Pigeons in the News Archives - Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services

Where are all the dead pigeons?

It may not seem like one of life’s great mysteries, but a quick internet search reveals that people from across the world – London to Hong Kong, Cape Town to Buenos Aires – are asking this same question: for all the pigeons out there in our cities, where are all the dead ones? Alas they’re not pondering the presence of pigeon heaven, but rather, where are all the bodies?

Pigeons are as ubiquitous in the world’s cities as bad traffic, buskers, and late-night takeaways. London alone is estimated to contain more than a million pigeons, inhabiting the many parks and gardens that crisscross its 1,000 square miles. Given these vast numbers – and the fact that an urban pigeon seldom lives for more than three or four years – it’s a wonder why they are not strewn across city streets.

There are several possible reasons for this. First, pigeons are just one part of a wide array of creatures to have adopted our cities as their home. Foxes, rats, gulls, crows and ravens all do a wonderful job of cleaning up any carrion they come across, including deceased pigeons. These species perform inestimable services to the urban ecosystem, reducing human exposure to rotting matter and helping cut the transmission of infectious diseases.

Alongside these native janitors, domestic cats are equally happy to take care of a dead or injured pigeon. It is estimated that there are half a million cats living in London alone – roughly two pigeons per cat – and if you’re “lucky” they might bring one home as a present. Whether a resident moggy or some other carnivore, this network of surreptitious street cleaners will usually whisk away any pigeon corpses long before they’re seen by human eyes.

High-rise hideaways

Most pigeons, however, don’t simply drop dead on the ground. To understand where pigeons themselves are likely to go when feeling vulnerable or unwell, we need to delve into their origins. The pigeons we see in cities are domestic pigeons who have undergone some serious “rewilding”. They were originally bred as homing pigeons, trained birds who relayed important messages over large distances long before telephones. These pigeons even won prestigious medals in both world wars.

Going back further, the original homing pigeons were bred centuries ago from wild rock doves, a species which inhabits sea cliffs and coastal caves. Cities, with their high-rise buildings and elevated ledges, provide ideal nest sites for feral pigeons, and create an environment reminiscent of their ancestral homes. This background means that, when sick or injured, pigeons instinctively retreat to dark, remote places – ventilation systems, attics, building ledges – hoping to remain out of reach and unnoticed by predators. The predators don’t see them, but neither do we: often when pigeons expire, they are in hiding.

Gone before their time

But what actually causes a pigeon to die? As they get older, pigeons become more susceptible to disease, and often become slower to react to oncoming predators. It is well-established that when a predator attacks a flock of birds, slower individuals can become isolated from the group, making them easy prey. Dying of old age is not a luxury afforded to most pigeons: as soon as they shows signs of slowness or sickness, many are snapped up by peregrine falcons, sparrowhawks, or other predators.

One slightly macabre alternative that occurs in big cities, involves the netting that often hangs around buildings. Birds can easily fly into it and become entangled: not just old or sick pigeons, but any bird unfortunate enough not to notice it. Netting is usually high above the ground, so after some fruitless struggling dead pigeons usually hang there, away from the scavengers below.

Whether snatched midair by birds of prey, entangled by man made obstacles or alone in a remote corner of a skyscraper’s roof garden, there are many ways that pigeons pass on from this world. But they all take place within an internal urban ecosystem, that, for the most part, is hidden from our sight.

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Meet the hawk that keeps pigeons away from malls

A mall in California hired Remmy — a Harris’ hawk — two years ago to hunt down uninvited pigeons.

The renovation of the Broadway Plaza mall in Walnut Creek, Calif., attracted dozens of pigeons.

“We had a major pigeon problem and were unsure of the best way to get it under control,” said Shelly Dress, senior manager of property management at the mall.

So Dress turned to Hawk Pros, a company that uses falcons to get rid of pest birds.

The practice helps avoid using chemicals and only scares away the targets, letting them live.

“A scared pigeon is an educated pigeon,” said Remmy’s handler, Bridget Maguire-Colton. “That pigeon will return to its flock and let the other birds know there’s a hawk here who means business. Pigeons are smart birds — they will remember where the hawk is and will seek out another venue for shelter, water and food.”

Separately, a flight attendant for a Chinese airline pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle almost two dozen spotted and box turtles from Los Angeles to China.

Hauqian Qu entered his guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy yesterday, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

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Pigeons and the eyesore railway bridge

SIR – Gemma Demaline (‘Please leave the poor pigeons out of this’, Craven Herald letters, June 14) is clearly right that the rubbish dumped near the railway bridge has indeed its origin in a human not avian source.

