by Pigeon Patrol | Dec 2, 2015 | Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
If pigeons were half as smart as some people think, they’d be choosier about where they do their business.
And when people who aren’t much smarter than birds drop feed for them in the wrong places, everything under their perch is sure to be slathered with repulsive droppings.
Pigeons are thought to be pretty sharp. We googled “are pigeons smart?” and learned they can recognize all 26 letters in the alphabet and tell between a Van Gogh or Chagall painting, feats that are beyond many people.
They also have an unerring beak for an easy meal and flock by the hundreds to areas where well-intended dummies spread food for them, like the Finch GO station, at Yonge St. and Bishop Ave.
Robyn Collier sent us a note saying that someone is feeding pigeons around two covered bike racks at the GO station, also a terminal for VIVA buses.
“The two structures, which are meant to protect bicycles from the weather, are badly designed and provide a perfect place for pigeons to rest,” he said.
“The result is completely disgusting, with bicycles and racks covered with pigeon waste. But the real problem is the person that keeps leaving bread crumbs and cereal for the birds.
“This is visually repugnant, unhealthy and a dilemma for those who need to store their bikes while traveling on transit.”
Collier’s note included photos of bikes coated with droppings, and of bird seed and pieces of stale bread scattered near the bike racks.
We went there and found lots of bird seed, cereal and bread scattered around the bike racks, as though someone is trying to draw the birds to the covered area, so they’ll foul everything under it.
Some of the bikes look abandoned, and no wonder. Nobody would want to ride a bike that is coated in grey poop. But until GO gets serious about chasing off the bird feeder, the pigeons won’t flock off.
STATUS: Anne Marie Aikins, who deals with media for Metrolinx, which is responsible for GO, emailed to say it will be cleaned up immediately and any abandoned bikes will be removed. “Our cleaning contractor will monitor the situation. As part of our spring cleaning, it will be our first stop to do a really thorough cleanup. We will also install ‘Don’t Feed the Pigeons’ signs. And finally, our Transit Safety officers will conduct special patrols and monitoring in the hopes of preventing this.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 28, 2015 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes
Pigeons have made life difficult for residents of Hiranandani meadows in Thane. With the number of pigeons in the area rising alarming, they have now written to the officials at Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to intervene.
A resident of Niharika building, on condition of anonymity, said, “Many residents are suffering from skin disorders and health problems. We are not against pigeons but we don’t want them to be fed in residential areas. We used to stand holding placards asking people to not feed pigeons here, while some listen other residents continue with the activity.”
Residents have now approached the TMC asking them to take action. TMC on its part has put up a board asking residents to asking residents to not feed animals and birds.
TMC’s move has however irked the local NGOs. Sachin Bhanage said, “We approached the commissioner and even wrote to Union minister Menaka Gandhi protesting against the move. Not feeding the animals will only make them more ferocious.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 26, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes
The Morecambe ‘birdman’ said he was surprised to avoid prison after breaching his Anti-Social Behaviour Order for feeding his feathery friends.
Pigeon-lover John Wilkinson appeared before Lancaster Magistrates for breaching the terms of his ASBO and was given a 12 month community and supervision order.
Speaking to the Lancaster Guardian shortly after the case Mr Wilkinson said he thought he would behind bars.
He said: “I am surprised. I was expecting to go to prison. I was singled out, I don’t think I have done anything wrong, it is unjust I feel. I have had a lot of support, I have many friends I never thought I had.”
Jo Bailey was there to support her friend on April 8 and said: “It’s local businesses, not neighbours, they isolate John for feeding pigeons.
“He needs somewhere allocated to him where he can feed the pigeons in peace.”
The court heard Mr Wilkinson was seen on two occasions with another man on August 6 and 19 between Marine Road West and Regent Road feeding pigeons more than half a kilo of bird seed.
He had pleaded guilty to the two offences at an earlier hearing. This was the fourth time the council commenced proceedings in relation to breaches of the order.
The council first applied for an ASBO against Mr Wilkinson in 2012 due to a number of complaints from residents.
Lancaster City Council extended an existing ASBO for a further year to December 5 2015.
The conditions do not prevent Mr Wilkinson from feeding pigeons, but restrict it within 100m of his home on Cavendish Road.
Outside that radius he can feed up to half a kilo of bird seed between the hours of 9.30am and 10.30am on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday. He cannot feed birds at any other time.
Magistrates also ordered Mr Wilkinson to pay a £60 victim surcharge and £80 towards the prosecution’s costs.
Mr Halewood Dodd, defending Mr Wilkinson said: “Every town around the world has flocks of feral pigeons yet they’re seen as a pest in Lancaster and Morecambe and Mr Wilkinson has been subjected to an ASBO as a result.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 21, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes
FRANKFURT—The glass-enclosed newsstand on platform 102 at Frankfurt Central Station has bird decals on its doors to ward off errant pigeons. That’s nothing unusual, except the newsstand sits three stories underground.
