MBCA Archives - Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services

‘Super rare’ 100-year-old carrier pigeon message found in France

Pigeon Patrol — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 21:32:52 +0000

A couple out for a walk in eastern France have discovered a tiny capsule containing a message despatched by a Prussian soldier over a century ago using a carrier pigeon.

The message from an infantry soldier based at Ingersheim, written in German in a barely legible hand, detailed military manoeuvres apparently during the first world war and was addressed to a superior officer, said Dominique Jardy, curator of the Linge Museum at Orbey in eastern France.

The date is marked 16 July but the year is not perfectly clear, appearing to be written as either 1916 or 1910. The first world war took place from 1914 to 1918.

The message reads: “Platoon Potthof receives fire as they reach the western border of the parade ground, platoon Potthof takes up fire and retreats after a while.

“In Fechtwald half a platoon was disabled. Platoon Potthof retreats with heavy losses.”

At the time, Ingersheim – now in France’s Grand Est department – was part of Germany.

A couple found the tiny capsule with its well-preserved contents in September this year in a field in Ingersheim, said Jardy, who raved about the “super rare” discovery.

They brought it to the nearest museum, the one at Orbey dedicated to one of the bloodiest battles of the first world war.

Jardy had enlisted the help of a German friend to decrypt the message, he said.

The tiny piece of paper and capsule will become part of the museum’s permanent display.

Source

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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.

Canada’s top wholesaler for bird deterrent products for twelve consecutive years.

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Bird prevention; How to get rid of birds nesting in your eaves

Pigeon Patrol — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 21:41:47 +0000

If you have been driven crazy by incessant scrabbling or are fed up of the mess being left behind by birds nestling in your eaves the question at the fore-front of your mind, is going to be how the hell can I get rid of them?!

The answer in short is that you pretty much can’t, not unless they are causing a health risk and you’re authorised to remove them!

So once a bird has decided to nest, you can’t touch it!

Sorry, I know that’s not exactly what you wanted to read! …..

However, let’s not linger on the negative, what you can do is prevent them nesting in the future. This article shares some of our top tips for making sure you get the right tools in place so that you can sleep soundly during the next nesting season!

Why we cannot remove nests from your properties eaves.

Birds need to nest in order to have their young, and with the loss of their natural homes over the years they have been forced to share our homes and use our roofs to nest. It’s important that whilst we protect your home, we also protect theirs too.

All birds, eggs and their nests are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. It is an offense to damage or destroy an active nest or prevent parent birds from returning to the nest. Also, there are certain birds such as Owls, Bearded Tits & Golden Eagles who are specified in Schedule 1 of the legal act, outlining that it is an offense to cause disturbance to the birds when they are in or near their nest.

Authorised personnel can remove nests but only when there’s risk to public health, for example if it’s to stop the spread of disease or if there’s a potential risk to the air space. They can also be removed if it’s proven that they are causing ‘serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit..’according to the RSPB explanation of the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

In order to protect yourself and to ensure you don’t harm the wildlife, you should avoid touching the nest or interfering with the birds at this time.

We know this doesn’t solve your problem, so keep reading to see 4 key steps to prevent birds nesting on your home in future.

The UK is known to have around 600 different bird types, but actually very few will be attracted to your roof space. The most common are :

House Sparrows
Starlings
Swifts
Swallows
Blue tits/Great Tits
Jackdaws

Bird Prevention 4 key steps to stop birds using your property as a nesting ground.

1.Clear debris.

To stop birds being attracted to your home in the first place, ensure all your rubbish is cleared away. Birds see rubbish as materials that they can use to build their nest, so in order to make sure your home doesn’t catch their attention in the first place make sure your bins and lids are secured.

Open rubbish can not only attract birds to your home, but many other pests too!

2.Seal up holes in your roof

It’s important to check your building in the winter, before the birds start nesting for gaps or spaces the birds could use to nest. If you find spaces then make sure to clean them out and seal them up, make sure to do this in the morning to minimise the risk of a bird roosting in them.

For your home it’s recommended using a wire mesh over any holes in your roof to deter them from getting in and nesting. If you have a sealant you may wish to seal up your roof but first make sure that there are no birds left nesting.

3. Prevent birds perching on your guttering and roof

Once you’ve checked your roof is sound and there’s no current nests in your roof, there are precautions you can take to stop birds landing on your roof, the most common being spikes. You often see these spikes on industrial buildings, shops or hospitality establishments roofs.

Now, having spikes on the exterior of your home can sound scary, but they aren’t as obvious as you might first think! The thin metal and clever placement of the spikes means they hard to see – so don’t worry your home won’t end up looking like a warzone!

If you still aren’t keen on having spikes, you could opt for ‘NestDiverters’ which is a discreet, clear, acrylic shield that stops the birds being able to get close to the buildings eaves. They function well and the additional key advantage to this bird proofing technique is that are almost invisible to the eye. Resulting in a quiet nights sleep without altering the look of your home. As listed installers of these products for Scotland, we are able to install them safely for your home.

4. Position a decoy in place.

You could try placing a decoy bird such as a plastic hawk on the roof which will discourage birds from nesting on your property. These model birds act just like a scarecrow, discouraging birds from coming near your property as they will see the hawk as a predator and a potential threat.

A decoy bird is a non-invasive way to discourage birds, the problem is that birds are smart so this will only last for a short period of time- in some cases a matter of days.

5. Repellent gels

Please don’t use these, they are available in the UK, but there is a high risk to the birds and although not poisonous the risk is that bird eyelids can get stuck together. Although their bird song can be annoying at 5am, that is no reason to make a bird suffer. In addition they aren’t proven to work so use your pennies elsewhere!

6. Encourage the birds to change nesting space next year

At the end of your tether? Tried all the suggested precautions and still finding the feathered friends nesting in your roof? You might be panicking thinking there’s nothing you can do, but there is still hope for next year by encouraging the birds to move elsewhere!

A top-tip suggested by the RSPB is to make an ‘artificial nest’. To do this you can simply use an ice cream tub and cut a hole within it. Make sure to roughen the surface and make some drain holes before hanging the tub up.

You can buy bird boxes along with bird feeders, if you place these out early enough near your home, there is a chance that the birds will choose to nest there instead.

In summary

Birds are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 and so its is unlawful to remove a bird nest once it is occupied. Some nests are only used once, while others are returned to every year.

While it can be frustrating, the best thing you can do as the occupier of the property is to put prevention measures in place for next year. Don’t find yourself in the same situation next year, put a reminder in your calendar at the end of the summer and get your deterrents in place.

Source

Pigeon Patrol

Canada’s top wholesaler for bird deterrent products for twelve consecutive years.

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I have birds nesting on the outside of my house, what should I do?

Pigeon Patrol — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 21:38:39 +0000

There are several species of birds that choose to build their nests around human habitation such as houses and sheds. Sometimes this can look messy and cause problems such as build up of droppings under the nest. We are often asked how to deal with this problem or whether the nest can be moved to another location.

The first thing to do is to find out what species of bird is building the nest. Have a good look at them and see if you can identify the species. Understanding more about the birds themselves may help you accept their presence around your home – you might even find that you have a rare and interesting bird in your garden.

It is very difficult to relocate nests without disturbing birds, so we don’t recommend moving nests unless this can be done before any eggs have been laid. If the birds are still in the process of building the nest then you can destroy the nest and obstruct the area so they cannot build another nest in the same place.

Alternatively, you could let the birds build the nest and live with them until their babies have fledged. It can be fascinating to watch the birds sitting on the nest, the eggs hatch and then the young grow up and fledge. Baby birds grow at a very rapid rate so they will only stay in the nest (and around your home) for a short period of time. The babies then tend to fly away to find their own mates. The parents will often move on to another location as well.

You might then like to make the area less attractive to nesting birds before next spring/summer by putting up wire or blocking access to the area where the nest was.

Source

Pigeon Patrol

Canada’s top wholesaler for bird deterrent products for twelve consecutive years.

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Are Birds Actually Government-Issued Drones? So Says a New Conspiracy Theory Making Waves (and Money)

Pigeon Patrol — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 23:08:11 +0000

The CIA assassinated John F. Kennedy after he refused to kill and replace billions of birds with drones. The U.S. government is sequestering a team of Boeing engineers in Area 51 for a secret military mission. Our tax dollars have been funneled into building the “Turkey X500,” a robot used to hunt large birds.

Combine all these conspiracies and you get Birds Aren’t Real, a nearly two-year-old movement that claims the CIA took out 12 billion feathered fugitives because directors within the organization were “annoyed that birds had been dropping fecal matter on their car windows.” The targets were eradicated between 1959 and 1971 with specially altered B-52 bombers stocked with poison. They were then supplanted with avian-like robots that could be used to surveil Americans.

Sounds extreme but also somewhat fitting, given the landscape of today’s social discourse. By surfacing murky bits of history and the ubiquity of Aves, Birds Aren’t Real feeds into this era of post-truth politics. The campaign relies on internet-fueled guerilla marketing to spread its message, manifesting through real-world posters and Photoshopped propaganda tagged with the “Birds Aren’t Real” slogan.