However she is in error on other matters.

My wife’s widescreen wipers are imperfectly good order but, had she been in a stream of traffic when her vision was suddenly obscured by pigeon droppings, she would have had much less than

one second in which to turn on the wipers, press the spray button and take evasive action – hardly feasible.

Fortunately there was, on this occasion, no other vehicle close by either ahead or behind.

Secondly, the natural habitat for the pigeons has not been destroyed – not one of the many trees by the side of the road has been removed so there is plenty of alternate roosting sites.

Of course, birds cannot avoid defecation, but Network Rail, who own the bridge, could make it secure from roosting birds without causing any harm to them.

On occasions, I have noticed a number of birds that appear to have been poisoned, so there must be those who are attempting to take the matter into their own hands – an action which I deplore.

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Eight tribal youths stripped, detained for hunting pigeons in Gujarat

Forest officials of Unai range in Tapi district detained eight tribal youths and stripped them for allegedly hunting birds like sparrows, mynahs and pigeons on Tuesday. The eight youths, who had to spend the whole night in detention in their underpants, were released on Wednesday after each of them paid a penalty of Rs 1,000.

Range Forest Officer Raghuveersingh Kosada justified the officials’ action on the tribals youths, saying, “the purpose of stripping them was to help them understand the importance of birds as it is also living beings and they should not be killed”.

Kosada said the sarpanch of Pati village, from where the eight youths hail, have been warned against any more such activities. “We have strictly told the village sarpanch and parents of those arrested that such activities of killing birds will not be entertained,” the Forest Officer said.

Defending the youths’ action , village sarpanch Dilkhush Gamit said: “There is a general tradition that the village youths go into the forest and kill birds and cook a meal of it. Our village youngsters had not killed peacock or any other animal. They were just sparrows, mynahs and pigeons. This kind of punishment of stripping them is new to us. We all illiterate and afraid of them (officials), so we cannot do anything against them.”

One of the arrested youth’s father called the forest officials action “harsh”. “My son helps me in the agricultural field, and during night he left home to meet his friends. It is quite routine that youths go to forest and hunt birds. It’s the tradition of our tribal community. To make our children naked and detain them for whole night in the forest office is a harsh punishment. Till now, no forest officer resorted to such an action,” the father said.

According to forest officials, they received a complaint about youths of Pati village in Dolvan taluka hunting birds and cooking their meat inside the forest. Acting on it, the forest officials carried out night patrolling on Tuesday when they detained eight youths. On frisking, officials claimed, they recovered a catapult and carcasses of pigeons, mynahs and sparrows from their bags. They were brought to Unai Range forest office and booked under Wildlife Protection Act before they were stripped to their underwear.

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Pigeon Droppings or Odor Complaint

In New York City you can make reports of unsanitary conditions caused by pigeons, including odor and excessive droppings on:

Window ledges
Sidewalks
Exteriors of commercial and residential properties

You cannot make complaints about pigeon droppings from:

Street lamps
Telephone or utility poles
Overpasses
Bridges
Transportation facilities
Public parks

It is not illegal to feed pigeons, but you may receive a violation for failing to clean up unsanitary conditions that result from this activity.

If you are a property owner, you are required to clean up unsanitary pigeon conditions on or originating from their property. You must provide the name and full address of the property owner for the City to take action.

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Answer Man: Pigeon population on the wane?

Dear Answer Man: I noticed the other day that there are very few pigeons flying around downtown. I used to love watching their superbly synchronized acrobatics, as squadrons of perhaps 100 birds took flight. Sadly, lately I’ve seen just a handful of pigeons. Did some institution get tired of cleaning up after them, like the owners of the Old Opera House in Pine Island did a few weeks ago? — A Sad Lover of Pigeons

Well, Sad Lover, some days you’re the pigeon and some days you’re the statue. And while it sounds like you were happy as a lark when the bird population soared, right now, they’re scarcer than hen’s teeth.

My first call was to Mike Nigbur, who is in charge of the city’s crow-scaring efforts. He did not know of any pigeon decline downtown. His guess was that Mayo’s peregrine falcon program may have caused the pigeons to chicken out.

Replacing one bird population with another? That would be a little hawkward.

Tom Behrens, Mayo’s facilities chief in charge of the peregrine program, thinks that’s a likely explanation, though.

“The falcons will take some pigeons out, but not a lot — especially when there’s no young,” he said. “But the pigeons learn not to get into big groups, because they know they’re vulnerable that way.”

