by Pigeon Patrol | Jul 9, 2024 | Bird Netting
Where Did All the Pigeons Go?
People have been commenting on the disappearance of city pigeons for several years, and not just in Portland.
Pigeons? Downtown? Are you feeling feverish, Karrie? Everyone knows there’s never been anything but crows downtown. Pigeons, indeed! Next you’ll be telling me Oceania hasn’t always been at war with Eurasia.
Just kidding! People besides you have been commenting on the disappearance of city pigeons for several years, and not just in Portland: Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia and even New York City have all seen dropoffs in the birds’ population. Estimates of the decline nationwide range from 30% to 46% since the 1970s.
What’s going on? Experts point to many factors: modern construction trends that provide fewer nesting spaces, pollution that taxes the birds’ respiratory systems and contaminates food sources, diseases like avian influenza, human activities like trapping or unhealthy feeding, and even climate change, which may disrupt the pigeons’ ability to find food and shelter.
In other words, they don’t know. A popular theory on message boards is that pigeons are being outcompeted by wily crows. This jibes with the anecdotal ob
servation that crows seem to be becoming more numerous, at least in Portland. But I ask you: If crows are so perfectly adapted, why haven’t they been Portland’s dominant avian scavenger this whole time? It seems likelier that pigeons are tanking for their own reasons; crows are just seizing the opportunity.
Still, that does invite the question: Why did pigeons beat out crows in the first place? Well, baby birds need protein to grow. Adult pigeons have the ability to produce a high-protein secretion, called “crop milk,” to feed them. This guaranteed protein supply lets pigeons breed year round. Crows, which have to scare up protein wherever they can, only breed in the spring, when protein-filled bugs and worms are plentiful.
That said, crop milk doesn’t seem to be helping pigeons much now. Perhaps someday we’ll learn why. In the meantime, I can’t help noticing that pigeons’ 1970s heyday seems to coincide nicely with the peregrine falcon’s DDT-fueled near-extinction. Since then, our local population of falcons (a major pigeon predator) has been steadily increasing, even as pigeons’ numbers have waned. I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy, but if somebody catches a crow and a falcon working together to paint the pigeons out of some historical photo—well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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by Pigeon Patrol | Jul 9, 2024 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Bird Spike, Columbidae, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Sparrows
Eagles and falcons deployed to scare away pigeons in Barcelona
This article is more than 3 months old Trial project aims to drive colonies causing a nuisance at Camp Nou football stadium to nearby parks
Barcelona has recruited a new weapon in its fight to keep the urban pigeon population under control: eagles and falcons.
As part of a trial, teams of three or four birds of prey have started patrolling an area around Camp Nou, FC Barcelona’s football ground, between 8am and 4pm. Pigeons nesting in the ground have been driven out by building works and have relocated to nearby blocks of flats whose residents have demanded action.
The idea is to drive the pigeons into nearby parks where they will be less of a nuisance.
“The birds can eat a few pigeons but that’s not the idea,” said Albert Tomás, a spokesperson for the company contracted to carry out the work. “Besides, a dead pigeon doesn’t learn.”
The mere sight of low-flying birds of prey was enough to unsettle the pigeons, which soon get the message that it was time to move on, said Tomás.
The pilot scheme follows the city’s failed effort to control the population of the estimated 85,000 pigeons through spiking their food with a contraceptive.
In some areas, such as the Plaça de Catalunya in the city centre, the concentration of birds is twice the recommended number.
In 2017 the city successfully used birds of prey to disperse flocks of pigeons that were damaging the roof of the Palau Sant Jordi concert hall.
Carmen Maté, responsible for animal welfare in the city, said that if the Camp Nou pilot proved successful it would be extended to other parts of Barcelona. The city is also campaigning to stop people discarding food in the street, which encourages the growth of the pigeon population.
Most Spanish airports use teams of falcons to deter bird strikes which are estimated to cost the global airline industry $1.2bn (£950,000) a year.
Barcelona airport has a team of 80 falcons, while about 70 peregrine falcons patrol Barajas airport in Madrid.
This is what we’re up against
Teams of lawyers from the rich and powerful trying to stop us publishing stories they don’t want you to see.
Lobby groups with opaque funding who are determined to undermine facts about the climate emergency and other established science.
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by Pigeon Patrol | Jul 9, 2024 | Bird Netting
Pigeon accused of spying for China freed in India after 8-month detention
A pigeon is released from an animal hospital in Mumbai on Jan. 30 after being held for eight months on suspicion of spying for China. (Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times/AP)
A pigeon held for eight months on suspicion of spying for China has been released after Indian authorities determined it was no avian agent of espionage, but a disoriented Taiwanese racing bird that had lost its ay.