For much of its devoted fanbase, Birds Aren’t Real is a respite from America’s political divide—a joke so preposterous both conservatives and liberals can laugh at it. But for a few followers, this movement is no more unbelievable than QAnon, a right-wing conspiracy theory turned marketing ploy that holds that someone with high-level government clearance is planting coded tips in the news. Therein lies the genius of Birds Aren’t Real: It’s a digital breadcrumb trail that leads to a website that leads to a shop full of ready-to-buy merchandise.

The creative muscle behind the avian-inspired conspiracy (and thinly disguised marketing scheme) is 20-year-old Peter McIndoe, an English and philosophy major at the University of Memphis in Tennessee. McIndoe first went live with Birds Aren’t Real in January 2017 at his city’s Women’s March. A video from the event shows McIndoe with a crudely drawn sign, heckling protesters with lines like, “Birds are a myth; they’re an illusion; they’re a lie. Wake up America! Wake up!” The idea of selling Birds Aren’t Real goods, he says, came after the stunt gained traction over Instagram.

les all these accounts and fulfills every order for the Birds Aren’t Real goods he sells online. He declined to comment on how much money he’s made off the T-shirts, hats, and stickers, many of which are out of stock.

Exploiting conspiracists for profit is nothing new, says Mike Metzler, a social media influencer and viral-content creator on Instagram. Amazon sells dozens of styles of QAnon T-shirts that have become a fixture at Make America Great Again rallies around the country. What’s different is that while many QAnon believers wear their shirts in earnest, most Birds Aren’t Real fans seem to wear theirs to be ironic and on trend.

“Birds Aren’t Real is taking advantage of the meme-ification of previous conspiracy theories,” Metzler says. “People really want to believe in conspiracies—but more than that, people want to make fun of people who believe in conspiracies even more. Starting a conspiracy theory and selling Birds Aren’t Real merchandise allows them to sell to both sides,” Metzler says.

McIndoe’s movement got a free jolt of publicity on October 30 after Chicago-based journalist Robert Loerzel tweeted a photo of a Birds Aren’t Real flier he found on the street. The same flier also popped up on Reddit numerous times over the past month. The hectic and cryptic nature of the website makes it an incubator for conspiracy theories like QAnon. The Reddit forum r/conspiracy has 721,000 anonymous subscribers alone.

While some people will draw parallels between QAnon and Birds Aren’t Real (they were both launched in 2017, after all), their popularity on Reddit is the only true similarity, says Brooke Binkowski, managing editor of the myth-busting website TruthOrFiction.com and the former managing editor of Snopes. “Birds Aren’t Real is a good one, but it in no way ranks up there with the incredible complexity of whatever QAnon is,” she says over email. “QAnon has caught on because it’s interactive, it’s always evolving, and it’s completely vague—so vague that anything they say could be ‘true’ if you interpret it the right way.”

How could Birds Aren’t Real gain more dark-web cred then? “Conspiracy theories offer a way for the world to make sense, and they offer a sense of purpose to the purposeless,” Binkowski writes. “If Birds Aren’t Real hinted at some larger, dark pattern, it would really take flight.”

For now, though, this shallow conspiracy seems harmless and may even be a net gain for birds. Jordan Rutter, the director of public relations at the American Bird Conservancy, thinks the intricate history behind McIndoe’s movement is hilarious and thus, something positive. “Anything that gets people talking about birds is a good thing,” she says. “It’s definitely a way we can start a conversation.”

The filmmaker Oliver Stone once wrote that Kennedy’s assassination is “a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma.” Birds Aren’t Real, on the other hand, is a chimera of conspiracies that wraps satire, modern insecurities, and internet culture into a successful marketing scheme.

Source

Pigeon Patrol

Canada’s top wholesaler for bird deterrent products for twelve consecutive years.

The post Are Birds Actually Government-Issued Drones? So Says a New Conspiracy Theory Making Waves (and Money) appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

Column: 3 billion birds have vanished from our skies. Can we ever bring them back?

Pigeon Patrol — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 22:47:21 +0000

Look! Up in the sky! It’s … not as much as there used to be. Three billion wild birds have vanished from North America’s air in 50 years; a new study calls that loss “staggering.” Three billion is as many as 1 bird in 4 — birds of the forests, birds of the grasslands, gone. And 50 years is about the same time that it took North America to send the passenger pigeon — once the most abundant bird on the continent, flying by the billions in flocks that blocked the sun for hours at a time — to send it into extinction. These creatures who evolved from the dinosaurs, who delight us with color and song — humans are crowding them out, plowing up and chopping down their habitat, poisoning them with pesticides, installing windows that they smash into, allowing domestic cats to kill them. And just over a century after the nation began protecting its native birds with the landmark Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Trump administration is ready to weaken its enforcement. Steve Holmer heads the American Bird Conservancy, whose motto is “Bringing back the birds.” Can it be done, and how?

*****

Three billion birds in 50 years in this country. Why are they disappearing?

We believe it’s a combination of things. Migratory birds spend the majority of their year in the south, either the southern U.S. or in Central or South America. And so there’s all kinds of habitat issues there. And then when they actually migrate, they have what’s called stopover places, where they basically need to stop and fuel up again. If that habitat isn’t in good condition, or if they face threats there, then that could affect their migration.

Some new studies indicate that pesticides might prevent migrating birds from gaining sufficient weight. On these stopover points, they typically will gorge themselves and gain a bunch of weight so that they can fly — in some cases all the way up to the Arctic where they have their chicks. And then they come all the way back. It’s quite a gantlet that they go through. We think all of this is adding up into these declines.

Make the case for why bird life matters. People think aah, it’s just sparrows, aah, it’s just pigeons.

They’re actually a very good indicator of the overall health of the environment. When we see these bird declines, it’s an indication that in a sense there’s something out of balance. And we’ve seen certain habitats removed to a degree that the birds would become endangered. At the same time, we’ve had some very successful conservation efforts. We’ve brought the bald eagle back, for example. Its population is now increasing 10% a year, the result of banning DDT and other efforts to protect it.

Seventy years ago, Communist China crusaded against sparrows as “public animals of capitalism,” and killed billions. Without the sparrows to eat them, insects flourished, crops were destroyed and millions of Chinese starved. The earth needs birds. People need birds.

Birds play a crucial role within the ecosystem in terms of eating insects and other things and then also being eaten by other things. Part of the reason why the loss of the 3 billion birds is so significant is, that’s a huge loss of biomass that used to be in the system. We need to think about doing some things to try to restore balance.

What kinds of birds were foremost among those 3 billion that aren’t around anymore?

Really common birds, meadowlarks; grassland birds in particular seem to have taken a really huge dip. There have been some new studies showing significant impacts from pesticides. And an ongoing process called intensification with agriculture, where they’re using more and more of the land in a much more intensive fashion. And the result is there’s just less available for wildlife.

It really gets down to the price of corn in some ways. And then the subsidies for corn ethanol have actually been pretty bad for birds because they’re leading to the sod-busting and we don’t have a whole lot of original prairie left.

About a year ago the Natural Resources Management Act was signed into law by the Trump administration — a bundle of bills, and a lot of conservation groups had campaigned for them. Isn’t that something of a step forward?

It wasn’t a perfect deal, though. There was still a rider in there that prevents protection for the greater sage grouse, which right now is in severe decline. The sage grouse is a bird that lives all across the Great Basin, a little bit in northern California. That kind of desert country is where you’ll find sage grouse. They actually will eat the sagebrush and hide in it. They’re an excellent indicator for basically pristine, wide open spaces. They like big areas. They like it quiet.

As energy development and other things have descended upon that region, we’ve actually seen the grouse population decline by as much as 90%.

When we see species like the meadowlark start to disappear, species that were so common, that’s not a good harbinger for rarer species in more endangered habitats, is it?

No, that’s exactly the issue. We do carefully look at all the bird populations. There is a lot of focus on the birds that might become endangered; there’s a big effort to head that off.

But we’ve also found that once the bird is listed [as endangered], recovery efforts tend to be successful. We did an analysis a couple of years ago and found out that the biggest need for the Endangered Species Act was to increase this funding for recovery.

A number of birds have just been delisted. One of them was the Kirtland’s warbler up in Michigan, and that’s just a result of successful conservation efforts. There are some good success stories — the interior least tern and the Kirtland’s warbler and a few others are definitely at a point where they seem to be safe and stable in terms of avoiding extinction and on their way to recovery.

But others worry you.

Well, changes to the law itself are worrying me. There’s been some rule-making that can make it very difficult to get protection for new species or provide for adequate habitat protection.

I do think that the process has become politicized and we’re feeling it’s a real challenge to get a level of protection that the birds really need.

People know the phrase “canary in the mine shaft,” meaning an early harbinger of something bad about to happen. Now it seems like our whole wild bird population is the canary in the mine shaft.

That’s right, and they also are showing that they are a big indicator for global warming and climate change. You’re seeing range shifts; because it’s a little warmer, the birds are actually much further north and they’re literally following the climate band as it as it changes.

They’re fortunate in the sense that they can fly to the to a new ideal environment for themselves. Not every critter has that luxury.

As we expand, as our population gets bigger, our agricultural needs are bigger, people cut down forests for wood for myriad purposes, the birds— they gotta give.

