by johnnymarin | Oct 17, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) – The Richmond Wildlife Center urges the public to be on the lookout for banded pigeons that may be injured while trying to fly back home.
According to the organization’s Facebook page, Saturday marked the annual World Trade Center Memorial Pigeon Race. Banded birds were shipped from Bronx, NY to Lynchburg, VA and then were supposed to “race” back to their lofts in New York.
“Pigeon races have been going on for centuries, having started in Belgium,” said Melissa Stanley, Executive Director for the Richmond Wildlife Center. “This past weekend was one of the biggest races on the east coast.”
According to the Facebook post, many of these birds typically don’t make the 370-mile flight back home.
“Birds of prey are hunting, storing up reserves for migration or for those sticking around Virginia for the winter,” Stanley said. “[They’re] building up reserves for winter when food becomes more scarce.”
At least one banded pigeon was brought to the center from Church Hill after it was attacked by a hawk. It suffered a major bacterial infection. But by just looking at the pigeon you wouldn’t be able to see its injuries.
“There was a puncture under its wing and over its back,” Stanley said. “This bird was particularly lucky it managed to escape. A lot of times these pigeons, which are domesticated and live with people, are not so familiar with predators, such as hawks, and they get picked off.”
Domesticated pigeons are usually distinguishable thanks to the bands attached to their legs.
The band will tell vets the club the pigeon belongs to and when it was hatched – similar to a license on a dog collar.
“These are birds that pigeoneers typically do want back,” Stanley said.
Sometimes the pigeons will have another band on the other leg signifying a race.
“These are only on the birds when they’re in an actual race,” Stanley added.
Pigeon races happen all year round, with plenty of clubs located in Central Virginia.
However, Stanley urges the public to be aware of these birds – if they’re on the ground they’re more than likely injured.
“Every pigeon that we’ve ever admitted needed veterinary attention,” she said. “Often times when they do go down their immune systems are compromised and then they break with various diseases and parasites and have other issues.”
At this point Stanley isn’t sure whether this pigeon took part in the homing race to New York Saturday.
“Pigeons have a fascinating history and have one of the best homing instincts,” she said. “If you think about birds in general they migrate to the same locations over and over again all their lives and pigeons are no different. You raise them in a loft and they learn that the loft is home.”
Now Stanley’s focus is on making sure it recovers and spreading the word about these kinds of injuries.
“If you find a banded pigeon that is down and you’re able to catch it, please don’t follow the bad advice of feeding it, watering it and letting it go,” she said. “Often times that’s not enough.”
In order to transport the pigeon to the center please do the following:
- Place it in a box with air-holes or a cat carrier. Make sure there are towels inside for comfort.
- Fill a water dish, as least 2 inches deep, and place it inside. (Pigeons need to be able to stick their entire beak in the water)
- You can offer them seeds, but not seeds with shells on them
“When you’re giving them their food, make sure you put it right next to their water,” Stanley said. “Pigeons eat and then drink, eat and then drink. You’ll find the next morning that they’ve soaked some of their seed in water.”
There are different kinds of competitions these pigeons may take part in:
- Racing competitions: Pigeons race back to the loft and those that get home the fastest win.
- Homing competitions: Pigeons have to find their way home from long distances. The fastest one home wins.
- Roller competitions: Pigeons that are bred for a specific gene that causes a mini-seizure in flight that makes them roll in the air.
- Tumbler competitions: Similar to a roller competition but the action is on the ground.
“They’re used to relying on humans to be taken care of,” Stanley said. “If they have bands and they’re in a competition they’re very well taken care of. There’s thousands of dollars that goes into these birds.”
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 johnnymarin | Oct 16, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
At least 10 pigeons hit an Air Malta plane in a bird strike incident last month which delayed the fight but did not injure anyone.
Malta International Airport had reported at the time that a bird hit the aircraft on departure.
Transport Malta told The Sunday Times of Malta that “according to preliminary reports, between two and 10 pigeons hit the aircraft and its No. 2 engine” that day.
