by johnnymarin | Sep 19, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
A 26-year-old bird trader, Rana Das, was allegedly lynched on Wednesday in Narkeldanga over allegations of stealing pigeons. Four persons were arrested. Das and his cousin, Somnath Mali, were accosted by 15-16 people between 6am and 7am. The mob alleged that Das, who sold exotic and common birds, had no licence for the business and demanded Rs 15,000. They also claimed that Das had stolen pigeons from them. “Soon, the argument turned violent. The mob tied up Das and Mali, and thrashed them with rods and sticks. They then dragged the duo – both residents of the Narkeldanga slum – towards Gurudas Halt railway station,” claimed a local, Kartik Mali. Das was declared dead on Thursday morning, but his cousin remains in a critical condition at NRS Hospital. Recommended By Colombia The incident sparked tension in Narkeldanga early on Thursday. The agitation soon spread to neighbouring Manicktala after locals from Basakbagan blocked the Maniktala Main Road-Narkeldanga North Road crossing between 11.40am and 12.35pm, demanding the arrest of all those involved in the incident. As the area was shut for traffic, RAF officials were kept on standby, in case the situation got violent. However, the local police managed to bring the situation under control. Asesh Biswas from GRP (Sealdah) told TOI, “We have arrested four persons – Chinu, Rakesh, Amit and David – in this regard. A murder case has been initiated and search is on for the others.” Police said an initial probe has revealed that the four suspects were friends of Das. “All of them sold birds illegally. David also worked at a hotel in Topsia. The accused have previous cases of rioting and causing hurt registered against them,” another officer 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 johnnymarin | Sep 16, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
If you’d looked to the skies in Oxford, UK, during the summer of 2016 you could have been forgiven for thinking you had spotted the world’s first bionic pigeons.
The birds in question would have been members of a very special cohort trained to wear custom-designed head sensors to track how they navigated using eye movements. The results are now revealed in a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
Because pigeons’ eyes are fixed, they monitor their surroundings mainly by moving their head, according to lead researcher Fumihiro Kano from Kyoto University in Japan. Indeed, 90% of pigeon gazes are accompanied by head movements.
This means that head movement can be used as a proxy for where they are looking, and hence provide clues to their behaviour.
“Eyes are the window to the mind,” Kano says, explaining that gaze tells us a lot about how animals behave and think about the world.
For many years, he has been studying emotion and cognition in great apes (including bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas), Japanese monkeys, human infants, children and adults.
In 2016, he and colleagues published a study showing that apes understand when beliefs are false.
For his latest project, he thought it would be interesting to record gaze in free-moving animals, teaming up with primate biologist Dora Biro from the University of Oxford, UK, to do so.
Homing pigeons (Columba liviai) were ideal species to test in motion because they tolerate wearing custom-made masks and sensors on their head and fly back to the home loft so the data can be retrieved.
It took Kano three months to develop the special mask. Every day he rummaged through a local craft store, experimenting with different materials to create something that fitted to the pigeon’s head as stably and comfortably as possible.
The result was a device hand-made with cloths, wires and elastic bands, which he stitched and soldered together himself.
“The most important thing was to design the mask so that it did not interfere with the bird’s breathing when flying,” he explains.
The pigeons were habituated to the head units, which were continually modified until they were comfortable and the researchers were satisfied the birds could walk, take off, and fly normally while wearing them.
The masks bore an inertial measurement unit to track the bird’s head movements using a gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer. The pigeons also wore tiny backpacks containing a state-of-the-art GPS tracker, microcomputer and battery.
Altogether, 22 birds were released from a novel site for 172 solo flights, followed by 172 paired flights and 44 repeated solo flights.
The team was delighted with the outcome. Kano says the birds’ heads were extremely stable during the flights, and the data showed every detail of their movements as well as the GPS recording of the return path.
During solo flights, the pigeons undertook detailed scanning of the landscape, moving their heads “far more than necessary for manoeuvring flight,” says Kano.
When they approached landmarks such as a main road and railway line – linear structures that pigeons tend to use for constructing routes – they reduced their head movements, suggesting “that they indeed ‘see’ them to navigate.”