We really do need to provide incentives to landowners to grow trees and to maintain their forests. If property values shift too far, they might go into real estate and all that land gets developed.

If we need to grow trees for climate [change purposes], we should make it a real lucrative thing for the landowner to do.

How successful is that?

We’re seeing some success. The California carbon market is really probably the greatest example where it allows for forest conservation projects. Most of them have either longer rotation, forestry or reforestation. And so either way, the environment is winning, because we’re growing trees and absorbing that carbon and providing for that habitat. The California market is something that we probably need to make national.

There was a conflict in the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s over loggers versus habitat and the endangered northern spotted owl; I think one bumper stickers said something like, “Save a logger, eat a spotted owl.” Is that the way our relationship with the natural world in general and birds and in particular is going?

It is kind of ironic because birds in general are very popular, but a couple of birds like the greater sage grouse and the spotted owl have been the flashpoint for these huge land use issues, whether it’s conservation of the many millions of acres of public lands in the sagebrush country or the old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest.

The fact that these birds declined so far is really kind of an indication that the habitat was not being used and not being properly conserved.

There’s been, I think, a very successful effort to protect the old-growth forest under the Northwest Forest Plan, but it’s by no means a perfect plan. But it has brought an end to the worst type of old-growth logging that used to happen.

And we are actually seeing some real benefits in terms of improved water quality. The forests in the region are now a big carbon sink where they absorb carbon instead of being a source of emissions every year or so.

So the public has seen some real side benefit in addition to the conservation of the forests.

Unfortunately, we have some policymakers who are trying to open up the old-growth forest again to logging, whether it be in Alaska or in the Pacific Northwest or Northern California. And we’re trying to counter that.

A lot of the work that we do is in partnership with other conservation groups. We manage a coalition called the Bird Conservation Alliance, which has over 200 groups doing public outreach and events to raise awareness about our program.

People like the idea of birds — they just don’t perhaps make the connection between, Oh, that’s a bird, and I like to hear it, I like to see it … and what it takes to keep that bird alive.

And sometimes people don’t see how their actions might affect things. A couple of the biggest sources of mortality for birds are window collisions and cats.

With windows, it’s estimated about a billion [birds are killed] a year, and it tends to be on the glass facades and ground-level windows that reflect foliage. There are ways, despite how the landscape is designed or where the windows are themselves; there’ve been windows tested that reduce the number of collisions. We’re working on various pieces of legislation that encourage the use of bird-safe building designs and materials.

There’s actually solutions for homeowners. There’s glass products and films that they can put on the windows to treat them so that the collisions can be greatly reduced.

The same with cats. Keeping cats indoors is safer for the cat. And it greatly reduces the predation that would happen if they were outdoors.

Many people let their cats outside to roam around, not thinking about the devastation that cats can wreak by killing birds — not a pleasant thing for bird lovers or for cat lovers.

In the West, there’s there is a big problem for cat owners seeing their cats outdoors having all kinds of issues, whether it’s fights with other cats, getting hit by cars and that kind of thing.

But the big issue lately is coyotes. If you’re leaving your cat outside, particularly at night, it’s a huge risk to them.

How many birds are cats killing?

Well, it is estimated it’s in the billions. Particularly when you think about the fledgling birds, they tend to be very vulnerable for their first couple of months, before they’ve really gotten to be full size and full strength. There’s just a tremendous toll every year.

What about windmills? President Trump says windmills kill a lot of birds.

Windmills do kill birds. We estimate as many as a million birds a year are killed by wind turbines and associated infrastructure. There are guidelines in place right now that can reduce this mortality. Unfortunately, they’re not being used that consistently. We’re working on a [proposed] piece of legislation called the Migratory Bird Protection Act that we think eventually could lead to these guidelines getting into use more often.

The changes that are happening to the [landmark 1918] Migratory Bird Treaty Act by the administration right now — one of the biggest problems is the fact that it won’t encourage us to solve these problems any longer. The law was intended to encourage industry to find ways to stop killing birds accidentally. So whether it be [birds] falling into oil pits or running into communications towers, there has been a lot of effort over time to reduce that mortality.

As a result of this change that’s been proposed by the administration and already put in effect through a legal opinion a couple of years ago, we’re actually no longer seeing enforcement that we used to have.

So at the same time bird populations are declining, we’re actually seeing weaker enforcement and weaker protection.

With wind and also with oil and gas and pretty much on any aspect, they’ve basically said that they’re no longer going to enforce the law.

And this could even be in extreme worst cases of oil spills where, in the past, there would have been big fines applied. Now they’re basically saying there’s no law any longer.

We’re already fighting, as is the state of California. We’re hopeful to overturn their efforts to weaken the law.

The Migratory Bird Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Alan Lowenthal from California, would actually kind of bring about these best management practices that I was just talking about. The bill has gone through a House committee and is awaiting a vote on the House floor. And people can express their support to their lawmakers to pass the Migratory Bird Protection Act.

It sounds like California’s doing a pretty good job of getting on top of this.

California has an outstanding legislature in terms of passing bills to protect the environment and fill in the gap while the federal government is kind of dithering about right now.

One area where California took the lead was in the phase-out of toxic lead ammunition. There’s now nontoxic alternatives available.

Most Americans live in suburban or urban areas now. I’m wondering about the urban bird population.

There’s actually a lot that we can do in our urban areas. Urban forests are very important. And each homeowner can do things with their own landscaping, things that that could actually really benefit wildlife, just in our own back yard.

Are you a birdwatcher? Is there a species that speaks to you?

Right now, I’d have to say the marbled murrelet is the species that really speaks to me. It’s right on the coast of northern California and Oregon and Washington state. And it’s a neat little seabird that goes out and forges on little fish and then it nest in the tops of old-growth trees. Those tend to be the very biggest trees that are like 200 years old or older. So there’s a huge overlap between the marbled murrelet and these really high-carbon forests that are valuable in terms of the fight on climate change. There’s all kinds of habitat protection and recreation.

Source

Pigeon Patrol

Canada’s top wholesaler for bird deterrent products for twelve consecutive years.

The post Column: 3 billion birds have vanished from our skies. Can we ever bring them back? appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

Pigeon dung problem grows in Alaska town

Pigeon Patrol — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 19:57:10 +0000

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Twice a year, Marcus Dodge assigns a worker to don disposable coveralls and a respirator for a trip to a downtown Fairbanks parking garage to clean up deposits from a non-native species.

Dodge, director of the Fairbanks Parking Authority, estimates the worker picks up 150 gallons of pigeon dung annually and hauls it to the hazardous materials area at the landfill.

“Pigeon crap weighs a ton,” Dodge said. “It’s not a lot of fun to clean up.”

The downtown pigeon population appears to be growing, according to Dodge and others. Businesses are experimenting with ways to deter the bird, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.

Roofers last summer discovered 6 inches of pigeon guano on the roof of the Courthouse Square, the former federal courthouse.

Charlie Cole, Alaska’s former attorney general, who has kept an office in downtown Fairbanks since 1957, has been talking with neighbors about fending off the birds.

“They leave droppings around warm air outlets where they congregate,” Cole said. “I think it’s a nuisance.”

Pigeon droppings contain ammonia and uric acids that eat away at metal and the sealant on the parking garage concrete floor.

One pigeon can produce 25 pounds of guano per year, according to a government report detailing New York City’s pigeon problem. The droppings were cited as possible cause for speeding the decay of a Minneapolis bridge across the Mississippi River that collapsed in 2007 and killed 13 people.

Hunters and dog trainers introduced pigeons to Fairbanks, said Cathie Harms, spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The best way to deter them, she said, is to eliminate their food source.

“We are aware that some people are feeding pigeons,” she said. “If there wasn’t as much food, there wouldn’t be as many pigeons.”

A maintenance worker for the Springhill Suites Marriot a few months ago tried chasing them off with a recording of predator birds. The sound could be heard from a couple of blocks away and drew complaints from hotel neighbors.

Robert Franklin, a maintenance foreman for JL Properties Inc., which manages the Courthouse Square and the Northward apartment building, calls pigeons flying rats.

“They’re a hazard to the equipment. They’re a hazard to people,” he said. “They get into stuff they are not supposed to.”

He uses spike strips and moves owl decoys around to repel pigeons. Success has been mixed, he said.

Source

Pigeon Patrol

Canada’s top wholesaler for bird deterrent products for twelve consecutive years.

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How to Get Rid of Pigeons on Your Roof, Attic & Balcony

Pigeon Patrol — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 18:49:52 +0000

Pigeons and humans have lived together for thousands of years. Outside the cozy appearance of pigeons on large squares, pigeons can cause a lot of discomfort. There are very many different types of pigeons in the world, and only some species give people trouble.

This mainly concerns those species that live in cities and towns. They can occur in large numbers and multiply very rapidly. The city pigeons today are actually feral domestic pigeons that have been bred for centuries and originally stem from the rock dove

Pigeon droppings look awful on your roof and the uric acid (that white stuff) in the poo can damage your house. In addition, the droppings contain bacteria and fungi that can be dangerous to humans. Some examples are Histoplasmosis, Cryptococcosis and Psittacosis.

Home remedies for pest control are a great safe, affordable and eco-friendly alternative repellents to store-bought products, and below are some awesome tricks on how to get rid of pigeons on your roof. So, read on to find the best repellents for these pests!

