by johnnymarin | Aug 12, 2017 | Pigeons in the News
GAUTENG Pigeon Union (GPU) liberated the pigeons from Springfontein in the Free State on Saturday.
When the pigeons were liberated at 7.15am (young birds) and 8am (open birds), the skies were clear and the wind blowing a light north westerly. On the way back to the lofts the winds were blowing north easterly and south easterly in places.
This race was also the GPU’s second last middle distance race of the season.
Springfontein is an average distance of 518km for Riverpark which had 13 members flying 156 pigeons in the young bird race. The young bird race winning pigeon had a nett flying time of six hours 33 minutes and 33 seconds, which is 80km/h.
With his fourth young bird win under his hat, Blackie Swart’s Dark Check cock GPU 2016 12502 beat Doves Nest Guest House’s (Gawie Botha) Blue Bar cock GPU 2016 12438 by a margin of only 19 seconds. There were only five seconds between Doves Nest Guest House and Tallies Lofts (Johan Taljaard) in the third position.
The top 30 positions on the result sheet took 20 minutes and 19 seconds to fill up:
Blackie Swart 1st, 8th, 13th, 14th, 27th; Doves Nest Guest House (Gawie Botha) 2nd, 4th, 12th, 23rd, 24th, 26th; Tallies Lofts (Johan Taljaard) 3rd, 6th, 17th; Hilton Pitout 5th; Reinhold Brichta 7th, 20th, 22nd, 29th; Fred van Rensburg 9th, 25th, 30th; Sky Lofts (Corrie Moller) 10th, 11th, 16th; G & E Lofts (Graham Cheary & Elaine Russell) 15th, 21st; Bakgat Lofts (Danalien Snyman) 18th, 19th, and 28th.
In the open race, the club had 17 members flying 261 pigeons. The winning pigeon had a nett flying time of six hours 32 minutes and 22 seconds. With his second old bird win for the season Tallies Lofts (Johan Taljaard) pipped Hilton Pitout by two minutes and 54 seconds. Tallies Lofts and Hilton Pitout have now each won two of the open bird races this season.
The top 30 positions took only 14 minutes and 47 seconds to fill:
Tallies Lofts (Johan Taljaard) 1st, 10th, 19th, 23rd; Hilton Pitout 2nd, 8th; Albert Neilson 3rd, 20th; Beano Daschner 4th, 29th; Pine Pienaar 5th, 15th, 21st, 26th; Doves Nest Guest House (Gawie Botha) 6th, 11th, 16th, 17th, 22nd; Henry Mostert 7th, 18th; Sky Lofts 9th, 27th; Blackie Swart 12th; Connie Coertse 13th, 14th, 25th,, 28th; G & E Lofts (Graham Cheary & Elaine Russell) 24th and Fred van Rensburg 30th.
On Saturday the GPU will liberate the pigeons from Hanover in the Northern Cape. This is the last middle distance race of the season, about 660km for Riverpark members, and is also the derby race for the young birds.
This is the last race of the season for the young bird scheme as the balance of the races, long distance, are open bird races. Technically, Springfontein was the last young bird race for the season as the points from the derby race are allocated to the open bird scheme.
Riverpark will also have the second and last leg of their hat draw competition during this race.
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 | Aug 11, 2017 | Pigeons in the News
Honouring freedom fighters and their family members, distribution of commendation certificates to 183 government servants and welfare assistance worth Rs. 10.56 lakh to weaker sections marked the Independence Day celebrations at the Mahatma Gandhi Stadium here on Tuesday.
District Collector V. Sampath hoisted the National Flag and inspected the guard of honour presented by police personnel.
Mr. Sampath, and P. Rajan, Superintendent of Police, released white pigeons. Later they honoured the freedom fighters.
The Collector distributed welfare assistance provided by Different abled welfare department, backward class welfare, revenue, rural development and other departments to the people belonging to weaker sections.