However, sources have put the number of pigeons involved as being at least 10, although only one of them is reported to have got into the engine.
The 7.20am flight to London on September 20 was delayed by about three-and-a-half hours for the aircraft to be examined and cleaned.
The online journal Aviation Voice reported that the Airbus A319-100 was accelerating for take-off when it encountered a flock of birds, causing multiple impacts and prompting the crew to abort take-off at high speed.
Transport Malta said the incident “cannot be considered serious”.
It said that serious accidents were investigated by the Bureau of Air Accident Investigation and explained that according to standards and practices recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, a serious incident is one “involving circumstances indicating that an accident nearly occurred”.
However, one industry source – a pilot – expressed scepticism over this assessment of the incident.
“Any bird strike can have consequences but a bird strike involving that number of pigeons can be a hair-raising experience even for a very experienced pilot,” he said.
He gave his reassurance, however, that “the idea that birds clog an engine is not correct… modern turbofan engines are quite resilient”.
Each strike requires the aircraft to be inspected, leading to delays and inconvenience to passengers
The pilot said any bird strike was taken seriously by airlines because even a small bird could cause damage.
“Each strike requires the aircraft to be inspected, leading to delays and inconvenience to passengers.”
Another pilot, a commercial airline captain, said bird strikes can occur during any phase of flight up to just over 5,000 feet but are most likely to occur during the take-off, initial climb, approach and landing phases. This is because birds are more easily encountered at these lower levels.
“Bird strikes complicate flight operations and pose a real threat to lives, which is why they are, or rather should be, taken very seriously,” he said.
Bird strikes are a global phenomenon in aviation. A total of 48 were recorded at Malta International Airport last year, 19 more than in 2017. The average number of bird strikes between 2014 and 2016 was 33.
The airport has bird-hazard management procedures in place that include bird-presence patrols, harassment through acoustic distress calls, removal of food and water sources at the aerodrome and regular cutting of grass to eliminate shelter.
The MIA declined to comment on the latest strike due to the “ongoing investigation”.
Transport Malta said it expected the investigation to identify any weaknesses in the process being used by MIA to reduce the possibility of bird strikes.
Questions sent to Air Malta early last week remained unanswered.
In response to a passenger who complained on the Air Malta Facebook page about the long wait she had to endure, Air Malta apologised and asked her to “get in touch with Customer Care team for due compensation”.
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 johnnymarin | Oct 12, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
In the third floor hallway of the Pentagon, just outside the Army Chief of Staff’s office, there is a pigeon.
Walking the corridors, the lifelike pigeon stands out among the cases of military history that display Revolutionary-era bayonets, Civil War uniforms and replicas of helicopters used in Vietnam. Upon closer inspection, one might notice the pigeon is so life-like because it has been taxidermied. It’s also missing one leg.
That pigeon’s name is “President Wilson” — an unsung hero of World War I that made a daring flight to save U.S. troops exactly 100 years ago on Friday.
President Wilson was a military carrier pigeon, one of many in the U.S. Army Signal Corps that delivered messages between commanders and troops on the front lines. The pigeons were especially useful tools of communication during World War I when the telephone and telegraph were still unreliable new technologies.
According to U.S. military accounts recorded in the U.S. Army Center of Military History and the National Archives, Wilson was born in France and first assigned to the U.S. Army’s newly formed Tank Corps, delivering messages to Tank Battalions commanded by Col. George S. Patton in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel.
But soon afterward, Wilson was assigned to an infantry unit conducting operations near Grandpré during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.
On the morning of Oct. 5, 1918, his unit came under attack, and Wilson was dispatched to send a message that the unit needed artillery support. During the 25-mile journey, German soldiers spotted him and began firing into his flight path. (It should be noted that some accounts of Wilson’s heroics place the event as occurring on Nov. 5, but multiple historians reached by ABC corroborated the Oct. 5 date.)