First Off: Why Are They There?

If you suffer from pigeons on your roof, you must first ask why the birds are there. They might be there because there is a source of food and water. So to start off you must remove those. Never feed the pigeons. Make sure no one in your family or any of your neighbours feeds them. Pigeons like to eat grass seeds, berries and dog or cat food. Make sure the pigeons can not find anything to eat.

Pigeons might also like to use your roof or attic as their breeding grounds. The easiest way to discourage their nesting is to take away any access points they use. Below you will find various repellent methods to do just so.

7 Simple Tactics: How to Get Rid of Pigeons

Now its time for business. If you have pigeons on your roof, consider one of the 7 ways to get rid of them quick-smart. These methods are very effective when it comes to removing pest in your attics.

1. Use a Slinky

A nice alternative to bird spikes is using a Slinky. Attach it along the roof or balcony edge, with the circles not more than one finger length apart. Secure it tightly with tape or wire every 8 inches. The pigeons will not like it because they can’t hang out on your property. This has become a very popular and safe repellent for these unwanted birds.

2. Use A Standard Water Hose

You can also use a garden hose as a weapon in the battle against pigeons. The birds hate it if there is a strong jet of water directed onto them. You have to repeat this for a while, so they know you mean business.

3. Block Off All Entrances

This is a point we stress in our other pest removal or repellent guides: Ensure that pigeons can not get in. Once they’re in your attic, more and more pigeons will settle down on and around your house.

Make sure the attic and vents are properly screened off to keep birds and other animals from entering. Fill large openings and windows with heavy curtains or plastic strips to make it difficult to enter. If they can come in, make sure that the birds can not sit anywhere.

Close off corners where birds like to build nests with sturdy cloth and plaster. In large open areas such as barns and attics, you can close the spots above the rafters with oversized pigeon nets.

4. Mirrors and Noise

Use reflective objects. It is worth trying to use reflective tape on your roof edge, or hanging objects that make noise or balloons to scare off the pigeons. For instance, let some firecrackers go off any time a pigeon lands somewhere. Make sure to use firecrackers that are not dangerous for children. This bird repellent is as easy as it can be, and it works every single time!

5. String

Bind strings or rope from one end to the other where birds like to sit down. They won’t be able to find their balance for landing. Use rope that is not affected by the weather.

6. Spicy Pigeon Repellent

Pigeons do not like it spicy. Sprinkle cajun pepper, cinnamon or pepper in places where birds often sit. Do not be stingy with spices and repeat it after rain.

7. Birds of Prey

Use birds of prey to scare away pigeons. Unless you happen to have a bird of prey as a pet, you can buy a plastic or stone statue of an owl or hawk. Put it on the spot where the birds often sit. Unfortunately, this does not work forever, because the pigeons will ultimately understand the fake bird never moves.

Source

Pigeon Patrol

Canada’s top wholesaler for bird deterrent products for twelve consecutive years.

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Pigeon poop proves a problem. Police involved

Pigeon Patrol — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 19:12:29 +0000

The pigeon problem in Kirkland Lake is so bad, police felt the need to issue a news release this morning warning residents to follow the law when dealing with them.

The town started renting out traps to residents today to capture pigeons, and police say that trappers will be responsible for the disposal of the birds, which includes a ban on throwing them in the garbage for curbside pickup. Successful trappers will instead have to take the pigeons for burial at the town dump.

“The OPP want to inform the residents that it is each individual’s responsibility to educate themselves on this topic and to ensure that they are acting within the laws, regulations and town by-laws,” says Constable Adam Gauthier.

The problem started, says Ashley Bilodeau, Kirkland Lake’s Manager of Planning and Land Development, when a few bird lovers started feeding the pigeons.

“We have a couple of residents that have been obnoxiously feeding pigeons to the point where we have some serious problem areas, so we passed a no-feeding bylaw back in the fall,” she told BayToday. “However, there is one individual who just continues to feed them despite the bylaw and has been charged. There’s been a few charges laid around town but there is one individual who is causing more headaches than normal.”

The fine for feeding is steep at $100, and that’s down from the $250 the town wanted to charge but the province wouldn’t allow it.

“So we’re trying to find different ways to combat the issue because it’s now causing problems to people’s properties and vehicles because there are so many of them.”

Bilodeau says the town has checked with the MNRF and it’s not illegal to kill pigeons although you are required to have a small game licence in order to trap and kill pigeons.

The town has not placed a limit on the number of pigeons people can capture, but police warn folks can’t use their guns to shoot the birds because discharging a firearm is prohibited within the Town of Kirkland Lake,

Bilodeau says poop is the problem.

“They’re also causing damage to buildings by trying to build nesting areas,” she adds. “We’ve got four traps here and people can come in and put in a deposit and take the trap for 10 days, and when they bring it back they get their money back.”

Pigeons were originally bred from the wild rock dove, which naturally inhabits sea-cliffs and mountains according to Wikipedia, so the bird finds the ledges of buildings to be a substitute for sea cliffs.

They have become abundant in towns and cities throughout the world. Due to their abilities to create large amounts of excrement and to carry disease, combined with crop and property damage, pigeons are largely considered a nuisance with steps being taken in many municipalities to lower their numbers or completely eradicate them.

Source

Pigeon Patrol

Canada’s top wholesaler for bird deterrent products for twelve consecutive years.

y/bird nails/bird guard

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Why are Pigeon Nets Important during Summer?

Pigeon Patrol — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 02:44:26 +0000

We all are well aware of the fact that how films, web series, and TV serials have romanticized the idea of symbolizing birds such as pigeons and sparrows as a symbol of love and peace. However, the truth is completely different from what we see on the screen. If these birds become unpaid tenants of your little balcony, you are surely going to encounter the nuisance they create. Thus, many homeowners opt for Sparrow Netting or Pigeon Netting to keep them at bay.

In addition, during the summer season, it becomes extremely important to place pigeon netting for balconies to get rid of all the chaos they bring with them. You may wonder how these little pests can cause substantial damage to your family’s health and also to your property. Well, they can and that is the reason why various residential and industrial spaces in rural and urban areas rely on anti bird netting services.

With that being said, this write-up is specially dedicated to discussing why anti bird netting becomes crucial during the Indian summer season. The comprehensive guide will also shed some light on the key features of HiCare’s bird netting in Pune, Mumbai, and other Indian cities.

Birds are Dirty Beings

Yes, believe it or not, they are. And, if you don’t you can check out the surface of a car parking in the open space or benches of the park. Now, just imagine that a bunch of birds are enjoying the shade under your balcony. Once they leave, you are likely to spot their droppings. It is a treat for all the balcony gardeners as a large amount of their dropping can harm vegetation.

Birds Can Cause Illness

Diseases such as pigeon ornithosis, encephalitis, and salmonella food poisoning have all been linked to pigeons. However, determining the true incidence of illness transmission from pigeons to humans is problematic. Disease outbreaks that may be traced back to pigeon flocks are uncommon. Hence, another strong reason for subscribing to bird netting in Pune, Mumbai, or any other metropolitan city of India.

Pigeon excrement contains the causal agent of histoplasmosis, a systemic fungal illness that affects the human respiratory tract if allowed to accumulate for several years. Histoplasmosis can be lethal in extreme cases. Pigeons’ external parasites include a variety of mites, fleas, ticks, and bugs.

More than anything else, pigeons can be a threat to human safety. Thus, the elimination of feeding, watering, roosting, and nesting sites is important during summer, winter, or any Indian season. As birds pose serious concerns to gardeners and property owners, bird netting services can act as a barrier to letting them in your sweet home. With that being said, here are four benefits of Bird Netting installation in summer. Scroll down to take a brief look at each!

Top 4 Benefits of Bird Netting

Long-Term Protection
Durable and Sturdy
Cost-Effective
Simple to Use
Disease Prevention
Environmentally Friendly
Low Maintenance

1. Long-Term Protection

During summer, birds often come in their numbers to attack your balcony causing significant damage to the surroundings. To counter this, the net is an effective way to offer the right protection to complete your space from bird damage.

2. Durable and Sturdy

Nets are made of the strongest, highest-quality materials, come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and are UV-stabilized. Some nets have been estimated to last up to several years. Anti-bird netting pays off in terms of durability, which is important in any worthwhile investment. The setup is basic and straightforward.

3. Cost-Effective

4. Simple to Use

The netting is exceptionally simple to use and easy to install. The process is hassle-free and professionals can do it within a given timeframe. Once installed properly, it does not require any external force to come into action.

Many reasons and benefits can lure more homeowners to install pigeon netting for balconies. However, finding the best professionals that give Bird Netting Services in Mumbai or any Indian city could be a bit difficult. On the flip side, it is not impossible either. If your browser history is filled with the query – Bird Netting Mumbai, HiCare has a solution for you.

5. Disease Prevention

Bird droppings can contain harmful pathogens and bacteria. By keeping birds away from areas where people live and work, bird netting reduces the risk of diseases transmitted through contact with bird droppings. This is especially crucial in urban environments.

6. Environmentally Friendly

Bird netting is considered an environmentally friendly bird control method because it does not harm the birds. Instead, it provides a physical barrier that discourages birds from accessing certain areas without causing them harm. This makes it a humane and sustainable solution.