Police found the pigeon near a port in Mumbai in May with two metal rings tied to its leg and what looked like Chinese writing on the underside of its wings. For eight months, the alleged secret agent was held in custody, first by police and then by the city’s Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals, which confirmed local media reports about the pigeon and its origin.
Mumbai police told The Washington Post that after “deep and proper inquiry and investigations,” they did not find “any suspicious material or fact” associated with the pigeon. It was released last week and is in fine health, according to the hospital.
The animal rights nonprofit PETA helped secure the bird’s release. “Like all birds, pigeons should be free to soar in the skies, forage for food, and raise their young as a couple,” PETA India Director Poorva Joshipura said in a statement, which noted that pigeons demonstrate self-awareness and intelligence.
Experts say the bird probably got lost during a race off the coast of Taiwan and may have hitched a ride on a boat to make the roughly 3,000-mile journey.
“A racing pigeon can fly for up to 1,000 kilometers [about 620 miles] in a day, but for it to fly to India, it had to make stops,” said Yang Tsung-te, the head of the Taiwanese racing pigeon trading platform Nice Pigeon, adding that some racing pigeons from the island have made it as far as the United States and Canada.
Alabama racing pigeon ends mysterious trip across the Pacific in Australian man’s backyard
The espionage allegations follow concern in the United States last year over Chinese spy balloons and amid continued tensions between China and India, two nuclear powers that share a contested border and have been vying for influence in the region.
It’s also not the first time Indian authorities wrongfully locked up a pigeon for alleged spying. A similar incident in 2015 sparked amusement in India and Pakistan, and in 2020, police briefly held a Pakistani fisherman’s pigeon after it flew over the countries’ heavily militarized border.
Although the allegations might sound absurd in an age of satellites and cyberespionage, pigeons do have a history of use in reconnaissance operations.
During World War I, Germany deployed pigeons with cameras strapped onto their chests, and in World War II, Allied forces used the birds to exchange secret messages, according to the National Audubon Society, an American nonprofit organization dedicated to bird conservation. Because pigeons are a “common species,” the camera-equipped birds could conceal their intelligence collection “among the activities of thousands of other birds,” according to the CIA, which also developed such a camera.
According to the International Spy Museum in Washington, pigeons were “distinguished by their speed and ability to return home in any weather.”
Those same qualities make pigeons good for racing — a much more common use of the birds these days. During races, pigeons are released sometimes hundreds of miles from home and owners wait for them to return.
Pigeon racing in Iraq: Pricey birds, obsessive owners and, alas, stone-throwing bandits
Colin Jerolmack, a professor at New York University and the author of “The Global Pigeon,” said it was “quite comical” that Indian authorities saw Chinese writing and assumed espionage, especially considering the enormous popularity of pigeon racing there and the fact that China has many “more sophisticated” tools than a pigeon.
Once dubbed “the poor man’s horse racing,” it is becoming big business, he said, noting that winning pigeons can fetch tens of thousands of dollars at auction — or much more.
In Taiwanese competitions, rather than racing over land, pigeons are brought out to sea and released 124 miles to 310 miles offshore, said Ya-Ching Huang, a researcher at Boston University who has studied Taiwan’s pigeon racing culture. Because of this format, “it’s not uncommon for pigeons to end up landing in neighboring countries or on boats that take them even further away,” she said.
While pigeon fanciers maintain that the birds receive great care during training, animal rights groups and ethicists have long criticized the sport. According to PETA, millions of pigeons die every year in Taiwan’s seasonal races, with many drowning from exhaustion, dying in storms or being killed for being too slow.
In racing and espionage, “pigeons are used as tools for human ends,” said Jan Deckers, a researcher at Newcastle University in Britain who studies animal ethics. “No pigeon chooses to release themselves a long way away from their lofts and to carry messages, tags or rings back home.”
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by Pigeon Patrol | Jul 9, 2024 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Law, Bird Netting, Bird Spikes
Birth control for bird control? Toronto put pigeons on the pill to fight the flock
A city pilot that put pigeons on the pill to regulate the population costs about $24,000 a year and is listed as a success in this year’s budget.
Toronto’s pigeon problemA city pilot that put pigeons on the pill to regulate the population costs about $24,000 a year and is listed as a success in this year’s budget.
Luis Canseco gets anxious when he walks across the Yonge Street and Finch Avenue intersection because he knows he’s directly in the line of fire.
