by Pigeon Patrol | Jun 11, 2016 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeons in the News
Almost 20 birds have been found dead at a Perth train station and are suspected of having been intentionally poisoned after a mystery blue bucket was left at the site.
Burswood train station was shut down about 9:15pm on Saturday when 19 pigeons were found dead around the station.
A container holding bird seed, mixed with an unidentified black toxic fluid, was found in a garden at the station, a Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) spokesman said.
He said the birds were attracted by the substance and had been feeding on the contents of the container – believed to be a blue bucket.
Fire crews, chemical experts and police were called to investigate.
The area was closed off while workers in Hazmat suits poured sand on the liquid and secured the contents of the container in a drum.
The station reopened and train services resumed around 10:15pm, after the substance and dead pigeons were removed.
The Public Transport Authority (PTA) said it was unaware who left the bucket containing the “contaminated grain” in the garden.
A spokesman said the PTA would review CCTV footage from Burswood station as part of its investigation.
The DFES spokesman said it would not be known what product was in the container for a few days.
The drum will be sent to the ChemCentre in Bentley for testing when it re-opens on Tuesday.
Pest experts have told the ABC the product found in the bucket was not used for commercial pest control.
Council ‘not responsible’
The Town of Victoria Park said it had nothing to do with the bird deaths.
“The Town is not responsible for the recent deaths of birds on the Public Transport Authority land near Burswood Station,” Mayor of Victoria Park Trevor Vaughan said.
“We are continuing to work closely with authorities to investigate who is responsible and why this incident occurred.
“Any suspicious bird or other animal deaths should be reported to the Department of Parks and Wildlife.
“If you see anyone behaving suspiciously please call the police.”
Police said they were not involved in the investigation into the suspected poisoning.
Crown Perth, located adjacent to the train station, was unavailable for comment.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | Jun 9, 2016 | Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News
A KEEN walker has spoken of her concern after she saw up to 15 dead pigeons in a canal.
Carole Williams saw the dead birds when she was on her daily walk near Westport Lake yesterday morning.
The 53-year-old from Knutton said: “At first I just saw two dead pigeons, which I thought was strange.
“I have been walking along the canal most mornings for the last four years and I have never seen a dead bird.
“Then as I carried on walking I saw more and more until I had counted about 15.”
Carole saw the birds on the stretch between Westport Lake and the Harecastle tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal near Kidsgrove and she said that they were still there today.
It is not yet known whether the birds have been shot or died of natural causes.
On discovering the birds, Carole decided to report it but of the five different organisations she contacted, not one of them has been able to help.
She said: “They all just told me to phone someone else, or they just said it wasn’t their area
“It’s a shame because it’s a lovely area this time of year, it’s so peaceful.
“Plus the first birds I saw were really close to the children’s play area, it’s not a nice thing to see.
“I will still go for my walks but I just wish I could find out what’s happened to them to put my mind at rest.
“I know they’re only pigeons but it could have been swans or ducks or geese.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | Jun 7, 2016 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeons in the News
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A man was caught on video allegedly trapping pigeons and stealing them off the streets of New York City.
A Manhattan woman posted the video on her Facebook page earlier this week. The woman who posted the video told CBS2 that the man used a net to trap the birds and scooped them up.
The man is caught on video carrying something to his van in the East Village, but it was not immediately clear what he was carrying.
Trapping birds is illegal in New York City without a permit, but it was not immediately clear if the man on video had one.
The NYPD said they are aware of the video, but have not investigated the incident because no formal complaint has been filed.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | Jun 5, 2016 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services
Dead pigeons trapped under a New Malden railway bridge pose “a serious health issue” to residents, and particularly to drivers in convertible cars, a councillor has said.
Pigeons often become trapped in the netting beneath the bridge
Live birds can be seen sitting on piles of their own excrement under the railway line in Kingston Road, and dead ones are stuck in netting intended to have pigeon-proofed the bridge.
Beverley Ward councillor Raju Pandya said: “This is something that is a serious health issue and we are pleading with Network Rail to get this sorted.
“God help you if you’re in a convertible, they get crap on their heads.”
The birds can be seen sitting on their own excrement
Bird droppings and decaying dead birds have been a long-standing issue under the bridge, with residents and councillors first raising concerns with Network Rail in 2014.
A Network Rail spokeswoman said: “We understand the concerns of people in the area about the ongoing pigeon problem at this bridge, and are working closely with Kingston Council to resolve this.”
A dead pigeon lies on the ground having fallen from the bridge
Kingston and Surbiton MP James Berry brought representatives of Kingston Council and Network Rail to the bridge last week.
He said: “It’s absolutely disgusting, the pigeons get stuck in the netting. I was getting incredibly frustrated with the council and Network Rail.
“I just got them to come down and see it for themselves.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | Jun 4, 2016 | Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes
China’s air pollution can be so dense that grey plumes are visible from space.
But while smog can cause heart disease, lung cancer and high blood pressure in humans, it seems to make homing pigeons fly faster in one of China’s most hazy regions.
The researchers think the unexpected phenomenon may be down to a scent the birds can use to find their way home.
While smog can cause heart disease, lung cancer and high blood pressure in humans, it seems to make homing pigeons fly faster in one of China’s most hazy regions. A stock image of smog in Shanghai is pictured
Researchers from Nanjing University in China and the University of California, Los Angeles, analysed the performance of racing or ‘homing’ pigeons taking part in races on the North China Plain.