7. Low Maintenance

Once bird netting is properly installed, it requires minimal maintenance. Routine inspections to check for damage and repairs as needed are typically the only maintenance tasks required. This saves time and effort compared to other bird control methods.

Source

Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

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The Problems That Come With Pigeons Around Your Owensboro Property

Pigeon Patrol — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 19:31:09 +0000

You could be forgiven for thinking that pigeons ever lived in the wild. They have been such a constant presence in human cities for so long that they are seen as urban creatures to this day. However, their commonness doesn’t mean they are harmless. Pigeons can be just as troublesome as other common pests, and they can be even more dangerous than you probably realize. Learning how you can prevent a pigeon infestation in your property can protect you from these problems.

Common But Not Harmless

Pigeons are so common in urban America that most people don’t pay them any real attention. Some people even feed them. It’s this relationship to humans that has allowed pigeons to thrive and reveal their true colors as truly harmful birds. But pigeons haven’t always nested in cities and suburbs, they descend from cave birds that occupied rugged coasts and mountains. Some pigeons still migrate to these natural areas to breed but their reliance on human waste for food and industrial buildings for shelter means pigeons are a permanent fixture in modern life. But make no mistake, pigeons are responsible for the same kinds of damage and danger that other pests are known for.

Damage & Danger Caused By Pigeons

Even though people consider them harmless birds, pigeons have proven time and time again that they are more than just birds picking up breadcrumbs. Pigeons can lead to all of the following problems for humans:

Disease. Pigeons are known as vermin for a reason, they are carriers of dangerous and fast-spreading diseases like hepatitis and salmonella.
Parasites. Even if pigeons themselves aren’t carriers of diseases, they can carry ticks and lice that are also harmful and known to transmit pathogens.
Damage. Pigeons aren’t just a health risk, but a property risk too. With their habit of nesting inside of electrical utilities and roosting inside of people’s roofs, pigeons can cause direct damage and interference to the common amenities of daily life.
Feces. Not only can pigeons cause damage with their nests, but they can also cause damage to their poop. The highly corrosive droppings can chew through concrete and even metal — not to mention the unpleasant sights and smells that result.

Keeping Pigeons Off Your Property

Since pigeons in Owensboro are everywhere, it’s important to take steps to make your property less attractive to flying invaders in search of shelter or food. Here are some steps you can take:

Don’t feed them. First and foremost, everyone should take heed of this tip. The more people feed pigeons, the more their populations grow. If you feed them on your property, either directly or via bird feeders, you’re simply inviting them to cause more problems.
Landscaping. Keeping trees trimmed away from any structures will prevent pigeons from having an easy place to land that’s right next to your property.
Anti-roosting. There is a wide range of spikes, grates, and covers that are available for commercial and residential properties, which prevent pigeons from landing or nesting.

Take Proper Action

Because pigeons are such a common part of modern life, anyone can fall victim to the problems they cause. Once they’ve taken hold in an area, pigeon populations can grow simply massive. Rather than try to deal with prevention and removal on your own, enlist the help of trained experts who can assist you. At Action Pest Control, our friendly staff can provide you with even more tips to prevent and spot the signs of pigeon damage. If our inspections reveal an infestation, we’ll work to get rid of it and work with you on steps for future prevention.

Don’t get complacent when it comes to pigeons, act today.

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

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How to Get Rid of Pigeons Invading Your Property

Pigeon Patrol — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 19:27:33 +0000

Do you have a problem with pigeons in your home? Not only can this be frustrating, but pigeons can also carry germs that can have a negative impact on your health. This is why it is important to seek expert pigeon removal. With that in mind, in this blog post, we are going to reveal everything you need to know about pigeon removal, including some of the steps you can take to keep pigeons away from your home.

Why pigeons are dangerous

You may have heard that pigeons carry diseases. This information is true. In fact, pigeons spread an alarming number of diseases, as they carry more than 60 varieties of pathogens. Diseases are transmitted via pigeon droppings. Of course, you can make sure that you never pick up or touch pigeon droppings. Nevertheless, it is a little bit more complicated than that. When pigeon droppings that are infected with viruses or bacteria are left on windowsills or pavements, for example, they will start to dry out. When this happens, the droppings then turn into a powder. The powder is either kicked into the air or blown about, which causes it to be inhaled by people without them knowing. When this powder is inhaled in this manner, this is how diseases can be spread to humans.

What are some of the common pathogens that pigeons can transmit to humans?

There are a number of different pathogens that humans can transmit to humans, so let’s take a look at them in further detail:

Salmonellosis – This is a disease that you are probably more familiar with in terms of food poisoning. This disease when the infected droppings of a pigeon turn into dust, as mentioned earlier, and ends up finding its way to food preparation surfaces and food.
Candidiasis – This disease is a respiratory condition that happens as a consequence of the years or fungus that is found within pigeon droppings. The areas that are impacted by this type of disease include the respiratory system, mouth, and skin, as well as the intestines and also the urogenital tract, especially in females.
Histoplasmosis – This is a respiratory disease that can happen as a consequence of the fungus that grows in pigeon droppings. This disease can be fatal.
St. Louis encephalitis – This is a form of the disease that mosquitoes spread once they have fed on a pigeon that carries this disease. This results in inflammation of the nervous system, which can be a big concern no matter how old you are. Nevertheless, it can be especially serious and sometimes even fatal in those who are 60-years-old or older. Symptoms include fever, headache, and drowsiness.
E.coli – Last but not least, there is e.coli, which happens when bird droppings land in a supply of food or water, after which they are consumed by humans. By washing food before eating, you should be able to avoid this. Symptoms include the likes of cramps, fever, and nausea.

It is also worth pointing out that pigeons carry the West Nile virus, as well as carrying fleas and mites, all of which can result in discomfort and a number of severe medical problems for humans.

How to keep pigeons away from your home

There are several different steps that you can take to try and keep pigeons away from your property. One of the things that you can do is make the roosting areas as unappealing as possible. Here are some of the best opinions here:

Don’t feed them – This may sound obvious, but it is important to make sure that you do not feed the pigeons. As is the case with the majority of animals, if you feed them, they are only going to keep coming back. Plus, the food may attract even more pigeons and potentially other animals as well!
Install coping covers to window ledges and sills – If you do not have any flat surfaces for nests to be built and balanced on, the pigeons are probably going to move elsewhere and find a different home.
Tie a string across the roosting area – Strings that are tied approximately one-inch
Install anti-roosting spike stripes – Select strategical sports for the installation of anti-roosting spike strips. This includes the likes of window ledges and sills.

It is also a wise idea to inspect the outside of your home and to make sure there are no entry points for pigeons. Pay special attention to your attic and eaves. If any openings are present, you should seal them. You can start by sealing the attic should there by any openings that are large enough for a pigeon to get through them. You can either place a metal wire mesh or you could seal the openings completely.

Next, you should cap your chimney if your home has one. Using a metal wire cage to cap your chimney is a wise idea because pigeons are well known for creating nests that can block this area of your home. A bird could die through getting trapped inside of the chimney as well, so blocking off the chimney is better all around!

In addition to this, you should use netting or mesh surrounding the nesting areas. This is advisable especially for those that have air conditioning units in their home. This is because pigeons love to create their nests on trays underneath the unit.

Of course, you can also hire professionals to make sure that there are some strategies in place so that pigeons are deterred from your property.

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

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The fellowship of the wing: Pigeons flap faster to fly together

Pigeon Patrol — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 23:26:59 +0000

New research publishing June 18 in the open-access journal, PLOS Biology, led by Dr Lucy Taylor from the University of Oxford’s Department of Zoology now reveals that homing pigeons fit in one extra wingbeat per second when flying in pairs compared to flying solo.

Birds that fly in ‘V’-formations, such as geese, are able to conserve energy by flying in aerodynamically optimal positions. By contrast, in species that don’t fly in formation, such as homing pigeons, the costs and benefits of flocking have been less well understood.

The research indicates that flying with another bird requires more energy compared to flying solo. ‘The results of this study were completely unexpected. Energy is the currency of life so it’s astonishing that the birds are prepared to pay a substantial energetic cost to fly together,” said lead-author, Dr Lucy Taylor.

The team used high frequency GPS and accelerometer bio-loggers to measure how pigeons changed their wingbeat patterns when flying in pairs compared to flying solo. The accelerometers act much like fitness trackers but, instead of measuring steps, the researchers measure wingbeats. ‘The increase in wingbeat frequency is equivalent to Usain Bolt running the 100m sprint at his usual speed, whilst fitting in nearly one extra step per second. The pigeons are flapping faster when flying in pairs but hardly going any faster,” said Dr Taylor.

The increase in wingbeat frequency is likely to be related to the demands of coordinating flight. Dr Taylor said: ‘Imagine trying to coordinate with and avoid hitting another small object travelling at around 44 miles per hour. This is nearly two times faster than an Olympic sprinter, and the birds can move up and down as well as left and right. For a pigeon, flapping your wings faster will both give you faster reactions and greater control over your movements, and will help keep your head stable making it easier to track where the other bird is.’