What’s likely happening, dear reader, is a general spreading-out — not a thinning of the flock. The smaller birds are nesting farther away from downtown, and when they do show up here, they’re in smaller groups. Kind of like how you spread spinach around your plate to make your parents think you’ve eaten it.

Jackie Fallon of the Midwest Peregrine Society backed that up.

“I would not say that the peregrines would cause a significant decline in the pigeon population, but they may alter the behavior of the pigeons to roost or move away from the immediate vicinity of the nesting buildings at Mayo,” she said.

Mike Tenney, the area wildlife supervisor for the DNR, said the pigeon population could potentially drop due to disease or predation from other animals.

Jaime Edwards, also of the DNR, was not aware of any efforts to control the pigeon population (via poison or any other man-made means). It’s not an uncommon action, she said, but pigeon control usually occurs around grain loading areas and elevators — neither of which you’re likely to find walking around downtown.

West Nile virus has disappeared from headlines for a bit, Edwards said, but that doesn’t mean the animal population can sleep easy. Pigeons are still susceptible to the fowl disease, which could have an effect on the population.

Finally, she mentioned that when we have “goofy springs like this” (read: unending slogs of cold, wet weather), it’s hard for birds to incubate their nests warmly enough to hatch eggs. So over a short period of time, you’ll start seeing fewer birds downtown.

Behrens, though, reassured me that pigeons breed year-round, and the population probably hasn’t decreased.

In the end, the answer may be for the birds. Pigeons aren’t native to Minnesota, so Edwards said the DNR isn’t tracking any fluctuations in the population.

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Why pigeons are much more intelligent than you might think

Most of us see pigeons pretty much every day, pecking around for food, or perching on buildings.

Or just going about their pigeon-y business.

You might not think of them as being the smartest creatures around -but it turns out they’re a lot more intelligent than we realised.

Researchers in Canada set up an experiment to find out more about how pigeons make decisions.

They found that pigeons, like humans, use maths and something called probability to work out how they’re most likely to get the result they want

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Race Horses In The Sky

A racing pigeon is a registered homing pigeon.

These pigeons are dropped off in a location and have to make their way back to their home in Amarillo. Each pigeon has to make it back to their loft and once they cross the antenna, their time is recorded on a clock. The flying speed is broke down into yards per minute to determine the winner.

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Face To Face: The Birdman Of The Bahamas

Metellus Chipman is no stranger to the world of culture and entertainment in The Bahamas. He is a young, talented entrepreneur who has made a name for himself with his flair for our culture. He stands on the great shoulders of his mother and grandparents, whose contribution to culture in this country is immeasurable. He is known as a fun-loving, outgoing individual who is always ready to entertain guests at his Arawak Cay stall. But Metellus says many people don’t know the real him – a family man who spends most of his spare time in his backyard tending to his fruit trees, vegetable and flowering plants and breeding his beloved birds – pigeons.

#I had the same reaction many have when they first hear about his hobby: “Pigeons?”

#Yes, pigeons. Healthy, beautiful pigeons from around the world are at home in Metellus’ backyard. He taught me to appreciate these birds in a whole new way. As president of a group of 30 pigeon breeders called the “The Pigeon Nation”, he’s on a mission to get kids in the inner city off the streets and into a hobby that could steer them in the right path towards future success. He knows that one by one, if we continue to invest in programmes like these, we can offer young people viable solutions to today’s vexing social ills and create a more prosperous nation in the future.

#Pigeon breeding is very much a part of Bahamian culture, he contends: “Every Bahamain person knows someone that keeps pigeons. It’s a part of our culture. I grew up doing it, my father and uncles grew up doing it, and they are in their 60s and 70s… so how many generations of Bahamians have been raising pigeons? If you have a company bringing 40ft containers of pigeon feed into this country, it indicates that a large population of pigeons are here.”

#“If you put your time into it, you will get something back. I come home in the evening, I sit down in my bird cage and relax. I have learned to live healthier from taking care of them. I have to give my birds organic apple cider vinegar and cod liver oil constantly to keep them healthy. They can get the cold, just like us. I have to give them organic, non-gmo grains and so I learned to eat that way too.”

#I sat face to face in the bird cage with Metellus as he proudly showed off about 100 pigeons including the Indian Fantail, German and English Trumpeters, Hungarians, the local rock dove, and a unique home-bred species his group calls the “Bahamian Kingbop”. They have a range of beautiful colours and some with interesting attributes like hooded eyes and feathered feet. For those concerned about the noise, these birds actually make a lovely cooing sound that sounded calming as we sat for the interview.

