by Pigeon Patrol | Dec 3, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes
Birds don’t seem all that smart. Despite being expert in the air, flying better than anything humanity has ever constructed, they still collide with a stunning number of cars and planes. Past studies have even revealed that a whopping 340 million birds have fatal run-ins with windshields annually. And yet, pigeons seem to never hit a single telephone pole, cable, flag posts, or anything else a cityscape can throw at them. How can this be? A new study of mid-flight behavior has the answer.
A lot of research has gone into selling the idea that birds aren’t as dumb as we think they are. They can count, think rationally, and even understand speech sound mechanics. And did we mention that they fly better than anything humans ever constructed? So why is it that birds keep smacking right into our cars and planes? You’d think they’d of learned their lesson by now. Unfortunately, according to experts, that just won’t happen.
Why Agile Birds Still Hit Cars and Planes
As nocturnal animals, bats have special neurons in their brains that enable safe flight, according to a new study.
Neurons in Bat Brains Enable Safe Flight
Published in the Proceeding of the US National Academy of Science (PNAS), a new study details how pigeons instinctively know when to switch between safe or efficient flight.
What do I mean by that? Researchers David Williams and Andre Biewener, at Harvard University, were able to get some exceptional footage of pigeons dodging random obstacles after they trained four of urban life’s infamous flying rats to fly back and forth across a flight corridor. After the pigeons made this trek an everyday thing, the researcher introduced obstacles into their paths.
What they found was that pigeons take one of two approaches to avoid slamming their delicate wings into tight spaces.
They can choose the safest approach, which is to fold their wings completely against their bodies – temporarily losing altitude in the process; or they could chose to do a so-called “wing pause” where they simply don’t lower their wings from over their head mid-flight. This second approach is also more energy efficient, as it allows the pigeon to immediately resume flapping once the obstacle is cleared.
It was thought that perhaps which way the birds chose was simply be based on the timing of their flaps, but after running several experiments with wider or smaller gaps between or around obstacles, Williams and Biewener found that pigeons are actually actively making the decision.
“The choice between these two postures seems mediated by an element of caution or uncertainly,” they wrote in the study. “The efficient flight strategy (wing pause) is chosen where gaps are wider and there is less chance of a collision occurring.”
Otherwise, when there is too much risk of breaking a wing, the pigeons seem to be willing to take extra effort, explaining why few-to-no collisions are ever seen.
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 | Dec 2, 2015 | Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
If pigeons were half as smart as some people think, they’d be choosier about where they do their business.
And when people who aren’t much smarter than birds drop feed for them in the wrong places, everything under their perch is sure to be slathered with repulsive droppings.
Pigeons are thought to be pretty sharp. We googled “are pigeons smart?” and learned they can recognize all 26 letters in the alphabet and tell between a Van Gogh or Chagall painting, feats that are beyond many people.
They also have an unerring beak for an easy meal and flock by the hundreds to areas where well-intended dummies spread food for them, like the Finch GO station, at Yonge St. and Bishop Ave.
Robyn Collier sent us a note saying that someone is feeding pigeons around two covered bike racks at the GO station, also a terminal for VIVA buses.
“The two structures, which are meant to protect bicycles from the weather, are badly designed and provide a perfect place for pigeons to rest,” he said.
“The result is completely disgusting, with bicycles and racks covered with pigeon waste. But the real problem is the person that keeps leaving bread crumbs and cereal for the birds.
“This is visually repugnant, unhealthy and a dilemma for those who need to store their bikes while traveling on transit.”
Collier’s note included photos of bikes coated with droppings, and of bird seed and pieces of stale bread scattered near the bike racks.
We went there and found lots of bird seed, cereal and bread scattered around the bike racks, as though someone is trying to draw the birds to the covered area, so they’ll foul everything under it.
Some of the bikes look abandoned, and no wonder. Nobody would want to ride a bike that is coated in grey poop. But until GO gets serious about chasing off the bird feeder, the pigeons won’t flock off.
STATUS: Anne Marie Aikins, who deals with media for Metrolinx, which is responsible for GO, emailed to say it will be cleaned up immediately and any abandoned bikes will be removed. “Our cleaning contractor will monitor the situation. As part of our spring cleaning, it will be our first stop to do a really thorough cleanup. We will also install ‘Don’t Feed the Pigeons’ signs. And finally, our Transit Safety officers will conduct special patrols and monitoring in the hopes of preventing this.”
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 | Dec 1, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes
IN RESPONSE to feedback on the pigeon nuisance, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) works with the relevant stakeholders, such as the town councils and the National Environment Agency (NEA), to implement measures to mitigate the issue, including control measures to manage the pigeon population in the area and maintain the cleanliness of the area (“After the rats, deal with the pigeons” by Miss Ng J-Cyn; Feb 18).
Pigeons and other birds are attracted to food premises due to the availability of food scraps. NEA has reminded the table-cleaning contractor at the Ghim Moh temporary market to step up the clearing of tables and soiled crockery.
Patrons can also help by not littering, not leaving scraps on tables and returning used crockery to tray return points.