Despite the costs of fitting in one additional wingbeat per second, the birds consistently chose to fly together, suggesting that they were able to gain other benefits from flocking. Birds flying in a pair were simultaneously able to improve their homing accuracy, meaning that they could conserve energy by flying shorter routes home. Combined with increased predator protection from safety in numbers, this research suggests that the overall benefits of flocking outweigh the immediate energetic costs of changing wingbeat patterns.

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

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Ever wondered why cities have so many pigeons?

Pigeon Patrol — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 23:25:07 +0000

Some people feed pigeons bread crumbs or keep them as pets in rooftop coops. Others see the animals as pests, carriers of disease or simply “rats with wings.” But whatever you think about these birds, there’s one fact no one will argue: Pigeons are everywhere.

Have you ever wondered how one kind of bird managed to take over urban areas as far apart as Washington; London, England; Mumbai, India; and Melbourne, Australia? Or why it is that pigeons are so plentiful in cities and not eagles, turkeys, hummingbirds or vultures?

Well, the first thing you need to know about pigeons is that they’re actually doves. Or doves are actually pigeons. Scientifically, there’s no difference between the two.

“In some languages, there isn’t even a separate word for ‘pigeon,’ ” said Colin Jerolmack, a scientist at New York University who studies human societies.

There are still pigeons living in the wild today. They evolved on the shores of North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea, where they make their homes on rocky ledges and cliffs. And it was this natural love for hard surfaces that made them a perfect fit in urban areas.

“They actually really like concrete, marble and stone, so they prefer to live and build nests not in the trees and shrubs and grass, but alongside buildings,” said Jerolmack, who wrote a book called “The Global Pigeon.”

But perhaps the biggest reason you’ll find pigeons in cities around the world is because humans brought them there.

At least as long as 5,000 years ago, the people of an ancient Middle Eastern civilization known as Mesopotamia started putting out houses for these birds. As the birds became more tame, people began breeding them for food in areas where other wild animals had become scarce.

Later, people learned that they could also use pigeons to carry written messages over long distances, thanks to the birds’ homing instinct.

“You can take a street pigeon in D.C. and drive it down to North Carolina and release it, and, more often than not, it’ll find its way home,” Jerolmack said.

As you can see, pigeons can be quite useful. It’s been only in the past 80 to 100 years that people started disliking the birds, Jerolmack said. And much of the dislike comes from misunderstanding.

For example, there’s really no solid evidence that pigeons pass diseases on to people. And once you get to know them, you might change the way you think.

Did you know that pigeons mate for life, for instance? Or that once their chicks hatch, both parents take turns feeding their young a liquid produced in their digestive tract called “crop milk?”

Anyway, humans have only themselves to blame for the pigeons cooing on every corner.

“We bred them and domesticated them, and kept them in cities as we developed cities,” Jerolmack said. “So they’ve always been here, from the beginning.”

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

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How to get rid of pigeons

Pigeon Patrol — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 21:04:42 +0000

Pigeons are a very common species of bird in India. Pigeons can breed upto 8 times a year, therefore they are found everywhere. The word ‘pigeon’ comes from the Latin word called ‘pipio’, meaning ‘young chirping bird’. These young chirping birds love to create a mess and leave stinky droppings everywhere and anywhere.

Pigeons can sometimes be hard to deal with as they always wander in groups. They can mess your balcony or your vehicle. They can make consistent distracting noises which can give you a headache. They barge in your house and do not know how to leave. Pigeon droppings and nests can stink up a place. They can clog pipes, water-spouts etc. Read on to get rid of pigeons and their belongings.

How to get rid of pigeons:

In India, pigeons are protected under Section 428 and 429 of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) (no wonder they are fearless). Even if this was not the case one must always go for non-violent options. So here is a list of the ways in which you can get rid of pigeons and their poop

Sound distraction:

You can hang wind-chimes at places prone to pigeons. They do not like it and as the chime moves and makes sound with the wind it kind of keeps the pigeons away and gives you a pigeon-free and melodious surrounding.

Reflecting surfaces:

Use shiny materials like aluminum foil or mirror to confuse the pigeons and keep them at bay. It plates tricks with their senses and keeps them off the place.

Professional bird nets or covering:

Pigeon nets for balconies are advised but try buying nets with smaller gap holes to avoid any invasions of pigeons.

Pigeon repellents:

You can use organic, home-made pigeon repellents. It can be effective in keeping pigeons away from the balcony or windows. (Providing you with a comparatively clean floor.)

Cover things up:

Pigeons can create a lot of mess out of open trash bins. Keep your trash covered if it is kept in an accessible place for pigeons to avoid any spill and mess.

Pigeons are not pets:

Pigeons are not pets and don’t treat them like one. Discourage people from feeding these nasty, parasite-carrying pigeons to stop them from coming back. Do not make them habitual of a place they can get food from as it will also become a place they use for frequent stinky white droppings.

Introduce fear:

It is said that pigeons are sort of taken aback by owls and snakes. You cannot get a real one but you can get a plastic owl or a rubber snake for your balcony or workspace, keep them in a corner most visited by the pigeons. It is a short-term trick to get rid of the pigeons.

Source

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

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Pigeon pecking order found to be driven by weight

Pigeon Patrol — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 18:10:13 +0000

A team of researchers from the University of London and Monash University has found that pigeon pecking order is driven by weight and that a given pecking order can be artificially changed. In their paper published in the journal Biology Letters, the group describes their study of the pecking order of domesticated pigeons and what they learned about them.

The term pecking order has come to be used as a way to describe the hierarchy that exists within a group of animals, including humans. Typically, those at the top of the hierarchy have better access to food or a mate, while those at the bottom must scramble to get by. In this new effort, the researchers looked at pecking order in pigeons at the Royal Veterinary College of the University of London. The pigeons housed there are used for homing purposes—nine are female and eight are male. They are all six years old and differ slightly in size. Over the course of the three-year study, the birds were given access to food and water and no other birds were included as part of the group. The group was closely watched for a period of time at three points during their annual cycle. Also, at 19 months into the study, the researchers affixed small weights to the smallest of the pigeons.

In studying the birds, the researchers found that they had a clear hierarchy, with the larger birds at the top and the smaller birds at the bottom. Those at the top of the hierarchy were first in line when food and water were given, while those lower down had to settle for less food by the time their turn came. The researchers found that the larger birds were more aggressive, which is why they got their way when feeding. Things changed dramatically, however, when the researchers added the weights to the smallest birds. With the increase in weight, the birds grew more aggressive and very quickly moved up the hierarchy, eventually arriving at the top. And they remained at the top of the hierarchy until the researchers removed the weights. At their suddenly reduced weight, the birds lost their aggressiveness and slid down to the bottom of the hierarchy once again.

The researchers note that their study shows that aggressive traits in an animal can be modified simply by changing a physical attribute such as weight. They suggest their findings indicate that people feeding bread crumbs to birds at a park may be making them more aggressive.

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Blind woman warns of pigeon poop exposure danger Social Sharing

Pigeon Patrol — Tue, 30 May 2023 19:21:37 +0000

A young woman in Fredericton is singing on the street to call attention to the disease that made her blind.

Erica Richards lost her sight last year after developing Cryptococcus meningitis.

Cryptococcus meningitis is a potentially fatal swelling of the membranes surrounding the brain. The disease is caused by fungus that lives in the guts of pigeons and other birds, such as chickens.

People can breathe it in if they’re exposed to pigeon droppings.

The 24-year-old was living in a house that had a pile of pigeon feces in the attic, and she also had a compromised immune system from chemotherapy .

“A reverse migraine — I needed light, I needed sound. I needed neck massages. Couldn’t lay down, couldn’t sit up. Couldn’t eat. I was vomiting. And then I started having double vision, quadruple vision, then seizures. And then I ended up in hospital,” she said as she described her symptoms.

Richards sings to supplement her $135 a month disability payment.

Kevin Forward is an infectious disease specialist who teaches at Dalhousie Medical School in Halifax.

“I think it’s pretty common sense. Move to avoid being in a situation where there are a lot of pigeon droppings, particularly if you’re disturbing them, cleaning them up, sweeping them,” Forward said.

“Those kind of situations should certainly be avoided. But if you’re in the park that has some pigeons around, I think the risk is infinitely small.”

Pigeons are part of the urban landscape, but they are known to carry a long list of disease-causing organisms — such as Chlamydia and salmonella.

That, along with complaints about them damaging roofs, led Fredericton to add pigeons to the city’s animal control bylaw last year.

Property owners are now prohibited from spreading feed or anything else that would attract pigeons.

Richards wants to make sure people know the risk of coming into contact with pigeon feces.

“To draw attention, to raise awareness so people will ask questions, so they will know what the symptoms are,” Richards said. “So that way, they can be warned ahead of time, before what happened to me happens to them.”

Next month, she’ll be going to a school sponsored by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind to finish high school and to get matched with a seeing-eye dog.

She hopes to go on to study law.

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Canadian woman battling crippling disease caused by pigeon poop

Pigeon Patrol — Tue, 30 May 2023 19:19:17 +0000

In the span of a few weeks, Erica Richards has been transformed from a vibrant 23-year-old woman who loved nature to a person battling for her life.

