by Ryan Ponto | Sep 11, 2016 | Bird Deterrent Products, Pigeon Patrol's Services
So much so, that any gulls in the area scatter in fear as soon as they get a glimpse of the black and white falcon.
“It’s all about the balance of nature,” said Everett, a falconer with Falcon Environmental Services.
“He’s a natural predator and the seagulls know that. When they see him, this area becomes unattractive to them.”
Hornblower Niagara Cruises has contracted services from Falcon Environmental Services for the past two years after it added food and beverage services to its lower deck along the Niagara River.
“Wherever you have an attraction, there’s typically gulls that follow the folks around follow the food and they can make quite the mess,” said Mory DiMaurizo.
When Hornblower first launched ed its food and beverage services, they also installed signs asking guests to not feed the birds.
When the pesky gulls continued to gather en masse on the deck area, staff looked for another solution to discourage the winged intruders and birds of prey have proven to be a highly effective yet non-invasive method of seagull control.
Bullet, a 10-year-old hybrid of a Saker falcon and a gyrfalcon, never has to leave his handler’s side. His presence alone is enough to deter the gulls.
“The birds don’t fly, he’s used as a deterrent and it’s 100 per cent effective,” DeMaurizo said. “The bird is there to create a bubble of awareness around us so that the gulls know this is not an area they want to go in.”
Everett and his raptor companion are also a hit with guests, who are eager to find out why they’re spending time at a tourist attraction.
“I’ve met some incredibly interesting people from all over the world,” he said. “I bet Bullet’s photo is on a lot of Facebook pages.”
DiMaurizo said the duo has been especially popular with international tourists.
“In the Middle East and Asia, falconry is a huge sport that many people are interested in.”
Based out of Alexandria, Ont., Falcon Environmental Services also provides bird control at several Canadian military bases as well as a number of landfill sites in New Jersey.
It has been in charge of wildlife management at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport for almost 20 years.
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 Pigeon Patrol | Sep 7, 2016 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes
People mostly see pigeons in the park. Some feed them while the others shoo them away. They are sometimes considered as “rats in the air.” But, beware because what you might be reading in the park can also be read by pigeons. As research shows, pigeons can also learn how to read.
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In New Zealand, a team of researchers from the University of Otago, headed by Dr. Damien Scarf gathered 18 pigeons and trained them to identify words from the different string of letters. They introduced the birds to 308 four-letter words randomly mixed along thousands of string of letters, and their goal is to peck on the shown words.
For example, in the experiment, the pigeons come on the screen and need to distinguish words from non-words such as “USRP.” Then, the birds need to identify the word among the non-words through pecking. Meanwhile, among the 18 pigeons, researchers identify four pigeons to be outstanding in their experiment. For the birds, sooner or later built vocabularies with a scope of 26 to 58 words over the 8000 non-words shown in a report by IFL Science.com.
To make sure that the pigeons learn and not memorize the words from the non-words, the experts introduce them to new words which they have never seen before. Thus, the birds still correctly identify it.
As a result, Dr. Scarf shared that, the pigeons comprehends certain pairs of letters such as “TH” and “AL” as it was more often show in the English language. The birds were able to identify words with those letters quickly. He also added that “during training, the pigeons derived some general statistical knowledge about the letter combinations that distinguish words from non-words”
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In line with this, another researcher, from the Otago’s Department of Psychology , Professor Michael Colombo suggested that “we may have to seriously re-think the use of the term ‘bird brain’ as a put-down,” according to Phys.org.com.
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 Pigeon Patrol | Sep 6, 2016 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes
Dear Diary:
I was biking in Riverside Park near the 79th Street Boat Basin, when suddenly a swarm of pigeons formed a thick, fluttery wall, obstructing my view. I swerved and fell hard on the bike path.
Bloody and barely able to move, I looked up toward the pigeons’ likely point of origin and locked eyes with a woman who was tossing out bird seed. Naturally, I started up a conversation.
“Please stop feeding the pigeons,” I said as politely as I could in my stunned state.
“I’m feeding them on the side of the bike path so that they don’t get in the way of the bikers,” she said.
I frowned. “I don’t think that’s actually going to be very helpful.”
She offered a new line of reasoning: “You know, bikers are dangerous on their own. I’ve seen them get into lots of accidents from sheer carelessness.”
“I’m sorry, but that has nothing to do with feeding pigeons,” I said, trying to steer the conversation back on track.
“Pigeons need to eat too!” she said.
I paused for a moment to consider how I might redirect her overflowing empathy.
“I was just in a potentially life-threatening accident, and I may have broken my arm,” I said. “Personally, I value human life more than pigeon life.”
She frowned.
“O.K.,” she said. “I’ll feed them up on the hill so that they’re not so close to the bikers.”
Yes! I thought. I finally got to her.
But as the ambulance arrived moments later, I couldn’t help but think that my small victory would be a fluttering, er, fleeting one.
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 | Aug 20, 2016 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting
A VIDEO has been published of a seagull attacking and eating a pigeon in Barrow town centre.