When they were flown in pairs, they reduced their head movements, “indicating that the flock-mate is a key visual cue that they need to pay attention to,” Kano says.
He suggests the method could be applied to understanding how pigeons use attention in the natural environment, and even to develop bio-inspired drones. Next, the team is keen to add a tiny camera into the sensor to get a bird’s eye vista of the world.
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 | Sep 14, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Los Angeles – What: Forever 21 has reportedly hired a contractor who has been trapping pigeons at its Los Angeles headquarters, prompting PETA supporters to plan to descend on the building on Friday to urge the retailer to stop trapping the birds immediately and instead take steps to make the area unappealing to them.
When: Friday, September 7, 2 p.m.
Where: Forever 21 Headquarters, 3880 N. Mission Rd. (at the intersection of N. Mission Road and Baldwin Street), Los Angeles
The pigeon problem appears to be related to a food truck that visits the company’s parking lot. PETA has attempted to work with Forever 21, offering myriad suggestions for peacefully coexisting with the birds and discouraging their presence, including simple measures such as keeping trash contained and secured and dumpsters locked, as well as barring workers and patrons from feeding the birds—but so far, it has refused to take these steps. Trapping initiatives actually backfire, because the resultant spike in the food supply accelerates breeding among survivors and inevitable newcomers, and populations then increase.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that trapping initiatives cause animals immense suffering, as they can quickly succumb to stress, exposure, or injuries sustained in frantic attempts to escape.
“Forever 21’s decision to trap pigeons who are simply trying to eke out an existence is cruel, and such initiatives can tear wild families apart, leaving orphaned young to starve,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on the retailer to nix this methodically cruel trapping and put into motion humane coexistence measures instead.”
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 | Sep 12, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Network Rail has installed spikes on the structure to scare off the birds, which have made it their home for several years.
Most of the pigeons had flown off this week and have been perching on nearby walls, although a few have stubbornly refused to move from under the bridge.
And if history is anything to go by, there’s no betting the rest won’t return in the not too distant future.
People have moaned about the mess and the smell created by the pigeons over the years and all previous attempts to frighten them away have failed.
Back in 2007, Network Rail installed a buzzing gadget called a Wailer, but it simply scared passers by and was ignored by the birds.
So five years on and Network Rail spent £300,000 sprucing up the bridge where Station Road joins Kingston Road and putting up netting.
But the pigeons again took no notice and gradually returned to their favourite roost as the netting partially collapsed and had to be taken down.
At the time a company spokesman said: “The netting was removed as it was not as effective at deterring the pigeons as we hoped it would be. In its place we have installed ‘get off’ gel trays that are designed to prevent birds perching or roosting.” The trays also had no effect.
Meanwhile, Network Rail sent in crews last weekend to clear weeds and undergrowth in and around Taunton Station after members of Taunton Trains complained they had reached “epic proportions” and that the arrival in the town “resembles a jungle”.
A Network Rail spokesman said: “Work to clear vegetation took place at Taunton Station last weekend with a focus on the areas worst affected.
“Further work is planned to maintain the tidiness of the area in and around the station.”
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 | Sep 10, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
The icky-sticky problem of pigeon poop on sidewalks and even in people’s hair seems to be more widespread than we figured.
Our Saturday column about hundreds of pigeons that gather at Lawrence Ave. and Markham Rd. to gobble up food spread for them, then perch on overhead wires and rain down droppings on everything below, prompted plenty of indignation from readers.
City bylaws prohibit the feeding of wildlife — including pigeons and seagulls — in city parks and public spaces, but do not ban people from feeding them in other places, like a privately-owned parking lot.
That seems to be a sore point for readers, who directed us to other locations where pigeons are no less a problem, due to people who feed them regularly and are indifferent to the mess created by the overstuffed birds.
Jim Barrett sent us photos taken last year of a man spreading bird feed from a bucket in a parking lot at the Colony Plaza, on Lawrence, near Warden Ave., surrounded by hundreds of hovering pigeons.