G. Subbulakshmi and Ramakrishnan, both Deputy Commissioners of Police, R. Sukumar, DRO, R. Vaithinathan, Assistant Collector (training) and other officials, were present. Students from various schools presented cultural programmes at the end.
R. Sadheesh, Commissioner, hoisted the National Flag on the Corporation premises and paid floral tributes to the portrait of Gandhiji.
He gave away commendation certificates to the staff who had completed 25 years of service and also special awards to the SSLC and Plus Two toppers.
K. Pandi, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) hoisted the National Flag at the head office. He gave away special award and commendation certificates to 11 drivers for accident-free driving, 36 conductors for maximum ticket collection.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Pandi said there was a marked increase in the revenue of the Corporation compared to previous years. The corporation was also able to save much in the diesel front, thanks to the cooperation extended by the bus crew.
At the Noorul Islam Madrasa at Suramangalam in the city, M. A. Haroon Rasheed, Muthavalli, hoisted the National Flag. Moulvi A. K. Kamaluddin Baqavi, chief Imam, Azad Nagar Mosque, and Moulvi J. A. Nainar Mohammad Baqavi, vice-principal of the Madrasa spoke. Qari Abrar Ahmed Qasimi, principal, hoisted the National Flag at the Markazhul Uloom Al-Islamiya Arabic College at Hasthampatti in the city.
In Namakkal, District Collector M. Asia Mariam hoisted the National Flag, at a colourful function held at the district sports stadium.She inspected guard of honour presented by police personnel.
Ms. Mariam released pigeons and honoured freedom fighters and their family members. She distributed commendation certificates to 31 police personnel and 108 government staff and also welfare assistance worth Rs. 57.73 lakh provided under the different government schemes to 136 beneficiaries.
School students presented cultural programmes.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | Mar 17, 2017 | Pigeons in the News
Pigeons are a delicacy in Egypt, traditionally served roasted and stuffed with fragrant rice. But for Cairo’s pigeon fanciers, their prized birds are nobody’s next meal.
Pigeon lofts, towering structures made of wood, balance atop hundreds of buildings in poorer neighbourhoods across the city. They house thousands of highly trained birds that would have otherwise found a home at a butcher’s.
Different breeds, whose speed, colouring and markings vary, can cost thousands of pounds per bird, and in Cairo the market for them is highly competitive.
“We enjoy it, we can stay up there from 7 in the morning until midnight, just doing what we love,” Sayed Mohamed, a pigeon fancier, told Reuters.
Mohamed’s loft is four stories high and overlooks a 15th-century complex built by Mameluk Sultan al-Ashraf Qaitbey, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the afternoon, he releases his pigeons – first his most prized birds, later the entire flock.
The birds understand a complex series of whistles and gestures that signal for them to fly higher or to come home. They fly far and wide, usually making their way back to the loft by nightfall. They often return with other pigeons.
“You can think of it like a shared language. They’re used to certain patterns, so if they land at another loft and notice something unfamiliar, they know it’s not home,” Mohamed said.
In the evening, Mohamed and other fanciers gather around local coffee shops to brag about stealing one other’s birds, each taking pride in the day’s catch.
Mohamed first picked up the hobby in his childhood, going with his uncle to the family pigeon loft and feeding the birds.
“I started doing this out of love … but I later learned that you also have to use it to make profit, you can’t just keep buying more pigeons,” Mohamed told Reuters.
Fanciers carefully breed their birds and often sell young pigeons to traders on a lucrative market.
“When [my brother and I] moved out, we got jobs and we bought houses and the first thing we did, even before getting married, was that we built our loft,” he said. “It makes us feel alive.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | Mar 13, 2017 | Pigeons in the News
A Mansfield business has been told to pay more than £6,000 after dead pigeons and bird droppings were found in its side yard.
Pacha Lounge Ltd admitted failing to comply with an Improvement Notice served under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court on March 2.
The bar, on Market Place, was fined £5,000 by the court on March 8 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £170 plus costs of £1,062 after failing to act on the notice.