#Metellus recalled a childhood memory that stuck with him. As a young boy, he was skating home with a pigeon in hand. He fell, but kept his hand up and kept the bird safe. He realised that having something to care for makes kids more conscientious, responsible and careful in their own lives. He now wants to pass on his love for the birds to yet another generation, with a focus on the inner city youths that often have too much idle time during after school hours. If they can get into a hobby that could generate income, more young people susceptible to the street life would be interested in being involved in something positive. Metellus says even criminals have a love for animals and can be better rehabilitated this way.

#“I used to be in the club, partying and having fun, but then I met my wife and I settled down,” he shares.

#“I am a simple person. I love nature, love to help people, and I stay humble. I am 6ft 2in and 250 pounds. I could be aggressive, but that’s not the right way to go about life. I have to set an example and as president of the group, it starts with me. It’s time for all of us to grow.”

#“My wife says, either you are to work or in your bird cage, but at least she knows where I am. It’s a business and a mental release. I can come on the back here and sit; I am off the streets not bothering anyone, and I can get my kids involved in something positive. It also helps my family financially. The other day I sold a pair of fan feathers for $200. So ten pairs of quality birds can help pay your bills. Everyone has a hobby. This is our hobby. You should spend time with what you love.”

#The Pigeon Nation is gaining new members by freely giving a pair of birds to young people whose parents permit them to start taking care of them. Members make a home visit and help with guidance on building the cage and caring for the birds, including advising visits to a veterinarian. The success of their club ensures that more varieties of pigeons are available on the island. Bahamians can be found taking their birds to the US and as far away as Germany for competitions. The goal is to attract international judges to come to The Bahamas for a competition. The club held its third successful local showing and judging on Arawak Cay on Sunday. The club includes breeders in Eleuthera and Ragged Island, where some bakers on the island prefer pigeon eggs to make their cakes a little fluffier.

#Metellus was awarded crown land and is utilising it to create a farm and a new home for his birds. Then, he will seek to establish an after school programme and provide transport for inner city children to come out to the farm and care for the birds. Kids just love the birds, he says, adding that an 11-year-old won a recent local competition. There are other bird clubs in the country, and they interact with them as well and purchase other breeds they don’t have. Bird keeping, he said, is yet another extension of Bahamian culture.

#It’s in his DNA to be an ambassador for culture. His grandfather, the legendary John “Chippie” Chipman is nearing 90 years old and is still going strong, still working as a performer. His style of drum beating is known to evoke emotion and represent a stirring display of African and Lucayan heritage. Chippie has performed around the world representing the country, and is patriarch to a large family which has contributed much in various sectors of society, including Mp Reece Chipman and former MP Hubert Chipman. His grandmother, the late Rebecca “Becky” Chipman was adored as the queen of fire dance and Goombay in her day. His mother, Mitzie Chipman, followed in her mother’s footsteps as an extraordinary entertainer, having performed with her mother from as far back as 1969 during the Goombay Summer, a Bahamian festival of highlighting local culture, food and music.

#Metellus first attended TG Glover Primary School before moving on to Miami Jackson Senior High and then Youngstown University in Ohio, where he played football and earned a bachelor’s degree in fine art. He loves to paint and is also a well-known dancer, but rarely has the time for those in this season of his life. He is also a trained masseuse, but is mostly spending time at his Arawak Cay stall where he sells sky juice and coconut water fresh from the nut.

#He won the Mr Caribbean competition in Jamaica representing his country, beating out neighbouring countries for the top prize. He also won the Mr World Bahamas competition in 2007 and represented The Bahamas in China, where he won the talent competition. His dance was an ode to “The Obeah Man” the late Tony McKay, a performance that stole the hearts of the judges.

#Pondering on great cultural giants like McKay and his grandfather, he mused: “There are so many cultural leaders out there. The same way how we have big bulletin boards with our track stars on them, we should have our cultural giants on billboards. Kids today want to be the next reggae or pop star because that’s all they are hearing or seeing. But with Bahamian culture, they can make a living. We need to make it lucrative. When they see they can make a living from it, they will get interested in it.”

#“God gave me the idea to start this group and I see it changing lives. Someone who was on drugs; someone who lost his wife; someone in a wheelchair, all rehabilitating themselves while doing something they love. He gave me the vision and I am fulfilling it and I see it changing lives.”

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3 adorable baby peregrine falcons recently hatched on NYS bridge

Three baby peregrine falcons hatched in a nesting box at the South Grand Island Bridge in Western New York about three weeks ago.