Not from cars or trucks — Canseco keeps a wary eye on the wires overhead where dozens of pigeons congregate, feather to feather.
Whether he can make it across unscathed has become a crapshoot. “I’ve been hit with liquid three times in the last year,” said Canseco. “Now I cross it with an umbrella, rain or not.”
Toronto’s prodigious pigeon population has long been a frustration for residents who — even away from their excrement-painted balconies — can seem like collateral damage in a war being waged between those who want to feed the flocks and those who want them gone.
Coun. Lily Cheng (Ward 18 Willowdale), whose ward includes Canseco’s intersection, said many residents have complained about the influx in recent years.
“There’s many condo residents who no longer feel like they can use their balconies, which is what precious outdoor space they have,” said Cheng, noting there’s been more signage in her ward imploring people to stop feeding the birds. “It’s just not hygienic and hard to keep clean.”
In an effort to humanely reduce the numbers of feathered bombers, the city has put some of them on the pill, an endeavour listed as a success in this year’s budget. Under the pilot project that began in May 2022, the city has set up feeders in four locations across the city that dispense feed laced with OvoControl — birth control for birds.
Esther Attard, veterinarian and director of Toronto Animal Services, said her department worked with a pest control company to set up automated rooftop feeders: two downtown, one in East York and one in North York. City staff are looking at adding a fifth downtown.
According to Attard, OvoControl has proven to be a humane, successful baby blocker for birds in various countries, including Spain where a recent study showed a steady decrease in the avian population after several years.
The feeders dispense a fixed amount of food that contains the birth control pellets at the same time every day. The flock size is then tracked by a nearby camera, although it’s nearly impossible to get the same pigeons to take their daily dose.
Attard said the pilot costs about $500 per site for a flock of no more than 150 pigeons, or about $2,000 a month for all four sites.
Attard said there has been “some decrease” in the flock size, but she expects to have a better picture of its progress by the summer.
“The bulk of them are domestic, abandoned pigeons,” she said, noting the 2022 bylaw amendment to restrict the number of pigeons residents can keep. “The difficulty has been getting people to stop feeding and conditioning them.”
Canseco said he’s concerned about the health implications of having so much excrement around the city, but Attard noted that while it could carry silicosis or salmonella, the risk to humans is notably low and rarely poses a public health threat.
Vancouver’s TransLink tried a similar tactic at eight SkyTrain stations in 2019. The city’s automated rapid transit was often disrupted by pigeons that ended up on the tracks, triggering intrusion alarms, hard brakes and unnecessary service delays. A spokesperson for TransLink said the project lasted 18 months and returned in 2022 at seven stations. While the pigeon populations have not increased, Thor Diakow said, they also haven’t declined.
Attard said the method doesn’t harm the birds, even if they embrace their greed for feed and swallow more than one daily dose, but it also doesn’t harm what few seagulls and squirrels have gotten into the laced food.
Nathalie Karvonen, biologist and executive director of animal rescue Toronto Wildlife Centre, neither endorses nor condemns the pilot project.
“People tend to ride into two camps: either they are adamant they must continue to feed animals or they’re very upset because there’s too many pigeons,” Karvonen said, adding that as long as it’s humane and fiscally responsible the pilot is better than the cruel practices of poisoning or trapping and killing them.
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by Pigeon Patrol | Jul 9, 2024 | Bird Netting
Rock pigeons should not be overlooked. Here’s why
I headed out to Wells Harbor this weekend to see what birds were there: Who was back from the south, who was migrating through and whether anyone was changing plumage as their mating season ramps up?
Instead, I was completely distracted (in a good way) by some common pigeons. They were all over the dock: cooing, strutting around, flying from one perch to another. There were pale gray ones, dark ones, and checkered ones. I had been thinking about seasonal plumage changes.
Rock pigeon with checkered plumage at Wells Harbor in Maine Sunday, March 31, 2024.
For example, just this weekend brilliant yellow male goldfinches showed up at my feeders. They’ve been coming all winter wearing their winter drab colors, now that it is time to mate, the males are getting all fancy. The loons at the harbor were also showing signs of change, transitioning from subdued, faded blacks and whites of winter to their summer colors — striking black and white spotted backs with contrasting white breast. What was up with the pigeons? Were some in breeding plumage? Is there a difference between male and females? Were the dark ones juveniles, as is common with some of the local gulls?
A natural adult rock pigeon at Wells Harbor in Maine Sunday, March 31, 2024.