“You expect rats or mice, but pigeons?” said traveler Ingeborg Striebl, watching one of the birds peck at crumbs that missed a trash bin. “How do they get down here? Do they come with the train?”
Europe has millions of pigeons. London’s Trafalgar Square is carpeted with them. They swarm San Marco’s square in Venice and the steps of Milan’s cathedral. But those sites are all above ground.
The pigeons of Frankfurt’s Central Station navigate underground corridors like commuters on autopilot. They come and go from the deep suburban-rail platforms by flying inches above escalator riders.
“It is striking to see them down here,” said rider Rosario Scolaro, standing near four pigeons strutting around the newsstand. “One doesn’t expect to see them under these dim ceilings.”
Frankfurt Central is hardly the world’s only city station with pigeons. But representatives for New York’s train stations and the London Underground say the birds aren’t too numerous—and don’t make too many feathers fly.
But in Frankfurt, the station’s open structure and easy access to lower levels have turned it into a subterranean aviary.
The rush-hour nature show isn’t exactly a welcome one. In an attempt to minimize the birds presence in the 19th-century landmark, station operator Deutsche Bahn Service has festooned it with nets, wires and spikes. Nothing has worked. A spokeswoman for the service calls pigeons “the plague.”
And so they keep coming, flying in every direction. It’s in their blood. Their dexterity navigating underground tunnels today “links to their heritage living in cliffs,” says Steve Portugal, a zoologist at Royal Holloway, University of London. Pigeons are the descendants of rock doves—seaside birds that live on precipices and in caves.
That helps to explain why, to pigeons, leafy green trees are for the birds. They prefer to nest on ledges, roofs, beams and other flat surfaces.
“The city perfectly mimics rock doves’ environment,” says Dr. Portugal.
Slow and rotund, pigeons struggle to soar. Their shape is adapted to short bursts of flight, often in tight spaces. Physiognomy and heritage mean pigeons, unlike other birds, have no qualms about dim lighting or spelunking.
“They’re happy to go into dark tunnels,” says Dr. Portugal. “They see a hole in a building and think ‘OK I can do this.’ ” A larger, more graceful bird in a similar spot “couldn’t get the oomph behind it to get back out.”
Humans and other objects pose no obstacle. “Sometimes they fly past at a hair’s breadth,” said Ms. Striebl, the traveler, as a pigeon swooped along the platform toward a tunnel.
Pigeons aren’t just nimble. They’re smart, too. Zoologists say they can count, solve simple puzzles and distinguish between colors and individuals.
“Pigeons could learn to tell a Picasso from a Matisse if you trained them enough,” said Luc-Alain Giraldeau, an expert on pigeons and dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Quebec. “Some have learned to wait for automatic doors to open,” he said. “Some have learned to operate automatic doors.”
And while people grumble about “flying rats,” few actually want a pigeon-free city, says Peter Havelka, a zoologist at Karlsruhe’s Natural History Museum. Pigeons are part of the collective unconscious, he contends, inextricably bound up with positive associations.
Pigeons were among the first domesticated animals; many instinctively return to their owners. People bred them for food and used their droppings as fertilizer. It’s those droppings, of course, that have soured public opinion—and made some people fearful that the birds will defecate on the fly (they don’t, according to the experts).
“It certainly happens that you have to take cover,” says Annette Drescher, who works at a bakery under the Central Station. To entice pedestrians, the bakery is completely open to the surrounding passageway, which means pigeons also whizz through. “They’re a pest because you never know when something is going to land on you,” Ms. Drescher said.
Dr. Havelka acknowledges humans “have had more profane experiences with pigeons” than as beloved pets. “One falls out of love quickly,” he said. “It’s understandable.”
Frankfurt has managed to keep its greater pigeon population under control with scattered rooftop roosts, known as dovecotes. The oversize birdhouses deter pigeons from nesting in nearby buildings. In an attempt at population control, caretakers also replace some pigeon eggs with convincing fakes—a trick that works until the birds realize their “eggs” aren’t viable. Manager Gudrun Stürmer estimates her team collects about 180 real eggs a month with the switcheroo.
Ms. Stürmer wants to build more dovecotes to help manage the population in “pigeon hot spots” like the station but few Frankfurters are eager to volunteer their rooftops. One bar owner who showed interest later backed out due to sanitation concerns.
“People don’t like them because they’re so much like us,” said Ms. Stürmer. “They’re hungry and there are many of them.” she said.
Still the central station’s pigeons have defenders. “Sometimes they fly right into your face,” said Tesfalem Haile, who works at a juice bar on the main floor. “But they’re a good sign, a symbol of peace.”
