water as of now. Vittal had also suffered severe blow on his head, policemen stated.
The deceased is survived by his wife and three daughters.
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 | Oct 21, 2016 | Bird Netting
Pigeons drop a big problem on High Street Reverend John Mitchell outside his Bonnyrigg Parish Church which has been plagued by pigeon droppings. A recent increase in pigeon droppings on Bonnyrigg High Street has raised safety fears and left a church £2000 out of pocket. Bonnyrigg Parish Church had already spent £400 earlier in the summer tackling the problem and, by the end of work being undetaken, will have spent around £2000 on having spikes fitted on the roof and spire to stop pigeons making a mess on the 170-year-old building. The Rev. John Mitchell has been at the church for 25 years and said he has “never seen anything like this before”. He added: “For the last nine months we have had an absolute mess at the church. “They are resting on the church area, particularly the steeple, and the droppings are all over the pavement. “The droppings have an acid in them that starts to corrode buildings so that’s why we have to make moves to stop this. “When it’s wet the droppings just become mud, it’s literally a skating rink. “We did approach the council about six months ago to see if there were any small grants available for us to spike the church building. It did its best but we heard nothing back so we have had to cough up the money for it. “We don’t want the mess – and the smell that comes with it – dragged into the church.” Mr Mitchell revealed that the church was not the only building affected. He said: “The town centre has been swamped by pigeons in the last year. There seems to be more and more appearing. “I think other shop owners near the toll are angry too. “It’s not their job to clean the pavement to stop it being dragged into their shops. It’s obviously a council problem. “We are all at a loss as to who should be cleaning what area but we shouldn’t be cleaning public highways.” A Midlothian Council spokesman said: “We are aware of the situation at Bonnyrigg High Street and the area will be cleaned. “But unlike dog fouling or littering, there is no legislation in place concerning pigeon fouling, thus it is not the council’s responsibility to clean the mess. “Nevertheless we understand the frustrations of the shop owners and Bonnyrigg Parish Church concerning the on-going situation.”
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)
