A Chicago alderman wants the city to lift a nearly 15-year ban on pigeon racing.
Alderman Gilbert Villegas says pigeon racing is a sport that receives little attention in the U.S. but is “deeply loved” in Poland. Villegas’ ward is home to many Polish residents he says are working with his office to change the city’s law.
The sport features specially trained pigeons that are released from specific locations and race back to their homes.
Villegas’ proposal would lift the ban for people in good standing with a national professional organization that requires minimum standards of care for “pedigreed rock doves.” Each bird would have to be registered with the organization.
The city banned homing pigeons in residential areas in 2004 after complaints from residents.
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.
Another great classic has found its way onto my TV, and as I watched “On the Waterfront” I was reminded once again why all of these movies made their mark. Like classic rock, they have stood out as the terrible or forgettable films of the day fell to the wayside, and these stood the test of time. I watch them as a regular audience member, not a studious purveyor of classical work, not a film critic with notes in hand, searching for faults or reasons for me to whine about modern films compared to older ones. And still, these movies are classics for a reason, and watching them reminds me of why they have survived all these years. They’re just straight up good — so before I get into my literary exploration of this film (and others to come), know that I just plain old enjoy them too.
“On the Waterfront” follows Terry Mallow (played by Marlon Brando), a talented ex-prize fighter who works on the docks alongside a slew of poverty-stricken workers struggling to make ends meet. Terry is one of many thugs who work for the ruthless union boss, Johnny Friendly (played by Lee J. Cobb) They are all part of killing a would-be whistleblower who tried to speak out against the brutally enforced corruption in the upper echelons of the union. However, the sister of the murdered man catches Terry’s eye, and the two of them fall into a complicated romance that pulls him between two worlds — one of empathy and another of brutality. With the help of a local priest, some of the union members get in their heads to stand up against Friendly, and Terry doesn’t know where he ought to stand.
For the duration of the film, Terry spends much of his free time tending to pigeons on the roof of his impoverished apartment complex. He used to be a tenacious prize-fighter, deadly in the ring, but Friendly had him lose a few fights on purpose to win some bets, and that lost him his chance at the big leagues — the softer side of him finds solace in tending to the delicate birds on his rooftop. His love interest, Edie Doyle (played by Eva Marie Saint), has joined him and is watching him with longing eyes, at the rough man takes care of animals with great care and affection.
He begins to speak of hawks and pigeons, and how he has to protect the pigeons from the hawks who come from bigger, more expensive (and taller) buildings. If he doesn’t, they’ll swoop down and eat the pigeons alive.
This is quite obviously a metaphor for the powerful, predatorial union bosses taking advantage of the dock workers. The “pigeons and hawks” motif is referenced several times in the film, and the obvious question (as I outlined before) is where Terry stands. Does he stand with the pigeons, who get mauled and eaten alive but with their souls intact? Or does he stand with the hawks, who survive but at the cost of their own consciences?
Everyone is worrying about what side they are on, or which identity they belong to. Terry wrestles with this for the whole film — following his conscience only ever got him hurt, but following men like Johnny Friendly only ever hurt the ones around him. His lover wants him to stand up to them, but when that doesn’t work she wants him to run away with her. His own brother wants him to survive and look out for himself, and to work his way up the ranks of the union/gang.
In a world like that, you’re either predator or you’re prey.
Terry winds up ditching the whole metaphor entirely. After all his inner turmoil and outer conflicts, it’s as if he says, “You know? Screw all these categories and people trying to tell me what I can and can’t do. I’m not a hawk, I’m not a pigeon — I’m a man. And a man does what he’s gotta do.”
He ditches the philosophy of the pigeons; he ditches the philosophy of the hawks. He uses the strength of his hawk-like character, the perseverance and the physical brute force of a prize-fighter who grew up in poverty, as well as the empathy and compassion of the pigeons. Terry needed the encouragement of the good woman and he needed the inspiring words of the priest; he also needed his indomitable spirit and strength that he gained from the a life of hardship on the streets — at the end of the day, he needed to soften his heart and harden it at the same time in order to do what is right.
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.
On Saturday, the first yearling pigeon races of the 2018 season took place from Vrede (135km) and Paul Roux (180km). 78 Ladysmith pigeons were sent to Vrede and 140 to Paul Roux.
The first Vrede pigeon was clocked by Paul Manuel at 10:01, 17 minutes ahead of the second pigeon clocked by Lappies from Labusch Lofts. The pigeons from Paul Roux arrived at 9:50, but were still very energetic.
Most people struggled to get their pigeons in because they were flying around at home.
Jimmy Hanlon clocked the winning pigeon, beating Tiekie Crouse by 37 seconds into second place.
The winning pigeon from Vrede flew an average speed of 66km/h and from Paul Roux, the average speed was 99km/h.
The full results are as follows:
Vrede: Paul Manuel 1,21; Labusch Lofts (Lappies) 2,7,8,12,16,17,19,20,24,26; Tiekie Crouse 3,4,6,9,10,18,23,27; Mark Clayton 5,11,13,14,15,22,25.
Paul Roux: Jimmy Hanlon 1,11; Tiekie Crouse 2,9,18,28,29; Lewis Hay 3,4,5,6,7,8,14,21,24,25,26,27; Mark Clayton 10,12,13,20,23,30; Labusch Lofts (Lappies) 15,16,17; Imraan Kader 19; Paul Manuel 22.
The previous weekend, Tiekie Crouse won the KZN race from Middelburg by five minutes. Congratulations to him.
The open series continues this weekend, with races from Middelburg and Dealesville.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