The footage was recorded at around 6.30pm last night in Dalton Road, close to the junction with Cavendish Street.
Most types of seagull are ground-nesting carnivores, which take live food or scavenge opportunistically. There have been calls for action to be taken in Barrow to tackle the number of seagull in the town centre and residential areas.
Seagulls are a hot topic for debate around Barrow as many residents consider the birds to be pests or vermin. Others argue the birds are simply doing what is natural and that we should respect their presence.
Earlier this month, Barrow dad Phil Jackson said his four-year-old daughter will no longer visit the town’s park because of the aggressive nature of the seagulls near the pond. Mr Jackson believes drastic action needs to be taken to tackle the problem, which he believes is blighting the whole of Barrow.
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 Pigeon Patrol | Aug 18, 2016 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services
A pigeon poacher who grabs his prey by hand in a Soho park and sells them to Manhattan merchants claims he’s just a misunderstood bird lover.
“I’ve been poaching pigeons on and off for about 40 years in New York City,” said the unapologetic poacher, who spoke to The Post on the condition of anonymity. “It’s pretty good money; I’ll make $5 a pigeon.
“I’ll sit on a park bench and throw out some food,” he continued. “Within seconds a bunch of pigeons will gather, and with both hands I’ll grab about five at a time around their necks and put them in a black garbage bag. I don’t use a net, my bare hands work fine.
“Pigeons are easy to catch,” the birdman explained. “When pigeons walk around, it’s easy for string to get tangled up around their feet. It cuts off their circulation. That’s why you see so many with missing toes.
“Those are the easiest to catch.”
He nabs his birds in broad daylight and occasionally encounters a disgusted animal-lover.
“I do get confronted by people who’ll come up to me and say, ‘What are you going to do with those pigeons?’
“Have sex with them,” is his usual retort.
“Then they’ll leave me alone,” he said.
The poacher explained how the pigeon market in New York City — home to an estimated 1 million of the birds — works: A client will call him to place an order for 10 to 20 pigeons, he said, and will place orders up to a half-dozen times a year. One order always comes right before the Chinese Lunar New Year.
‘With both hands I’ll grab about five at a time around their necks and put them in a black garbage bag. I don’t use a net, my bare hands work fine’
– pigeon poacher
“In Chinatown they will do a ceremony where they release the pigeons into the wild,” he said. “In their religion, they think it’s bad karma to take from the earth without replenishing it. So this is their way of replenishing the earth.”
Jenny Wong, a spokesperson for the Chinatown Community Cultural Center, claimed to have no knowledge of such a practice.
The poacher also said he sells the birds to “poultry markets” but would not name them.
He admits the pigeon-poaching black market often leads to the birds being sold to rural hunting and shooting clubs for target practice. But he claims he does not sell to those places.
The poacher, without a hint of irony, spoke of pigeons as rat-like creatures before blurting, “I’m a bird lover. I’m a member of the American Mason Pigeon Association.” The Post could find no such group.
Even no-kill birdnapping is a crime, legally and morally, say animal-rights advocates.
“It’s a Class A misdemeanor and it’s punishable for up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000,” said Elinor Molbegott, counsel for the Humane Society of New York. “All birds, including pigeons, are entitled to protection.”
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 Pigeon Patrol | Aug 16, 2016 | Bird Deterrent Products, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeons in the News
Hundreds of trained homing pigeons were burned to death in their rooftop coop as a massive inferno tore through five Brooklyn buildings Tuesday night, officials and residents said Wednesday.
The fire broke out at a building on DeKalb Avenue between Wilson and Knickerbocker avenues in Bushwick at around 10 p.m. and quickly engulfed several other surrounding structures.
Gil Areiliares, who had maintained the coop for more than 20 years, kept at least 500 pigeons atop 1427 DeKalb Ave., where there is now a charred, gaping hole.
Only about 20 pigeons survived. They were spotted circling above the charred and destroyed buildings Wednesday afternoon.
“I don’t know how to put it in words — I’m sick,” a distraught Areiliares told The Post. “My heart is broken.”
Pigeons from the coops caught up in the fire are seen flying in Bushwick before the massive blaze.
Video courtesy of Abigale Hoke
About 200 firefighters battled the flames for more than three hours before bringing it under control by 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The blaze left 11 people injured and dozens of families displaced, officials said. The Red Cross helped to relocate families.
Four of the injured were taken to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center for treatment, including one firefighter who suffered minor injuries and a civilian who was seriously wounded.
Seven people were treated at the scene for minor injuries and smoke inhalation, fire officials said.
Edwin Torres, whose relatives live in one of the burnt buildings, said he was told the pigeons were “screaming like babies” during the fire.
Neighbors recalled marveling at the pigeons as the flock flew high above the area before returning to their roof.
“They used to fly the pigeons at sunset — it was so beautiful,” said Abigale Hoke, who set up a GoFundMe account to help raise money for displaced victims of the blaze.
“RIP #bushwick pigeons,” posted Twitter user @4rilla along with a 10-second video of the flock.
The FDNY was still investigating cause of the fire Wednesday.
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)