One of his photos showed a flock of birds on the sidewalk in front of one of the plaza storefronts, which must be a source of frustration for shopkeepers whose customers don’t want to wade through them, or their droppings.
Francesca Vivenza said she contacted the TTC many years ago about “the many pigeons” that sit on utility wires outside Broadview station, where they bombard pedestrians beneath them.
“An old lady regularly brought bread to feed them,” she said. “One day I stopped and talked kindly to her, explaining that the pigeons are dirty, unhealthy … I got plenty of insults and left.”
Don Fairbairn said food is spread for birds at a strip mall at Markham and Eglinton Ave., which draws thousands of pigeons, and also at Bluffer’s Park, at the foot of Brimley Rd., despite rules which disallow it.
“There are signs there not to feed the wildlife, but they are ignored,” he said, adding that he has never seen evidence that the bylaw is enforced.
The best note came from Francis van Dorsser, who is also familiar with the pigeons at Markham and Lawrence and observed what could be an excellent method to keep them in check.
“This past spring I was waiting in my car for a person in the medical clinic,” in the plaza where the pigeons are fed. “All of a sudden pigeons were flying in every direction. I though of the movie, ‘The Birds.’
“A few minutes later, all was calm. Directly in front of me on a rooftop was this hawk, enjoying a pigeon feast. He had swooped in, picked up his meal and started dining.
“On the same building was a row of pigeons sitting on its edge, relieved that they were not today’s meal.”
The hawk should be commended for public service. We could use a lot more like him.
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 | Sep 8, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
WALNUT CREEK — Strolling the sidewalks of Broadway Plaza, you may not notice the absence of one unwelcome pest — pigeons.
That’s because of the vigilance of a 2-year-old Harris’s hawk named Remmy that patrols the plaza, scaring them away. Under the watchful eye of his handler Bridget Maguire-Colton, of Hayward, Remmy flies through the shopping plaza and parking structure on his broad wings scanning for pigeons.
Maguire-Colton, who works for The Hawk Pros, a company that uses hawk and falcons for pest control, is licensed to handle the large raptor.
Remmy patrols the plaza by flying up and around the buildings and through the cavernous parking garage scanning for pigeons. Upon landing, a little bell around his right leg, used as a locating device by Maguire-Colton, can be heard chiming as he explores the small nooks and crannies looking for roosting pigeons. To retrieve Remmy, Maguire-Colton blows a whistle, and he swoops down to land on her thick leather gauntlet and is offered a small treat.
Maguire-Colton, who has been using Remmy at the plaza for about a year and a half, says “It is far more effective than using (bird deterrent) spikes, fake owls or poisons that can harm a pigeon.” The pigeons are not just a nuisance, bird feces contains uric acid that is corrosive to metals. Rooftop nesting spots can also block gutters and could damage air conditioning units.
Using a hawk as pigeon abatement seems to be working. On a recent afternoon that Remmy spent working with his handler, no pigeons were sighted at Broadway Plaza. Even though Remmy enjoys chasing pigeons, the odds of him catching one are very low. However, the pigeons don’t know that, and the threat is real, as Remmy has gotten lucky a couple of times.
The Harris’s hawk, native to the Sonoran Desert, generally hunts rabbits, snakes and small animals that are on the ground and the hawks are typically not fast enough to catch a pigeon. Remmy, a formidable bird, with a nearly 3-foot wingspan, strong sharp talons and approximate weight of 1.5 pounds, is easy for a pigeon to spot, and once they have seen him they know to keep flying until they are clear of the plaza.
Remmy is also a sight for shoppers. When Maguire-Colton carries Remmy through the shopping plaza she becomes a falconer ambassador.
“You really do have to be PR plus falconer, it’s a bit of a balance,” she said.
With 12 years of experience, she can answer any questions people may have. Remmy, who was bred in captivity, will happily stand on Maguire-Colton’s arms, watching for pigeons while she answers questions. The only thing that ruffles Remmy’s feathers are dogs, large or small; they all look like coyotes to him.
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)