The NYS Thruway Authority has installed peregrine falcons nesting boxes at several bridges across its 570-mile system since the late 1980s. As part of its biodiversity/endangered species project, the nesting creates a safe place away from human interference. Also, the falcons help keep pigeons off the bridges.

According to the Thruway, pigeon droppings are harmful to the bridges’ paint and steel. By keeping the pigeons at bay, the bridge structures last longer.

There is no formal naming of the birds, according to a Thruway spokesperson. Although last year, students named the falcons at the Tappan Zee Bridge in a naming contest.

The nesting program at the North Grand Island Bridge started in 2005, and at the South Grand Island Bridge in 2009. More than 70 baby falcons have hatched there since the nesting boxes were installed.

Baby falcons are called eyasses. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the word “peregrine” means “wanderer” or “pilgrim.” They were virtually eradicated from eastern North America by pesticide poisoning in the middle 20th century.

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At least 80 messenger pigeons die, 10 people displaced in Phoenix house fire

At least 80 messenger pigeons are dead and 10 people are without a home after a fire ripped through two Phoenix residences Saturday.

Officials with the Phoenix Fire Department said the fire charred two homes near 57th Avenue and Camelback Road early Saturday morning. The blaze started at one residence before spreading to the neighboring home.

At least 80 of the 150 birds inside of one of the homes died of smoke inhalation, fire officials said.

The owners were part of a messenger-bird association and cared for the birds inside of the home.

Messenger pigeons are known for their ability to find their way home over extremely long distances. Because of this skill, they are used to transport messages.

All of the occupants, four dogs and at least 70 pigeons made it out of the home safely. Officials said the fire displaced 10 people who were living in the homes.

The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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Tarred pigeons found with wings stuck together in Gorse Hill

CRUEL animal abusers are targeting birds in Gorse Hill.

Pigeons have been found with their wings stuck together with tar, leaving them helpless, in pain and unable to move.

Malcolm Webb, 80, of Cheney Manor was horrified when his son Rory brought back a pigeon that had been immobilised in the black sticky stuff.

Pensioner Mr Webb said: “It’s terrible. It seemed to me that people had done it, we could not leave it like that.

“Its wings were all stuck together. It was still alive and the tops of its wings had been stuck.

“Its back feathers and tail feathers had also been stuck down,” he told the Advertiser.

Malcolm and Rory took the pigeon to Oak and Furrows Wildlife Rescue Centre on the Blakehill Farm nature reserve near Cricklade.

There, they discovered that the horrible attack was not an isolated incident. Six adult pigeons and one baby bird had been found in a similar condition and brought to the animal sanctuary over the past two weeks. Oak and Furrows have since nursed them all back to good health.

The birds were bathed in margarine to get the tar out of their feathers, then given fluids at the vet.

When staff at the centre went out and looked they found even more tarred birds that couldn’t be rescued.

Serena Stevens, founder of Oak and Furrows said: “One of our drivers went out to investigate.

“A baby bird was dead and one adult was dead – all smothered in the stuff. It’s not normal, their wings have been completely stuck together, they can’t fly.”

According to Serena, they were found with small puddles of tar nearby which had bits of bread in it that the birds were eating.

Serena added: “I love pigeons and I’m angry that someone is deliberately doing this.This is cruelty, how would they like it done to them? The pigeons can’t move, they’re ingesting the tar.”

The abuse has been reported to the RSPCA.

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Driver, 18, crashed van trying to ‘swerve around pigeons’

Registered carer Damien Appleton had been driving a Renault Kangoo in Calshot Road, Havant, when he spotted the birds and ‘misjudged the angle,’ flipped the van on to its side and ran off. Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court heard the 18-year-old, of Woolston Road, Havant, had been moving the van from his mother’s address. When police traced him via the registration plate, it revealed he had no insurance, MOT and no licence. Appleton admitted each of the three charges and a charge of failing to stop in the crash on March 15 at 12.10pm. Emma Smith, mitigating, said: ‘There was a group of pigeons in the road, he swerved to miss them and misjudged the angle and flipped the vehicle. ‘He’s panicked and that’s why he’s left the scene. When police come to his address he makes admissions to them.’ Appleton, who owned the van, was banned for two years. Ms Smith said Appleton is a carer for his brother, in his 20s, who is paralysed from the neck down after diving into shallow water. No-one else had been involved in the crash. Sentencing, district judge Anthony Callaway said: ‘What a good thing no-one was killed.’

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Commemorating veterinarians and animals who went to war

New Zealands “forgotten army” has been remembered at Massey University’s School of Veterinary Science in Palmerston North.

On Thursday, a plaque dedicated to the officers and soldiers of the New Zealand Veterinary Corps was unveiled.