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 19, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes
When I came back to India after a long time and started living in Mumbai, I developed mild wheezing; I dismissed it as my reaction to pollution. Then one day I went up to the terrace of my building and was shocked to see two enormous trays filled with grains mixed with sev (fried stuff made from basan and spices). Birds, especially the friendly neighborhood pigeons and crows feasted on it and the entire floor of the terrace was covered with their droppings. It is at that point I realised that why so many pigeons come to rest near my windows, especially on the base of window grills that project out to give a feeling of space in tiny metropolitan flats.
Naturally, after their fiesta on the terrace, they hover around the building to find some place for their siesta. Some of them even nest and lay eggs, attracting crows who want to eat those.
The fact is that I love birds, and had a cockatiel as a pet for twelve long years, a clean, energetic and dignified fellow (it turned out to be a female at the end) with a tuft on its head. We, the bird and I had become friends, for it thought I am a bird and I thought it has all the human traits. Since I could not bring it to India (ban on exotic birds) and had to put it up for adoption, I missed it terribly and hated to shoo off the pigeons from my window grills. The wheezing continued.
Finally I came to know that my lungs were reacting to the friendly pigeons, but I was lucky that I did not develop a full blown BFD (Bird Fanciers Disease) with symptoms like breathlessness, chills, fever, dry cough and chest discomfort.
The reason behind BFD is that some of us are sensitive to a variety of environmental agents, we repeatedly breathe in making our immune system go for a toss and react violently. In this case, it is the proteins in the bird droppings that float in the air once the droppings dry and become powdery. BFD is not restricted to only pigeons but all the birds and in rare cases keeping a single pet bird can affect the lungs. The symptoms mimic asthma and there is a danger of misdiagnosis. BFD can be diagnosed only with CT scans and X-rays where ‘granulomas’ can be seen (in simple words it can be called localized inflammation). It is usually treated with steroid inhalers.
If not diagnosed or treated properly it can turn complicated with loss of appetite, weight loss and extreme tiredness. It can lead to a very serious condition called ‘fibrosis’ where fibrous tissue (scarring) replaces fine and delicate parts of our lungs (alveoli) where fresh air with oxygen enters our being. More scarring means less fresh air entering our body, and this can be fatal, deadly. Very small children, senior citizens, immune compromised patients are more prone to BFD, and they must wear masks if they live in the midst of pigeons or keep the birds away by not feeding them.
In India we feed birds for two reasons, we love them and also gather religious sentiments with hidden desire to collect ‘good karma’, but are we doing the right thing?
There is one more reason why we must not feed birds on terraces, for their droppings are acidic and over the years can erode the buildings (including the steel), making the structure weak.
The author is a microbiologist and has worked for food and pharmaceutical companies in marketing as well as business development in countries like Germany, India and the United Arab Emirates. She has written articles on ‘health & medicine’ in a leading Marathi newspaper and was also a freelance health columnist for a leading English newspaper in the Gulf for several years. From a young age she was also into writing poetry in Marathi and English, and some of her poems have been published. Now back in India she is a full time writer and pursues farming as a hobby. The first part of her Historical Novel trilogy called ‘Frontiers of Karma – the Counterstroke’ is published (August 2014) by Alchemy Publishers. It is a first novel published on Shivaji Aurangzeb conflict in English where the lives of these mighty men run parallel.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by Pigeon Patrol | Nov 17, 2015 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, UltraSonic Bird Control
BEIRUT: Rats and pigeons will no longer be able to penetrate the grain silos at Beirut Port, Economy Minister Alain Hakim assured Monday after a visit to the facility.
But a photographer from The Daily Star witnessed pigeons feeding on wheat that was poured from the silos into the open beds of delivery trucks.
“The silos were insulated from rodents, birds and [everything that comes] from the port,” Hakim told reporters after his tour.
“The silos’ internal and external work has been improved.”
Hakim’s announcement came more than two months after Health Minister Wael Abu Faour toured the facility and said he discovered that “the Lebanese are sharing wheat with rats and pigeons.”
In Monday’s comments, Hakim said Abu Faour’s visit last December was “positive in terms of remarks,” but stressed that the rehabilitation work in the silos had begun six months earlier. He added that he was in close contact with the health minister over the silos file.
But the fact that pigeons are still accessing the wheat after it is transferred to delivery trucks indicates that the risk of contamination still remains high.
“This was an inspection visit, and we will visit the silos soon with Minister Abu Faour,” Hakim said.
He noted that there was a difference between the silos in question and the “well-closed bunkers” where grains are completely isolated.
Hakim highlighted the importance of insulating the silos as part of improving the provided services, and revealed that restoration work was being carried out by the facility’s workers under the direct supervision of qualified engineers.
“Let the Lebanese rest assured that Lebanese wheat is being handled by Lebanese hands,” he said.
“The wheat is fine and we are improving the spaces surrounding it,” the economy minister added.
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)