AVA also enforces the law against the feeding of pigeons. The feeding of pigeons will encourage them to multiply, which will result in pigeon-related problems and undesirable hygiene conditions.
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 | Nov 30, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes, UltraSonic Bird Control
New Delhi, March 27: A chip on a leg, a ring on the other and a blue scrawl on its white wing – Gujarat police are in a flap over the curious case of a fearless pigeon and have begun a probe.
A pigeon drinking water from a bowl on a Sintex tank near a jetty close to Dwarka has sparked a fair bit of panic on the Gujarat coast, and involved everyone from the police and the coast guard to the state Marine Police and the Forensic Science Laboratory in Gandhinagar.
News has even travelled up to the Union home ministry.
“It is to inform you that on 20 March 2015 about 1600 hours around five nautical miles from the shore of Salaya Essar jetty, which is under construction, one pigeon was found drinking water from the bowl under the syntax (sic) tank,” said a report sent by the Dwarka district SP to the additional director-general of police (anti-terrorist squad) in Ahmedabad on March 24.
Apparently, a security guard of Salaya Essar’s security wing spotted the bird and “he found that the pigeon was not afraid of him and not going away”. So he decided to catch hold of it.
The report said the pigeon had “a chip on one leg and a number 28733 ring on another leg”. There were also some “writings” on the wings of the pigeon in “Urdu/Arabic language”.
Suspicion aroused, the guard immediately informed his superior, and the duo decided to keep the pigeon with them for the time being.
The next day, they tipped off coast guard officials of nearby Vadinar and handed over the “suspect” for investigation. A day after that, the coast guard intimated the Vadinar Marine police station.
“The in-charge police officer made the station diary entry No. 12/2015 at 1215 hours and took charge of the pigeon, called up the FSL officer for further investigation and took out the ring and chip from legs of pigeon and sent it to the FSL Gandhinagar for further investigation,” the report said.
Forensic scientists on the job discovered that the chip had “BENJING DUAL” written on it. “By searching on Google, we found that it is used for pigeon race,” the report said.
“There is one word written on the wing of pigeon in blue writing in Urdu/Arabic language which means ‘Rasul-ul-Allah’ was also found out.”
Still suspicious, the police called in forest officers for their opinion. “Such pigeons are found mostly in northern part of India and used for race in foreign countries,” the report said.
“This is primary information we have and further investigation is going on,” the superintendent of police, district Devbhumi Dwarka, said. Copies have been sent to the IGP in charge of Gujarat’s coastal security and to the DIG of Rajkot range.
Would North Block follow up? Officials refused comment.
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 | Nov 29, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting
It’s not just the human beings who are detained by the police. Even pigeons can be detained too. And Gujarat Police has done just that by getting hold of a pigeon with an electronic chip. The strange matter was probed for a possible terror angle and a detailed report was dutifully despatched by spooked Gujarat Police to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
The spotting of a pigeon, which landed at the Salaya Essar jetty in Vadinar, wouldn’t have been anything unusual for the police but the words ‘Rasul-Ul-Allah’ written in Arabic prompted them to carry out a background check. Moreover, a chip tied to one of the pigeon’s legs with the number ‘28733’ made this bird a suspect.
Union home ministry officials were not amused when the report was received at the ministry. “It’s bizarre. Why should they send such a report to us?” a ministry official asked. “We are handling serious issues and its strange when someone sends such trivial reports,” an official said.
However, the local police in Devbhumi Dwarka district believed this to be a security scare. The report was also marked to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Gujarat.
The pigeon was first seen on March 20 about five nautical miles away from the shore of Salaya Essar jetty, which is under construction, in Gujarat’s Devbhumi Dwarka district, by a security guard. The matter was then reported to the Coast Guard following which the pigeon’s ‘custody’ was given to the local police for further investigation.
The chip with the words ‘Benjing Dual’ was the biggest puzzle for the investigators. The cops sent the chip to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Gandhinagar. “By searching on Google we found out that ‘Benjing Dual’ is used in pigeon races,” the report said.
But the police probe did not end here and the Forest Department was roped in. “The Gujarat forest department officials were also called up for their opinion about the pigeon which is mostly found in North India and such pigeons are used for racing purposes in foreign countries, particularly in the Gulf,” the report said.
As per the forest officials the pigeon might have migrated to Indian shores.
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 | Nov 28, 2015 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes
Pigeons have made life difficult for residents of Hiranandani meadows in Thane. With the number of pigeons in the area rising alarming, they have now written to the officials at Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to intervene.
A resident of Niharika building, on condition of anonymity, said, “Many residents are suffering from skin disorders and health problems. We are not against pigeons but we don’t want them to be fed in residential areas. We used to stand holding placards asking people to not feed pigeons here, while some listen other residents continue with the activity.”
Residents have now approached the TMC asking them to take action. TMC on its part has put up a board asking residents to asking residents to not feed animals and birds.
TMC’s move has however irked the local NGOs. Sachin Bhanage said, “We approached the commissioner and even wrote to Union minister Menaka Gandhi protesting against the move. Not feeding the animals will only make them more ferocious.”
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)