Wilson was hit several times, losing a leg and suffering a wound to his chest, but he managed to deliver the message in a record 25 minutes.
Surviving his wounds, Wilson was retired and sent to the U.S. Army Signal Corps Breeding and Training Center at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, where he would live another eleven years.
After his death, Wilson was taxidermied and presented to the Smithsonian Institution before being transferred to the custody of the U.S. Army in 2008. Now, located in the prestigious halls of the U.S. military’s headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, Wilson serves as a reminder that these simple birds — often considered a nuisance by the general public — were once war heroes.
Carrier pigeons were used by both the Allied and Central Powers during World War I and could even provide updates to military commanders when launched in midair from planes.
“Launched mid-mission, the birds would fly back to their coops and update ground commanders on what the pilots had observed,” the National Archives wrote in a blog post in January. “Quick updates like this were essential for leaders to know what the battlefield looked like and what the enemy was doing in its own trenches.”
“Tanks carried the birds in order to relay the advance of individual units. Even after the introduction of the radio, pigeons were often the easiest way to help coordinate tank units without exposing the men to dangerous fire. Without a radio set, the soldiers would have had to leave the relative safety of their tanks to relay or receive orders,” the Archives said.
When the pigeons weren’t in use, they were stored in mobile units, often converted horse carriages or even double-decker buses.
The birds are thought to use low-frequency sound waves to map their environments and find their way from location to location.
Another famous World War I pigeon was known as Cher Ami — his moment of heroism came during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in the fall of 1918.
The German Army surrounded elements of the 77th Division for five days, at one moment confusing the Americans as they accidentally shelled their own men in an attempt to fire at the enemy.
Messages were unable to get to U.S. commanders, so Cher Ami was released as the division’s last hope. Like Wilson, Cher Ami flew through a barrage of gunfire, also sustaining injuries to his leg and chest. But he successfully delivered the message, ending the friendly fire.
The French even awarded Cher Ami the Croix de Guerre with Palm, a military decoration, for his service.
Military carrier pigeons were again used in World War II. In that war, 32 pigeons were awarded the United Kingdom’s Dickin Medal for their heroic actions.
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 johnnymarin | Oct 10, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
REFERRING to the SMS “Pigeon hazard” (The Star, Oct 1), Thailand is considering jailing or fining anyone caught feeding pigeons. The Thai authorities say pigeons are “rats with wings” and cause bird flu, respiratory diseases and meningitis.
Sadly, here in Kuala Lumpur, there are people throwing out food to feed the pigeons. One such place is Jalan Taban 2 in Lucky Garden, Bangsar. They do this every day, usually in the morning, and there are hundreds of pigeons on the road and telephone lines. When the pigeons flutter their wings, small feathers are seen flying around. Residents also find feathers in their kitchens, and this is not healthy.
These so-called “kind souls” who feed the birds are not concerned about health when they throw food on the road. Some even throw food into the back lanes. They never think that crows, other birds, cats and rats also come to eat the food. This is getting out of control and if something is not done soon, someone will get seriously ill due to the germs carried by the pigeons. I hope the Health Ministry will conduct an awareness campaign to educate the public on the dangers pigeons pose to people.
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 johnnymarin | Oct 9, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Allan Cassidy (66), a resident of Dubbieside, in Lower Methil, claims rats have been an issue in the area for two years, but that this was “the worst I’ve ever known it”. One of the dead rats. Allan, a pensioner who lives in a private let, lost two of his racing pigeons last week after they came down with Paratyphoid. He says the racing pigeons caught the bacterial disease which is caused by the rats. Paratyphoid is a pigeon disease caused by salmonella – and it is thought this can be spread by rats. Allan has used medicine to treat the rest of the racing pigeons, and deployed poison and traps to kill the rats. However, he says he does not know the root of the issue and does not wishing to keep paying out for medicine, traps and poison. Allan has called on Fife Council to investigate. “It’s not a new thing in this area, so there must be some food,” he explained. “The amount of rat poison that is disappearing – I’ve never seen it like that. I don’t know where the source is. “I’m a pensioner. It’s hard enough to keep my pigeons going, never mind buying the bait and poison. “The council need to investigate and get to the root of this. Vermin running about like this – that’s no good.” Allan describes the racing pigeons as “massively important” to him. Delight for residents after controversial… £10,000 funding for Fife to get ‘weather… He added: “A pigeon has to be 100 per cent to fly the channel. Anything less and it might not perform well or you might even lose it.” Fife Council said it had received no reports of rats in the area.