Environmental Health Officers visited Pacha Lounge after receiving a complaint and found damaged bird proofing at the side of the premises in Market Place, dead pigeons on the yard floor and large amounts of bird droppings on items stored in the yard.
Mr Xhetan Bushi, a director of the company, was advised that work was required to improve the yard but this was not carried out within a reasonable time so Mansfield District Council prosecuted after Pacha Lounge failed to act.
The council’s portfolio holder for public protection, councillor Mick Barton, said: “Companies do have a responsibility for health and safety, and the council will act, where necessary, to ensure that companies meet that obligation.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | Feb 17, 2017 | Pigeons in the News
VISITORS to Paignton saw nature red in tooth and claw when a magnificent sparrowhawk swooped down to feast on a pigeon lunch.
The bird of prey enjoyed its kill on the pavement in full view of busy shoppers on Hyde Road.
These images of the hungry raptor were captured by David Knowles, a member of Newton Abbot Photo Club, who was visiting the town on Wednesday.
He said: “It was amazing. There were a few people looking through a window and a scattering of feathers.
“She was clearly hungry as she allowed me and a number of other members of the public to get quite close and was totally unperturbed by us.
“It is a bit bloody but this is nature in the raw. It is why animals come in all shapes and sizes and why they all have a place on the planet.”
This particular spciment is a female sparrowhawk which is up to 25 per cent larger than males. The Latin name is accipiter nisus.
PC Josh Marshall, Totnes-based wildlife crime officer, said: “Whilst it could be considered a gruesome picture this is also a fantastic spectacle of nature. Sparrowhawks when found like the one pictured can be unusually accepting of human presence for such a wary bird. This is a sight often seen by persons who feed birds in their back gardens as sparrowhawks often hunt in these areas as a number of songbirds are attracted to food sources placed out by homeowners.
SPARROWHAWK FACTS:
Diet consists of primarily of birds.
Sparrowhawks regularly hunt in back gardens where they use their fast and agile flight to ambush songbirds taking them with their feet.
Female birds can take prey items up to the size of a woodpigeon. They will pluck the prey (as in this photo) prior to eating it.
Male birds show a rufous colour to the breast and have blue/grey upperparts.
They nest in May in coniferous/deciduous plantations where they lay 4-5 eggs, incubation lasting 33 days. The young are fed on small birds brought by both male and female birds and remain in the nest for around 30 days.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Ryan Ponto | Feb 10, 2017 | Pigeons in the News
Fifteen pigeons were released around 7.30 am at the Kilinochchi railway station in celebration of the 69th Independence Day on February 4 and the birds returned to their home in Wattala with messages of peace and unity and of course phone numbers so Loni de Lanerolle could call the dignitaries still somewhere in the North to say their messages were received.
The whole trip took the pigeons less than four hours. Attended by religious heads, the Government Agent S. Arumainayagam and senior police officers, the event was organized by Loni de Lanerolle, a pegion fancier, who is an animal enthusiast and trainer of racing pigeons since childhood.
He hopes to revive the spectacle of messenger pigeons by carrying out a series of such events across the country. We were greeted by Papaya the macaw. The blue-yellow-green beauty had a lousy loud call that totally contradicted its good looks. But it was quite harmless despite its inquisitive bahaviour. Two beagles (dogs) were dozing off in a coop and it was the two Chihuahuas (breed of dog) who announced our arrival with barking and tail wagging at the same time. A few tortoises were doing their lawn rounds and the place was a mini zoo. Apparently pigeons were not Pigeon-man Loni’s only interest. He is an all-round animal enthusiast.
The pigeons were in coops while some were perched on a wooden bird perch. They were robust and the plumage around their necks glittered in sea green, pink and brown the likes of which can only exist in nature.