In early January, the Fredericton woman contracted a potentially fatal condition called cryptococcal meningitis, a fungal disease carried in the feces of pigeons.

The debilitating illness attacks the spine and brain, causing severe swelling. It left her confined to a hospital bed in a state of delirium for weeks.

But the most devastating side effect is that Ms. Richards is now blind.

“Be aware of this disease. It could kill a child in a heartbeat,” Ms. Richards said in an interview from her hospital bed.

“It could kill a senior in a heartbeat without you even having to worry about the symptoms. It comes on that fast. If you don’t realize the symptoms, it could kill you, too.”

Her emotional warning comes on the heels of city council’s approval earlier this month of a recommendation that it toughen its animal control bylaw to allow for fines for feeding pigeons. Once the amendment is drafted and declared law, it will give the city’s bylaw enforcement officers the power to ticket and fine offenders.

Ms. Richards said she decided to go public about her illness after learning about a recent newspaper story about a problem with pigeon poop in the city.

“Please don’t feed the pigeons,” she said. “Try to shoo them away if you see them. … It (the disease) is horrible. The pain that you get from this disease is crippling.

“The after-effects are with you for life and you just can’t stop thinking about it. I just want other people to know and try to stay away from pigeons.”

Oddly enough, Ms. Richards said she has no recollection of ever being anywhere near pigeons.

“I am still wondering to this day where I got it,” she said. “I could have stepped in it and brought it into the home. I just don’t know.”

Ms. Richards said the symptoms started with a migraine headache that wouldn’t go away. She was admitted to hospital on Feb. 10 after many days of intense head pain. Shortly after, she went into a coma-like state.

“When I woke up I thought I had a mask over my eyes, but I was wrong. I was blind. I was recently told that I will be blind for the rest of my life. This is a tough thing for a 23-year-old to go through. … My world crumbled around me.”

Ms. Richards said the odds of surviving the disease are 50-50.

“However, I managed to make it through,” she said, battling tears. “I don’t know how but I am still here, and I am glad because I get to warn everyone else of this.”

Cristin Muecke, the Health Department’s regional medical officer, confirmed the disease is often associated with pigeon droppings. She said the illness can’t be spread person to person and is more common with someone who has immune problems.

Ms. Richards, however, said she has never had a problem with her immune system and that’s what’s so puzzling about contracting the affliction.

“I do not want anyone else to suffer this agonizing disease and I ask anyone who is feeding pigeons to stop,” she said. “It’s not just a matter of keeping your neighbourhood clean … it’s a matter of keeping people healthy.”

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Pigeon feud: North Vancouver approves ban targeting councillor’s neighbour

Pigeon Patrol — Tue, 09 May 2023 20:49:03 +0000

“Everybody has a hobby, right? Some have cats, some have dogs. I have pigeons.”

Kulwant Dulay says he’s lived in the District of North Vancouver for 25 years and, for most of them, he’s kept homing pigeons on his property in a coop in the backyard, without ruffling any feathers.

But that changed three years ago when he bought a new house in Lynn Valley. Within a few weeks, his next door neighbour began complaining about the birds.

“In my other house in North Vancouver, everyone loved pigeons. They were flying around no problem. My second, third week I moved in, she started complaining,” he said.

On Monday evening, North Vancouver District council formally approved a new bylaw that would make it illegal to own pigeons, repealing a 1971 law allowing them.

The discussion was brief, but council discussed the motion in detail the week before.

There, staff told them they could only find one person in the district who had pigeons and only one person who had recently filed a complaint. It was proposed the new law wouldn’t come into effect until May 2020 to allow a transition period.

The vote both weeks passed 4-2. Councillor Betty Forbes recused herself.

“I have been involved in a situation like this,” she told council before one of the discussions.

That wasn’t exactly accurate. Because, while it was never said in that meeting, Forbes was the next door neighbour who complained.

“I’ve spent lots of money fixing my backyard. I try and keep it as prim and proper as I can. I invest in it every year. And now I get to sit on the back deck and entertain and look at a pigeon coop.”

In May 2017, the district held a public hearing for a proposed bylaw allowing backyard chicken coops. Betty Forbes, then just a member of the public, made her first appearance in front of council.

She wanted to talk about “a situation” that had arisen.

“A new neighbour moved in,” said Forbes. The coop was “ramshackle” and “an eyesore.” And, she warned, it would harm the value of her property.

“I know it sounds pretty cold,” she told council, “but there is an impact to having coops in backyards to properties next door to that. I’ve spoken with a couple of real estate agents, and they’ve told me it will definitely have an effect.”

Council passed the chicken coop bylaw.

Over the next year, Forbes sent a number of letters and phone calls to district staff about Dulay’s pigeons. She also sent a letter to then-mayor Richard Walton, saying that Dulay “allows his pigeons to fly and perch on neighbours properties without any control or supervision.”

In the summer of 2018, staff investigated and took away six of Dulay’s pigeons. A total of 15 remain, trained to fly back and forth from their large coop in Dulay’s backyard, a few feet from the fence surrounding his and Forbes’ homes.

Dulay says he applied for a permit from the district but never got one. He also claims he’s worked to be a good neighbour after Forbes’ complaint, but Forbes hasn’t spoken to him since.

“My neighbourhood is nice … only one person complains,” he said.

Meanwhile, Forbes started attending council more often, ran for office herself and was elected on Oct. 20 last year.

That’s the point where her situation with Dulay and his pigeons goes from a feud between neighbours to the political arena — and puts Forbes’ communications with district staff and councillors under the microscope.

Conflict of interest rules

In July 2019, Coun. Lisa Muri brought forward a motion that asked staff to explore changing the district’s decade-old pigeon bylaw, beginning the process that ended on Monday evening.

“This is a very old archaic bylaw,” she said.

“Why do we need to allow homing pigeons to be released? I am not allowed to release my dogs. They have to be leashed … so, I would ask why would we allow pigeons?”

Forbes also recused herself from that discussion, as mandated under the conflict of interest section in B.C.’s Community Charter.

It states that a councillor with a “direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a matter” must not “attempt in any way, whether before, during or after such a meeting, to influence the voting on any question,” and that they must not “attempt to influence in any way a decision, recommendation or other action to be made or taken … by an officer or an employee of the municipality.”

FOI documents show communication

According to Freedom of Information documents provided to CBC News, after Forbes was elected — but before she was officially sworn in — she sent an email to the city’s chief planning and permitting officer, complaining about the situation and asking for action.

“The discussion and explanations for how this situation has been handled in the last 1 1/2 years were not reasonable nor acceptable,” she wrote.

And from April to June, Muri and Forbes had three email discussions where the subject line read “Pigeons,” “Repeal of the pigeon bylaw” and “Keeping of Pigeons Bylaw.”

CBC News asked Forbes questions about her letter to staff after the election, and her emails with Coun. Muri, but she did not respond. CBC News also asked Muri about the bylaw and her emails to Forbes, and she declined comment.

Mathew Bond was one of two councillors who voted against the initial motion last week. He says the bylaw isn’t an appropriate use of the district’s time.

“We’re in the middle of a regional housing crisis and I’m not sure how the pigeon bylaw got to the top of the agenda,” he said.

“Generally, if there’s one complaint, that’s what our bylaws are for and that’s why we have bylaw enforcement.”

Dulay is still hopeful he’ll be able to keep his pigeons. And wonders why things went so wrong between him and the councillor.

“She has two dogs, I never complain,” he said.

“Even though they’re always barking.”

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‘Like Finding a Unicorn’: Researchers Rediscover the Black-Naped Pheasant-Pigeon, a Bird Lost to Science for 140 Years

Pigeon Patrol — Tue, 09 May 2023 20:45:44 +0000

For a month the researchers had traversed slender mountain ridges, crossed and re-crossed rivers that roared through canyons cloaked in tropical forest, and endured bloodthirsty mosquitoes and leeches, all in search of something that probably didn’t exist. They had just hours left for searching before they had to leave Fergusson Island, off the east coast of Papua New Guinea. Expedition co-leader Jordan Boersma reckoned their chance of success was less than 1 percent.

Winded from a climb, he plopped down on a lush hillside to catch his breath and began looking through images on the camera traps he’d just collected, not expecting to find anything. “Suddenly I was confronted with this image of what at that time felt like a mythical creature,” says Boersma, a postdoctoral researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “It was, without exaggeration, the most surreal moment of my life.”

The camera’s display was tiny, but there was no mistaking the creature it showed: the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon, a species that hasn’t been documented by scientists since it was first described in 1882.

“To find something that’s been gone for that long, that you’re thinking is almost extinct, and then to figure out that it’s not extinct, it feels like finding a unicorn or a Bigfoot,” says John C. Mittermeier, director of the lost birds program at American Bird Conservancy and a co-leader of the eight-member expedition. “It’s extraordinarily unusual.”

The stunning late-September rediscovery could not have happened without guidance from local hunters with intimate knowledge of the island’s forests, the researchers say, demonstrating the invaluable role of Indigenous communities in ongoing efforts to relocate species lost to Western science. With its existence confirmed, the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon is almost certainly the most endangered bird in New Guinea, which underscores the urgent need to protect its habitat on Fergusson, a rugged, 555-square-mile island that, while largely undeveloped, faces pressure from logging companies.