I’ve tended to write pigeons off when I go birding. After all, they are an introduced species, the descendants of domestic pigeons brought over from Europe back in the 1600s. Rock pigeons (Columba livia) are thought to be one of the first domesticated birds, raised for both their meat and their message-carrying ability. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology “Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets and Egyptian hieroglyphics suggest that pigeons were domesticated more than 5,000 years ago. In fact, these birds have such a long history with humans that it’s impossible to tell where the species’ original range was.” Those domesticated pigeons were carried everywhere that humans went, and many escaped, establishing feral populations on every continent except Antarctica.
Aan adult dark rock pigeon at Wells Harbor in Maine Sunday, March 31, 2024.
Spring was definitely in the air at the harbor. Rock pigeons have been known to raise over six broods per year (these are serious breeders!) so I imagine these pigeons were in the throes of mating season. Some of the pigeons were puffing themselves up and strutting around in circles. These were presumably males-displaying to court females: standing tall, inflating their crops, fanning their tails, and strutting in a circle around the female while cooing in their most alluring manner. This will progress to mutual preening (referred to as nibbling) followed by the male regurgitating some seeds or liquid and feeding the female, one of the final behaviors prior to mating. While rock pigeons are monogamous and mate for life, I think of these displays as our date nights (minus the regurgitation). As with long-married couples, these displays strengthen their bond and indicate readiness to mate.
A rock pigeon strutting over to its mate at Wells Harbor in Maine Sunday, March 31, 2024.
It makes sense that they are nesting at the harbor. In the wild they nest on cliffs (hence the name rock pigeon). In cities and towns they prefer window ledges, traffic lights, roofs and under bridges. We don’t have skyscrapers, but we do have docks and rocky outcroppings.
Pigeons do so well around humans because they are prolific breeders, we build structures that they like to nest on, and they like the food that we grow-they like all sorts of seed crops and, of course, they like breadcrumbs. They are also unbelievable navigators and flyers (one reason they made great messenger birds). Even blindfolded, pigeons can find their way home by sensing the Earth’s magnetic field. They might also use sound, and smell-this is currently being investigated. Without a blindfold they can also use cues based upon the position of the sun (allaboutbirds.com/Rock_Pigeon). They can maintain speeds of 40 mph or more for long periods of time (another reason they made great messenger birds). Rock pigeons are also acrobatic flyers-watch them zoom around a city park, or effortlessly fly between the pilings under a dock-these birds can give most predators a run for their money.
An adult dark rock pigeon at Wells Harbor in Maine Sunday, March 31, 2024.
Those color variations that first caught my eye are just color variations. Pigeons come in a variety of plumages that have nothing to do with gender or age (but probably something to do with the breeding of domesticated birds), so looking for mating displays this time of year is the best way to distinguish males from females. Now that I know more about them, next time I am out birding I’m definitely going to pay more attention to the pigeons.
Susan Pike, a researcher and an environmental sciences and biology teacher at Dover High School, welcomes your ideas for future column topics. Send your photos and observations to [email protected]. Read more of her Nature News columns at Seacoastonline.com and pikes-hikes.com, and follow her on Instagram @pikeshikes.
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by Pigeon Patrol | Jul 9, 2024 | Bird Netting
Meet the N.L. couple finding happiness in pet pigeons
Pet pigeons may be unconventional, but there’s room for love and acceptance
Whether wandering around the Avalon Mall or walking along the harbour during cruise ship season, partners Matthew and Jay Howlett regularly draw curious glances from passersby.
Proudly perched on either of their shoulders is a pigeon wearing pants, and chances are his name is Mr. Earl Grey.
“We get stopped every two seconds,” said Jay Howlett. “[People ask] ‘Is that real?’ Of course he’s real. He’s a gentleman. Look at him.”
Matthew and Jay Howlett are pigeon fanciers who take care of injured and rehabilitated pigeons that need some tender, loving care. Alongside their four pigeons and two diamond doves, the Howletts’ St. John’s apartment is also home to a corn snake, a pumpkin patch tarantula, an African fat tail gecko and a Syrian hamster.
Tiny pants, big hearts: why pigeons make the perfect pets for this St. John’s couple
Jay and Matthew Howlett were already into exotic pets when they discovered the colourful world of pigeon fanciers. The couple began taking in injured birds as pets, and now their apartment is home to a handful of pigeons with big personalities.
Their journey with the small-billed birds began in 2021 when Jay’s friend in Australia showed them their own flock via video calls. Surprised by the notion of pigeon ownership, Jay started researching to find out more about the world of the feathered creatures. What soon followed was a deeper understanding of where the birds — often seen pecking at the ground, eating grit and sand — came from and of their untold stories.