A purple poppy is the recognised tribute to the “forgotten army” of animals that gave their loyalty and lives during war.

The plaque, donated by the Australian War Animal Memorial Organisation, was presented at this year’s unveiling of the New Zealand War Animal Memorial at Waiouru’s National Army Museum on Purple Poppy Day, February 24.

As New Zealand’s only veterinary school, it was decided Massey would be the best place to house the plaque on behalf of the country’s veterinary professionals.

Featuring the horses, mules, camels, dogs and pigeons that served, the plaque carried an inscription to members of the NZ Vet Corps who “gave comfort and care to the animals of war”, and was unveiled by the university’s vice chancellor Professor Jan Thomas and Emeritus Professor Neil Bruère.

Glyn Harper, professor of war studies at Massey University, and an author of children’s books set during World War I, has two stories featuring animals, Roly, The Anzac Donkey, and, released earlier this year, Bobby, The Littlest War Hero, the story of the New Zealand tunnelling company’s early warning canary.

Harper said animals played a huge role in New Zealand wars from the conflicts of the 19th century onward, and especially during WWI, with bullocks, horses, mules and donkeys used for logistical purposes.

“New Zealand sent 8000 horses to the South African War, and 10,000 horses to WWI, before that was stopped in 1916.”

New Zealand was running out of horses and needed the remaining animals for farm work. Many of the horses sent to the front had passed through a camp just outside Palmerston North used as a base for receiving gifted and bought horses.

“On the Western Front, the New Zealand Division used 6000 horses each day,” Harper said.

The New Zealand Veterinary Corps was formed in 1907, and during WWI comprised a small number of qualified veterinarians as commissioned officers, along with blacksmiths and farriers, groomers, teamsters and wagoners, and were essential for military operations.

Harper said despite being overwhelmed by the numbers of animals they had to treat, including dogs and carrier pigeons, the vets provided exemplary service, with only 2 per cent of the animals succumbing to illness or disease.

Wreaths were placed at the base of the plaque, the Ode to Remembrance was read and The Last Post sounded during the hour-long ceremony, which was also attended by Yardley, a golden labrador explosives detection dog and Afghanistan veteran, and alsatian infantry support dog Ida, from Linton Military Camp.

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Incredible moment firefighters bring three unconscious pigeons back to life after rescuing them from burning bus depot

The big-hearted rescuers then used a tube to administer air from a ventilator until the wild creatures coughed back into life.

Passer-by Sim Wright, 49, snapped the bonkers scene as he passed the depot in Colchester, Essex.

The marine biologist said: “We heard what sounded like explosions coming from the depot so we thought it was best to get out.

“When I went round the back, I could see they were looking for people in the building and when they were sure no-one was trapped, they turned their attention to the birds.

“They were carrying the birds out by hand. They had passed out from smoke inhalation.

“They got them on to the ground and they started feeding them water out of a cap to revive them.

“Then I was really surprised because they used a tube to feed them oxygen which really seem to do the trick.

“When I saw it, being a marine biologist, I was really taken with the care they were displaying to the animals.

“Obviously, their first priority is for humans but once they had ascertained there was no-one in there, it was really great to see how quickly they turned their attention to the birds. Soon after I took this they were walking around the place and looked okay.”

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said the firefighters were called to the blaze on Friday, May 18.

A spokesman added: “This is a great example of the compassion our firefighters show on a daily basis across our county.”

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Pigeon finds itself before the beak!

A BIRD found itself before the beak after sneaking into a courtroom and leaving deposits everywhere.

Although there are no windows in the room at Swindon Crown Court, the pigeon somehow managed to get in and make itself at home.

And it was still there this morning when legal business was due to start, resulting in one case being moved to another courtroom while another matter was delayed.

Efforts are being made to remove the bird from the building.

About Pigeon Patrol:

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.

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Disease That Decimated UK’s Garden Birds Now Found in Mynas in Pakistan

A disease in pigeons and doves gained infamy in 2006 after it decimated the UK’s greenfinch bird population by half a million within that year. In 2012, the bird’s population had plummeted to 2.8 million from an estimated 4.3 million. A new study has now found a protozoan parasite that was implicated in the disease in common mynas in Faisalabad, Pakistan.

The disease, avian trichomonosis, is an emerging infection more colloquially called frounce or canker. It wreaks havoc on both endangered and common wildlife populations. The parasite responsible for causing it, Trichomonas gallinae, is known to normally affect pigeons, doves and the birds of prey that eat them.