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 johnnymarin | Oct 6, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
We’re not talking about the future anymore. Driverless vehicles are here. In the latest example, in Catalonia, Spain, an autonomous bus called Èrica is being tested around the region to help citizens become familiar with what driverless technology entails.
These bus experiments are also designed to allow local-government officials to adapt to this new means of transportation, which they expect to be fully functioning by 2020.
Equipped with eight sensors, the red and yellow self-driving shuttle unveiled by the Association of Municipalities for Mobility and Urban Transport, AMTU, is 100 percent electrically powered with 14 hours of autonomous driving. It’s air-conditioned and suitable for reduced-mobility passengers.
Looking like a rectangular minivan, Èrica can transport up to 11 passengers and an attendant, who is there to help and advise travelers and deal with emergencies.
Some 4,600 citizens from Sant Cugat, Terrassa, and Sabadell, all cities close to Barcelona, already took the new bus in September. Now AMTU plans to bring it to Girona, El Vendrell, Reus, Martorell, and Vic in October.
However, preparing the bus for these new routes takes time. Before it can begin to carry passengers, Èrica, which stands for electric, revolutionary, intelligent, shared (compartit in Catalan) and amicable, needs two days of preparation, as it has to record the route to be driven in detail using GPS.
Once the bus has been prepared for its new route, passengers can board and have the choice of standing or using one of the six available seats.
On the road, laser sensors help the bus detect unexpected obstacles in its path, such as passers-by or even pigeons. It’s reassuring that the vehicle cannot run anything over, but the safety features also mean it is constantly stopping and starting.
As part of those safety features, the bus is also limited to a maximum speed of 18km/h, or 11mph. This restriction is also to protect standing passengers from sudden braking.
The speed limit is also because the urban environment is complex. With no bicycles, skateboards, scooters, passers-by, cats, dogs, or birds, the bus could in theory travel at speeds of up to 40km/h, or 25mph.
AMTU director Joan Prat tells ZDNet that the shuttle is able to ‘see’ what happens within 200 meters and is programmed to come to a rapid halt, if necessary, when it detects an object at less than 30 centimeters.
However, he also acknowledges that certain weather conditions remain a problem. “In case of heavy rain, the vehicle detects [the water as] an unidentified object, so it can’t operate.”
In the near future, cameras located on the roof will be able to identify exactly what the object encountered is, he adds.
Those issues are among the reasons why, for now, these self-driving shuttles are only be used for pre-checked routes and as first- or last-mile systems, to connect a train station to the city center or vice versa, or work in restricted traffic environments, for example.
“Shuttles like Èrica are designed to complement the current transport network and not to replace any line,” Prat says.
In France, the RATP group conducted similar experiments with EZ10 shuttles in Paris last year and is continuing its automation program in the region this year with a bigger bus driving itself to the depot. Stockholm and Dublin have also hosted pilot programs.
Pere Calvet, general manager of Catalonian railway company FGC, says automation technology is here to stay.
“We still need to overcome hurdles, such as legislation, and carefully deal with moral issues as well as the coexistence of people and machines in the urban environment,” he says.
“But the shift to a more sustainable mobility is necessary and unstoppable.”
Progress certainly has to be made, as polluting emissions in Spain shot up 4.5 percent in 2017, the biggest increase since the Kyoto protocol came into force.
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)