“It turns out that we’ve had them for about 8,000 to 10,000 years in worldwide history. Like, they’ve been with people that long. We’ve had them in World War I and World War II, so they’re veterans. A lot of people own them for racing, which personally I don’t condone. I do find it [to be] cruelty,” said Jay Howlett.
“But the coolest thing in history that I found was that they just co-existed with us. We use their eggs. We use their poop for fertilizer. Unfortunately, they’re on our city streets because of us.”
A man in a beanie stands indoors in a mall with a pigeon on a leash and in a diaper on his shoulder
According to the Howletts, cats and dogs may be mainstream pets, but keeping pigeons can open up a new companionship experience. (Nabila Qureshi/CBC)
Welcome to the family
With a newfound appreciation for pigeons, Jay Howlett reached out to fellow enthusiasts on a pan-Canadian group on Facebook, stating that they were looking to keep a pigeon as a pet.
“W found a really nice fella out in Witless Bay,” he said. “And he was basically like, ‘Pick one, pick two. How many do you want?’ And we end up going with two.”
Named Chai and Mr. Earl Grey, the pigeons took a few months to adjust to their new surroundings and human family. Gradually, their distinct personalities began to shine through.
“Earl Grey is a very dapper, loud gentleman. He loves to strut around the house and hoard all of my yarn. Chai is Earl’s flockmate. He is a little bit more timid and likes to keep to himself. He loves nesting, pretending he has an egg and sitting on it. The egg is a round chapstick,” Jay Howlett said.
A gray pigeon with its eyes closed is wrapped in a blanket. Its eyes are closed.
Waffles rests in a blanket on her first night of being rescued by the Howletts. (Submitted by Jay Howlett)
In 2022, a tip-off from a friend about a starving pigeon outside a convenience shop near Memorial University spurred the Howletts into action beyond mere pet ownership. They brought the bird home, affectionately naming her Waffles.
“We made her very comfortable. We tried our best to make sure that she was hydrated more than anything. We thought she was on the mend, but the stress from being starved and neglected for so long outside in the cold. She ended up having a stroke and she passed away while I was at work,” Jay Howlett said.
Moved by their experience with Waffles, the Howletts devoted themselves to opening up their hearts and home to even more pigeons in need. Along came Peaches, a white homing pigeon found at Bowring Park, and Chilli, whose hunched wings looked like a heavy ash-grey cloak.
“We found him over the summer at Kenny’s Pond and we were just feeding the pigeons like we normally do, and I saw a pigeon that was kind of limping but couldn’t fly,” said Jay Howlett.
“So I picked him up. His wing was broken but already fused in two places and his toe was backwards, so I decided to take him home.”
a man and a woman sit at table, drawing and playing a video game with a pigeon sitting on the man’s shoulder
Jay and Matthew Howlett’s day-to-day life centres on their pigeons and other small pets. (Zach Goudie/CBC )
The Howletts sought care from the Rock Wildlife Rescue, a rehabilitation centre in Torbay. Due to the nature of his injuries, Chilli’s wings had to be clipped, rendering him unable to fly ever again.
“He’s a strong bird. He was our latest one and he’s doing fantastic. He just has a big fear of people. But he knows lately he’s starting to come around and understand that we’ve helped him,” said Jay Howlett.
Matthew Howlett said another pigeon was attacked by a hawk.
“Parts of his body were actually missing,” he said, adding that the operator of the rescue group said that since they found him and got him the proper care, there’s a higher chance that he’s going to live.
Learning to build loving, ‘coo’-operative relationships
When asked why they bring their pigeons outdoors, on a leash, in pigeon pants that act and look like a diaper, their answer is education and awareness.
“We want to be a soft rescue. That’s our goal. We want to be somebody who takes in pigeons from the Rock Wildlife that can’t be re-released and give them proper homes because they deserve it,” said Jay Howlett.
a grey pigeon stands on the edge of a sofa. Its right wing droops low.
While Chilli may be flightless due to injury, he soars to new heights when he’s out and about on the Howletts’ shoulders. (Nabila Qureshi/CBC )
By expanding their haven for the birds, the Howletts also hope to play an important role in addressing overbreeding or abuse toward pigeons.
Ultimately, their message is to keep an eye out for any pigeon showing signs of disorientation, injury or panic from being near animals of prey like feral cats and hawks, and to bring them in for care at the Rock Wildlife Rescue.
“[The] least we can do is throw out a couple of seeds for them — not bread — and then just be nice to them,” said Jay Howlett. “They are just as cold as you are in the winter time, [and] as hot as you are in the summertime.”
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