Bridge repair costs have more than doubled because pigeon poo disguised rust.
Council officials struck a deal for the work on Conwy Road Bridge in 2016.
But the costs shot up by £844,000 to £1.53m after an inspection revealed rust on the structure was hidden by the birds’ droppings.
Conwy council chief executive Iwan Davies said it was not possible to identify the extent of the works but a councillor said it was “disappointing”.
Repairs for the two lane bridge, which takes traffic across the town’s estuary, were sent out to tender in 2016.
But a report by the council’s audit committee said the “considerable” extra work needed had not been found originally because of “access” problems.
“The additional works…significantly impacted the total cost of the works,” the report said.
Gele ward councillor Andrew Wood said: “I can’t believe we’ve not made more of an issue about this refurbishment, it’s plus £844,000.
“If the council tendered with all that information in the first place then it would have cost less. But we’re in a situation now where we have to carry on, so I’m disappointed.”
Mr Davies added: “It wasn’t an overspend as such, it was a re-calibration of what needed to be done.”
A solution’s been proposed to tackle a rising pigeon problem in part of Birmingham – turn over an abandoned house to them and allow for a controlled cull.
It comes after complaints to Birmingham City Council from people in Sparkhill about a huge flock of the birds.
Their arrival is being blamed on some locals enjoying feeding them or being reluctant to throw away excess food.
BBC
The city council has put up signs in the local park telling people not to feed the birds and now the founder of a local pest control firm has suggested relocating them.
Alan Ames, of the Ames Group, has suggested to the authority that they find a nearby derelict house or even an unused loft and open it as a pigeon coop.
He said it would allow a cull to take place in a safe and controlled way.
A woman who fed a bit of a sausage roll to a pigeon in the street has been fined £150.
Sally-Ann Fricker said she was out shopping in Bath with her daughter and her two young boys when a pigeon landed in front of them.
She broke off a corner of the snack and threw it to the bird which immediately flew off with the morsel.
Bath and North East Somerset Council said anyone caught littering faced a £150 fixed penalty fine.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
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The CIA has declassified details of its secret Cold War spy-pigeon missions.
The files reveal how pigeons were trained for clandestine missions photographing sensitive sites inside the Soviet Union.
The release also reveals how ravens were used to drop bugging devices on window sills and dolphins were trained for underwater missions.
The CIA believed animals could fulfil “unique” tasks for the agency’s clandestine operations.
Inside the CIA’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia, is a museum, sadly closed to the general public. During a visit to interview the then-director I caught sight of something unusual amid all the bugging devices and spy gadgets.
It was a model pigeon with a camera strapped to it.
The 1970s’ operation was codenamed Tacana and explored the use of pigeons with tiny cameras to automatically take photos, newly released files show.
It took advantage of the fact that the humble pigeon is possessed of an amazing ability – almost a superpower. They can be dropped somewhere they have never been before and still find their way hundreds of miles back home.
In World War Two a little known branch of British intelligence – MI14(d) – ran a Secret Pigeon Service which dropped birds in a container with a parachute over Occupied Europe. A questionnaire was attached. More than 1,000 pigeons returned with messages including details of V1 rocket launch sites and German radar stations.
Experts found that the quality of the photographs was higher than those produced by spy satellites operating at the time. One fear raised during the tests was if a member of the public stumbled upon “pigeon and camera” and assumed that the government was spying on its own, so an elaborate cover story was cooked up.
How many actual missions did the spy-pigeons fly and what intelligence did they collect? That, apparently, is still secret.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
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Police are appealing for information after 12 pigeons were stolen from lofts in Buxton.
The lofts, on Lightwood Road, were broken into between 16 September and 17 September, Derbyshire Police said.
If the birds get loose somehow, they’re sure to return!
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
tags: Bird Gone, Pigeon Gone, Pigeon problems, pigeon spikes, 1-877-4NO-BIRD, 4-S Gel, Bird Control, Pigeon Control, bird repellent, Bird Spikes, sonic bird repellent, stainless steel bird spikes, bird spikes Vancouver, Ultra Sonic Bird Control, Bird Netting, Plastic Bird Spikes, Canada bird spike deterrents, Pigeon Pests, B Gone Pigeon, Pigeon Patrol, pest controller, pest control operator, pest control technician, Pigeon Control Products, humane pigeon spikes, pigeon deterrents, pigeon traps, Pigeon repellents, Sound & Laser Deterrents, wildlife control, raccoon, skunk, squirrel deterrent, De-Fence Spikes, Dragons Den.
Chicago has had a long and storied battle against pesky pigeons on their transit systems.
Speaking to CBS Chicago, state Rep. Jaime Andrade was in mid-flow discussing the problem of pigeons pooping on the Chicago Transit Authority, when he was pooped on himself.
In the middle of the interview, he can be heard saying:
“Did I just get – I did, didn’t I?”
He then added:
“I’ll just have to go clean up.”
“That’s what happens to my constituents. They get s*** on all time.”
According to CBS Chicago, bird droppings have long been an issue for commuters at the Irving Park Blue Line station, which has reportedly been dubbed the “pigeon poop station.”
Andrade is reportedly trying to fix the problem, with one of his innovative ideas being to ask the CTA to install a hose line for power washing when it constructs new escalators at the stop. Either way, that’s a crappy situation.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
tags: Bird Gone, Pigeon Gone, Pigeon problems, pigeon spikes, 1-877-4NO-BIRD, 4-S Gel, Bird Control, Pigeon Control, bird repellent, Bird Spikes, sonic bird repellent, stainless steel bird spikes, bird spikes Vancouver, Ultra Sonic Bird Control, Bird Netting, Plastic Bird Spikes, Canada bird spike deterrents, Pigeon Pests, B Gone Pigeon, Pigeon Patrol, pest controller, pest control operator, pest control technician, Pigeon Control Products, humane pigeon spikes, pigeon deterrents, pigeon traps, Pigeon repellents, Sound & Laser Deterrents, wildlife control, raccoon, skunk, squirrel deterrent, De-Fence Spikes, Dragons Den.