Their living room had the ambiance of an upcountry cottage, or one of those quaint old houses you find only in old English novels. The living room had wooden carpetted floors and one wall consisted of photographs that spanned six De Lanerolle generations. The only thing that was missing was a fireplace. Loni and his wife Monika designed their house in Wattala together. A photograph of two riders on a beach adorned another wall and with muscles gleaming and horses’ hooves splashing on the water, the photograph taken with an Instamatic camera was very lively. Loni once owned a stable with 16 horses and had previously won the Governer’s Cup. Now the stables have been replaced by a tea factory, owned and run by the Lanerolles. Loni’s olfactory senses have gone for a six because of the tea. “I was the first one to flavour tea in Sri Lanka,” informs Loni. Back in 1981 he worked with tea for many hours in his room, due to which he effectively loss his sense of smell.
He was the first to import a thoroughbred in 1996. One of Loni’s sons took to horses and is the only British qualified horse trainer in the country also known as BHSI or British Horse Society Instructor who trains members of the island’s Mounted police. “When the other kids were getting ready to go to school, my kids were out riding on the beach or learning how to bait a hook at 3am in the morning,” said Monika. That’s all their parents were interested in, the great outdoors.
“My boys can shoot,” said Loni who recalled that one of them won the Junior Nationals.
“Whatever the father did the boys also followed suit,” chipped in Monika.
When asked how she put up with a house full of people who loved the great outdoors, Monika said, “I was the only child in my family and when I married Loni it was like taking over a farm. His parents were only too glad to get rid of his pigeons and ponies,” recalled Monika laughing.
In fact, Loni bought a pair of eagles with his first salary. He bought a pony next. At one time he had owned 21 Persian cats. Ever heard of geese guarding houses? Loni’s geese do. They previously owned a watch dog in the form of a blue coot as well. “Whenever someone came to our house the blue coot would fly from its watch post and peck the visitor’s toes,” said Loni. He revealed that geese are equally territorial, guarding their home against any intruder. He owned a pair of carrier pigeons when he was very young and recalled famous stories of pigeons been used to send messages from the frontline to the main camp during wars.
Loni’s 30-strong flock consists of birds of documented champion bloodlines from Germany and Switzerland and claims that they have never fallen ill. His flock is given special vitamins imported from Australia and a special concoction of bird feed made from various grains, such as Kollu and corn according to his own ratios. “It’s an instinct,” says Monika. “He just knows what to give the birds.”
Loni can identify each bird just by looking at it. And he knows what to give them. If they look a little tired or dozing off, he gives them more Kollu as it gives them more energy.
Loni had his first pigeon trial in Puttalam against his father’s warning that he’d lose the birds. But Loni trusted his featured companions more than anyone else. It was a rainy day and the pigeon returned the following day. But he also lost a few. Once Loni released some of his pigeons at Elephant Pass and his gardener filmed the whole episode. Loni did not realize that a falcon swooped down on one of the birds which he knew only after viewing the video footage.
Ten years ago one of Loni’s friends in Germany sent him eight pigeons. They were able to get them cleared from Sri Lanka Customs, but two escaped while in quarantine. A month later his friend from Germany called to ask him whether he let two birds out in Frankfurt. Apparently they escaped from Colombo and flew 10,000 miles back to Frankfurt.
Being a hunting man Loni bagged many migratory ducks in Puttalam. “These ducks are ringed with markers and they come from Siberia which is much further than Germany. But racing homers (pigeons) are much faster than ducks”, said Loni. Loni uses his pigeons to deliver messages only when the occasion calls for it especially when there are dignitaries and the release of pigeons is deemed necessary as a symbol of peace and unity.
“Most of them (dignitaries) don’t believe that pigeons can actually carry messages. So when the birds fly back with the phone numbers and we call them, they are quite shocked,” said Loni. “Sometimes the pigeons have beaten the dignitaries to Colombo.” The trick of the trade is to keep the ladies at home, something that most pigeon breeders know. But Loni has gone a step further and usually keeps the males and females in separate cages. The night before they are to be let out he allows the lads to meet their ladies. Once they are released, whether it’s Colombo or Kilinochchi or Point Pedro, they find their way to their partners.
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)