The birds are known for their ability to find their way back home at speeds of around 37mph (60km/h) and were famously used in both World Wars because of their reliability.
The researchers used publicly available data gathered from pigeon racing agencies as well as environmental organisations in the autumns of 2013 and 14 to analyse the speed of the birds in the region, where smog is usually thicker than in other parts of the vast country.
When looking for correlations between the birds’ times and pollution levels, they expected to see a drop in performance.
The researchers used publicly available data from pigeon racing agencies as well as environmental organisations to analyse the speed of the birds. Contrary to their expectations, pigeons homed significantly faster in polluted conditions. These charts show the varying correlations depending on other conditions
WHY DO THE PIGEONS FLY FASTER?
Navigational advantage:
The smell of smog, which is composed of organic particles in China, may help the birds navigate.
‘While air pollution cannot enhance vision, it might enhance olfactory navigation efficiency by providing supplemental olfactory cues to home,’ the study says.
Motivation:
Alternatively, the researchers think the birds dislike the smog and are simply upping their speed to fly out of it as soon as possible.
‘Decreased homing time under air pollution could be explained by an enhanced motivation to home; a possibility proposed several years ago that remains untested,’ they write.
‘Air pollution might be an indication of poor environmental quality, which might trigger rapid escape.’
The birds many want to get out of the smog to avoid predators surprising them in poor visibility too.
‘By homing faster when flying through haze pollution, pigeons reduce the relative amount of time they are exposed to harmful or dangerous situations while away from the safety of their home roosts,’ the study said.
‘We might expect pollution would negatively interfere with pigeon navigation and pigeons would both fly more slowly and be less successful at returning to their home roosts when flying through more polluted air,’ the researchers wrote in the study, published in Nature’s Scientific Reports.
They considered variables including race distance, wind direction, speed, weather conditions and air quality.
Temperature was found to have no ‘significant’ effects on homing time, whereas the others either slowed the birds down or helped them get to their destination more swiftly.
The researchers added: ‘Contrary to our expectations, pigeons homed significantly faster when flying through more polluted conditions.’
Using a model, they estimated that pigeons increase their homing speed from 35 mph (55.6km/h) when flying in unpolluted conditions, to 42 mph (68.2km/h) when the pollution index hit a high score of 500.
While they are not exactly sure why smog is responsible for the performance boost, they have a couple of ideas to do with navigation and motivation.
It is generally accepted that pigeons use the sun and geomagnetic field as a compass, and visual and olfactory cues to create a map.
‘Could air pollution enhance pigeon visual and/or olfactory abilities, and by doing so explain the reduced homing time?’ the experts asked in their paper.
Because smog usually reduces visibility, particularly in North China where smoggy particles are the main pollutants, the study suggests that visual cues aren’t as important to the birds’ navigational techniques as expected, so poor visibility didn’t affect their speed.
While the experts are not exactly sure why smog is responsible for the performance boost, they suggest that the birds may fly faster than usual – and not just as efficiently – because of the smell of smog. A stock image of racing pigeons being released is shown
‘This finding is consistent with previous studies that have shown that pigeons are able to home perfectly well from unknown sites where landmarks are unfamiliar, even when flying with frosted lenses that impede vision,’ they write.
To explain why the birds may fly faster than usual – and not just as efficiently – they suggested the racing pigeons may be stimulated by the smell of smog.
‘Olfactory cues have been shown to play an important role in avian navigation, and in pigeons it is probably a fundamental homing mechanism,’ they write.
They think the organic particles that make up the smog – from burning coal and waste – may help the birds navigate by providing stronger markers for the birds to use when finding their way home.
Racing pigeons are known for their ability to find their way back home at speeds of around 37mph (60km/h) and were famously used in both World Wars because of their reliability (pictured)
‘While air pollution cannot enhance vision, it might enhance olfactory navigation efficiency by providing supplemental olfactory cues to home,’ the study continued.
Alternatively, they suggested the birds might dislike the smog and are simply upping their speed to fly out of it and get back home as soon as possible.
‘Decreased homing time under air pollution could be explained by an enhanced motivation to home; a possibility proposed several years ago that remains untested,’ they write.
‘Air pollution might be an indication of poor environmental quality, which might trigger rapid escape.’
The birds many want to get out of the smog to avoid predators surprising them in poor visibility too.
‘By homing faster when flying through haze pollution, pigeons reduce the relative amount of time they are exposed to harmful or dangerous situations while away from the safety of their home roosts,’ the study said.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | May 31, 2016 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes
PIGEONS in Poundbury beware.
This falcon is sweeping the skies to keep them clear from marauding birds.
Amateur photographer Sheila Hunn captured this stunning shot of the bird on a visit to Poundbury Garden Centre recently.
Sheila, 63, of Portland, said she was ‘thrilled to bits’ when she saw the photo.
“I was lucky enough to see the falcon with her handler. He told me she is flown regularly to keep the pigeons away and was kind enough to let me take a few photos.
“She is well trained and raised her wings on command from him.”
The bird is a cross between a peregrine falcon and a lanner falcon.
Sheila, a retired midwife, added: “She was a beautiful bird, standing there very proudly. I think she’s there most days. I’ve usually got my camera with me but I was lucky to get such nice shots.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