“This is a huge discovery,” says Bulisa Iova, an expedition member and acting chief curator of the National Museum and Art Gallery in Papua New Guinea. “I have studied birds for many years, and to be part of this team to discover this lost species is a highlight for me.”

The expedition was part of The Search for Lost Birds, a collaboration between BirdLife International, Re:wild, and American Bird Conservancy, which funded the trip. The initiative aims to rediscover more than 150 avian species that haven’t been declared extinct but also have not been seen for at least a decade.

A chicken-size, ground-dwelling pigeon, the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon was among around 20 “lost” birds that have not been documented for more than a century. It’s one of four pheasant-pigeon species found around New Guinea, and lives only on Fergusson Island. (Some authorities consider the four varieties to be subspecies.)

Boersma previously searched for the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon in 2019 with Jason Gregg, a conservation biologist and Audubon magazine contributor, and local biologist Doka Nason. While the trio did not find the bird on that trip, they did turn up five bird species not previously known to live on Fergusson, which suggested there were significant gaps in what ornithologists knew about the island’s birdlife. And when they spoke with hunters, they heard reports of a bird whose description could only belong to the pheasant-pigeon.

The researchers returned to Fergusson with a larger team in early September, determined to establish trust and work closely with the island’s Indigenous inhabitants to find the species. Day after day they hiked the steep terrain, stopping to interview locals and sleeping in villages or camping in the forest. Hunters in the first few communities were unfamiliar with the large bird the researchers described. But when the team reached the remote western slope of Mt. Kilkerran, they began to meet villagers who recognized the species and referred to it by the name Auwo.

Finally, in the village of Duda Ununa, a hunter named Augustin Gregory told the researchers where he had seen the bird. He described a call that matched those of New Guinea’s other pheasant-pigeon species, which don’t live on Fergusson. And he showed the team an area, on a ridge 3,200 feet above sea level and covered in thick vegetation, where their motion-triggered camera traps were likely to snap the elusive bird. Nason, who grew up in Papua New Guinea near Fergusson, and who Boersma describes as “the most impressive field biologist I’ve worked with anywhere,” selected a spot and set up the camera.

With its vantage limited by dense understory, the site wasn’t a typical one for a camera trap, the scientists say, but the images proved it was the right one. “Unmistakable,” Gregg, an expedition co-leader, says of first seeing the photos. “Tons of mixed emotions. Everything from solemn relief of burden to fist-pumping and screaming.”

Only days later, with time to scroll through everything the traps had captured, did the team realize that another camera had recorded video of a pheasant-pigeon. Given that the images were taken several kilometers apart, they almost certainly show two individuals.

Now that scientists know the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon still exists, the focus becomes keeping the critically endangered species from going extinct. As with other once-lost birds, its population is likely very small and seriously imperiled. Logging by international corporations appears to be a growing threat, and introduced predators such as feral cats could take a toll on the pheasant-pigeon as they have on other endemic island birds, according to Gregg. Sustaining the long-lost species will require learning more about its behavior and population status and launching conservation projects to protect its habitat, all with Fergusson Island residents in a leading role.

“Knowing what we know about bird extinction and conservation on islands around the world, we can expect that the combination of logging and introduced species, especially introduced mammals, is going to have an impact,” Gregg says. “This land and the fate of any conservation work that happens on this land is completely up to the communities that live there and own the land.”

Beyond Fergusson Island’s luxuriant forests, the rediscovery of the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon raises hopes that future expeditions will turn up other species lost to science but known all along to local experts. “The way this was always going to work is that we just really lean into local knowledge and put our faith in our local partners,” Boersma says. “That’s what delivered this incredible moment for us.”

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‘I do think we’ve reached a tipping point in Toronto’: One councillor wants the city to look at a total ban on feeding pigeons. Others think that idea is for the birds

Pigeon Patrol — Tue, 02 May 2023 18:11:09 +0000

Kristyn Wong-Tam doesn’t hate pigeons.

But the councillor for Toronto Centre (Ward 13) has watched constituents fight pigeons for long enough, having fielded numerous complaints over the years from people and businesses forced to buy netting to keep the birds off balconies and window ledges and anything else that can act as a perch or nesting area.

“I do think we’ve reached a tipping point in Toronto,” says the councillor, who has often spotted people feeding pigeons random food in places where people and birds congregate, like Yonge-Dundas Square.

“I’ve seen people take out a loaf of bread and throw it on Bay Street.”

Wong-Tam believes that people are acting out of genuine concern for the birds, or to ensure food doesn’t go to waste. In fact, the discarded food also attracts vermin.

When Toronto council meets this week, Wong-Tam intends to introduce a member’s motion asking that the city examine the possibility of banning feeding pigeons anywhere in the city, in public and private spaces, in order to control the pigeon population.

Currently, the city of Toronto parks bylaw prohibits feeding wildlife or depositing food for wildlife in parks, but there is no such restriction elsewhere. As a result, pigeons crowd public spaces like sidewalks, plazas, boulevards and laneways where they can find discarded food and are also fed by people.

In fact, the lack of enforcement of the bylaw in parks has even rendered some green space unusable, according to Wong-Tam’s motion.

Only two tickets for feeding wildlife in parks were issued in 2020, according to the city.

The lack of control means business is booming for David Szabo, owner of Pigeon Tom, a firm specializing in bird control. Cleaning up after pigeons, and protecting balconies and buildings from pigeons is most of his business.

Nesting pigeons love concrete balconies, and they can quickly coat patio furniture, barbecues and stored bicycles in droppings that are difficult and sometimes impossible to clean effectively.

“It literally drives people crazy because they’re so loud,” says Szabo. “They’re always cooing, especially early in the morning at 6 or 7 a.m.”

Because the birds return to nest in the place where they were born, the situation can quickly spiral out of control, Szabo says. Then there are the people who never go out on their balconies at all.

“In some cases, the person just never went out on the balcony for like five or six years, and it’s so bad you can’t open the door.”

Pigeon experts agree that feeding pigeons people-food, or large quantities of birdseed, isn’t good for the birds or the people who have to live with them. It leads to overpopulation and a buildup of unsightly and corrosive droppings, among other problems.

“People think that they’re feeding the birds, oftentimes they’re feeding the rats,” says pigeon expert Elizabeth Carlen, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis.

Carlen has studied pigeon populations from Boston to Washington, D.C.

“I have seen many places where people have dropped birdseed, thinking they are feeding the birds, and right behind it will be a rat burrow.”

Cities, with their proliferation of concrete balconies and windowsills and ledges, are just like the rock cliffs pigeons populate in nature, says Andrew Blechman, author of “Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird.”

“They like our cities because pigeons don’t do trees, they do cliffs. It’s a concrete jungle and that’s how they like it.”

Pigeons and people have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship since at least Mesopotamia, says Blechman. Pigeons have been a source of food, kept as pets, flown for sport and trained to assist in warfare — including a Canadian pigeon named Beachcomber, who won a medal for flying across the foggy English Channel to Britain to deliver news of the landing at Dieppe.

Colin Jerolmack, author of “The Global Pigeon,” has observed people feeding pigeons in parks for hours at a time.

“Many socially marginalized people — people who are homeless or elderly — fed the pigeons and out of it developed pet-like relationships that were very meaningful to them,” says Jerolmack.

“It may sound crazy, but pigeons do have different personalities and they would recognize the feeders and sit on their shoulders and wrists and show them affection.”

Also kids love pigeons and it is often their first close encounter with wildlife if they live in the city, Jerolmack says.

Jerolmack, Carlen and Blechman agree the solution is not to ban feeding pigeons, mostly because a ban is unlikely to work.

Blechman says that the people most likely to be feeding pigeons the most know it’s wrong, but they can’t help themselves. They’re obsessed. They’re up at 4 a.m., dumping an entire bag of birdfeed for the pigeons. They’re hard to catch.

“If you’re going to feed a pigeon, feed responsibly — a teaspoon or a tablespoon of bird-feed, that’s it,” says Blechman, who favours public education campaigns.

Keeping a pigeon as a pet is allowed in Toronto, as long as it is kept exclusively on private property, but Wong-Tam says people feeding wild pigeons from their homes can also create a problem for the neighbourhood if it draws flocks of birds.

The city receives about 60 complaints a year related to pigeons, including pet pigeons, wild pigeons and pigeon droppings, under various bylaws, according to data supplied by the city.

Other forms of population control are more likely to work better than a poorly enforced ban, say experts.

Blechman says some cities control their pigeon populations by building coops on top of buildings, feeding the birds where they roost. The eggs laid there are not allowed to hatch.

He finds it hard not to respect pigeons. They are gentle, monogamous and they raise their offspring together. They like humans. They can fly 900 kilometres at a stretch, at an average speed of 95 km/h, from a place they’ve never been to their home, like laser missiles.

“Pigeons have been beloved all through human history. It’s only the last 60 years that people have been nagging on them,” Blechman says.

“Cities can be awfully concrete, it’s awfully nice to see something that we’re not in control of, that’s a piece of nature, like a squirrel, like a bird, like a pigeon,” Blechman adds. “They animate our lives and that’s why people like to sit on a bench and feed them a piece of crust.”

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