But in 2005, it jumped species and devastated the UK’s garden songbird populations of greenfinches and chaffinches. Some earlier studies have pointed out that they probably had a major role to play in driving the passenger pigeon to extinction, and that they are causingpopulations of the endangered Mauritian pink pigeon to fall. (Interesting aside: a T. gallinae-like protozoan had commonly infected the dinosaurs as well.)

Trichomonosis affects the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tract of birds. Affected birds develop lesions in the mouth and/or oesophagus and show signs of lethargy and laboured breathing. Some of them drool saliva and have wet plumage around the bill. T. gallinae can’t survive outside the host and is vulnerable to dehydration. The parasite is transmitted when infected birds share their food and water with others.

Common mynas roost with the blue rock pigeon, the latter a species that hosts T. gallinae in their bodies without harm to themselves. Since mynas are also known to eat pigeon and dove fledglings, researchers already suspected that the disease had jumped species.

Mynas are highly adaptable and live and breed in a wide range of climates. They are also known to evict other resident birds from their nests, earning them the sobriquet ‘kalahapriya’, Sanskrit for ‘quarrel-lover’. Though native to Asia, the myna has thrived in new environments to which it has been introduced.

In fact, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it’s one of the three bird species on the ‘world’s 100 worst invasive species’ list. Given its runaway success in occupying new territory, the myna’s ability to spread diseases to other susceptible domestic and wild avian species in other parts of the world is a matter of grave concern.

The global distribution of the common myna. Blue indicates its native range, red the regions in which it was introduced. Credit: Biatch/Wikimedia Commons

The researchers, from the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad, the King Saud University in Riyadh and the University of East Anglia, Norwich, captured 167 mynas across eight sites in Faisalabad to screen for T. gallinae. They used a binomial sequence-based genotyping system, where genetic variation is measured in predetermined DNA sequences, and found that about 20% of the birds were infected with the disease.

The infection rates were lowest in places where the contact between mynas and blue rock pigeons was limited. At the same time, the infection itself was widespread: there were infected mynahs in all the surveyed sites.

The study’s authors have inferred that the disease in mynahs was endemic, i.e. restricted to a particular region. Farah Ishtiaq, a disease ecologist at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, who was not involved in the study, thinks this is a bold claim to make because it has not been explored elsewhere and because there has been no evidence thus far for this claim.

According to Kevin Tyler, a cellular microbiologist at the University of East Anglia and one of the authors of the study, the genetic subtype, or strain, affecting the mynas was different from the one affecting European finches.

He also said in response to Ishtiaq’s comment that the subtype had been found at all sites at a similar level at different times. Together with the fact that T. gallinae did not appear to be causing severe disease, “our interpretation … is that this is consistent with the disease being endemic in this region rather than a recent outbreak.”

Spencer Greenwood, a professor at the University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, who was not part of the study, also found the endemism claim reasonable given they had only found one genetic subtype and that most birds had not shown evident signs of the disease.

Then again, only 11 out of the 33 infected mynas had exhibited signs of poor health, suggesting they were able to carry the infection without fatal consequences to themselves while potentially being able to spread the disease to other species. However, more studies will have to be conducted before we’re sure whether mynahs are a reservoir or a dead-end host. This is because the mynas have the potential to be a reservoir for this disease. Though the authors have found infection, the study does not address transmission to and from mynas as hosts.

The infection incidence was higher among male mynas than female ones. Nicholas Clark, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, who has studied avian malaria in mynas, said, “Perhaps the males are more likely to come into close contact with pigeons and doves.” He added that researchers would have to study the behavioural ecology of males and females in the nest to know more. He was not involved in the study.

However, Ishtiaq said that mynas have no sexual dimorphism – so sexes can’t be told apart without surgical or molecular testing. So it would be easy to over- or under-estimate the number of birds of either sex.

But Tyler is confident about being to use subtle differences in morphometric measurements to their advantage. In this study, the researchers were familiar with the captured mynas and could confidently ascribe sex. Nonetheless, he and his colleagues remain unsure as to why mostly male mynas were infected with trichomonosis.

Greenwood said other aspects, such as a myna’s roosting behaviour, weather conditions, availability of food, closeness to breeding season, etc. need to be considered to figure out why more males seem to be infected.

He also thinks that sampling the pigeons that share habitat with the mynas and determining what type of strains they carry would be important. “It would be interesting to see if they have the same subtype and if they do, at what prevalence do they occur compared to other subtypes.”

Protozoan parasites cause some of the world’s worst diseases. Because a lot of them are restricted to the developing world, studies such as this demonstrate the importance of studying emerging infectious diseases and their social and economic repercussions. “Mynas have already been implicated in the spread of bird flu through contact with poultry,” Tyler said, “so this could be of concern to poultry farmers.”

His team plans to work with groups in India and other places where mynas thrive.

Ishtiaq thinks that they have made a good start in understanding the host and geographical range of trichomonosis, and feels it would be good to test the common rosefinch for T. gallinae. This is the only finch species that migrates to South Asia and comes in contact with other resident birds. “I have seen many shared avian malaria parasites between resident finches and common rosefinch,” she said.

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Fire in the sky: Heat strikes birds too

These include some 148 infant birds, 619 adult birds and 27 others.“This is the season for babies of birds such as Parakeets, Kites and Pigeons being born. Of late, there has been a significant spike in the number of cases of birds falling prey to dehydration and heatstroke. The infant birds are often ready for their first flight around this time of the year, but they get dehydrated and fall. AHMEDABAD: At a time when many of us fall prey to dizziness and dehydration merely after spending a couple of hours in the scorching sun, the plight of stray animals and birds is much worse. The situation has worsened so much that birds tend to fall and suffer head injuries, as they get dehydrated while flying.Nearly 800 cases of birds falling prey to heat-related illnesses were reported at Jivdaya Charitable Trust (JCT) in Ahmedabad in the first fortnight of this month.

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Brazen vendor harasses woman councillor at Juhu

A woman corporator was recently stalked by a grain seller after she objected to feed being sold for pigeons on Juhu beach.
Renu Hansraj said residents of societies adjacent to the beach had complained of health issues, caused by bird droppings, after large flocks of pigeons started feeding on grain on the beach. When she took this up with the vendor, he responded with: “Everyone would die the way they were destined to.”

Hansraj later recorded her statement with Juhu police.

“A vendor has been selling bird feed for nearly four hours every morning behind Hotel Ramada Plaza Palm Grove. Morning walkers buy grains from him and feed birds. We have requested him repeatedly to move to another stretch of the beach where there are no housing societies, in vain. Pigeon droppings are harmful and have worsened respiratory ailments of residents living adjacent to the current feeding site,” Hansraj said.

On May 4, she went to the beach around 6am to check on the situation.

“I was told the vendor was making as much as Rs 10,000 a day selling bird feed. One of the morning walkers entered into an argument with the vendor over his site of business. I intervened to broker peace as there were many others out for a walk and I did not want anyone to get disturbed. Around 7.15am, while I was headed home on foot, I noticed the vendor following me on his two-wheeler near Hotel JW Marriott. He said he wanted to speak to me. I asked why he hadn’t spoken to me on the beach in the presence of others. He lied that he sold bird feed on the beach for only half an hour. I told him we had no objection to his business, but only to the location he had chosen,” Hansraj said.

The vendor then tried to intimidate her by dropping names of politicians. At this, Hansraj told him to sell bird feed outside those politicians’ homes.

“I told him there was a five-year-old child suffering from bronchitis and a couple of asthma patients living in the building outside which he was doing business,” she said.

People across the city have time and again voiced concern about the unchecked growth in pigeon populations.

Veterinary microbiologists have linked as many as 60 diseases to pathogens released from pigeon droppings. Lung ailments and skin diseases top the list. Siddhesh Surve, who was formerly associated with Bombay Natural History Society, told TOI people should feed sparrows instead of pigeons.

“Pigeons do not clean their nests, unlike other birds, and their nests carry a lot of insects which can harm humans. Instead, people can buy sparrow feeders and put these up on windows.”

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How to help lost or injured racing pigeons get home

As we are coming up to pigeon racing season again, pigeon fanciers will be taking their pigeons further away from their lofts for training, firstly to get their old birds fit, and secondly for the young birds to build up stamina and to orientate themselves to go back to the loft.

At this time of the year, there are thousands of pigeons being trained all over Gauteng and unfortunately, some do get injured or lost and there have been numerous enquiries on social media about how one goes about reporting these pigeons.

Here is some useful information for non-pigeon fanciers, should a racing pigeon land at your residence tired and/or injured:

In the first instance, you will need to check that the pigeon has a coloured identification ring on its leg, for example, GPU (Gauteng Pigeon Union) ZA17 (year of issue) 13309 (ring number).

If the pigeon does not have a ring on its leg, it is more likely a wild or feral pigeon rather than a racing pigeon.

If it is a seasoned racing pigeon, there may be an electronic ring on the pigeon’s other leg which should have a sticker on it with the telephone number of the ring steward of the union or federation that the pigeon owner belongs to.

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Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.

Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)