TRANSLINK PLANS ON USING A FALCON TO SCARE OFF POOPING PIGEONS

TRANSLINK PLANS ON USING A FALCON TO SCARE OFF POOPING PIGEONS

What do you do when birds poop all over your property?

If you’re TransLink, you send in a falcon.

In an effort to deal with pigeons nesting at the Commercial-Broadway skytrain station, TransLink is using a bird, to flip off other birds.

A Bird Poop Problem

A new platform for the station, set to open February 2nd, will allow commuters to enter westbound from both sides.

The company was hoping the amount of noise made by the skytrain and commuters would shake off the birds, but hasn’t so far.

With the threat of bird poop being a real concern for TransLink, the company decided to bring in a falcon.

Jill Drews, Senior Issues Management Advisor for TransLink says, “the falcon kind of goes in from time to time and scares them away. Hopefully, they remember this is not a safe place to be.”

But there’s more.

In addition to the falcon, Drews says electric strips, that cause a “very,very minor” shock will also be brought in. “It won’t harm the birds. But it’s just irritating so it will hopefully deter them from nesting,” she says.

Spikes and netting will also by installed in an effort to stop the birds from landing.

The pigeons in question could not be reached for a 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)

Pigeon droppings can STILL be seen at scandal-hit hospital where deaths of child and elderly patient were linked to bird mess infection – as officials order review into £842m design

Pigeon droppings can STILL be seen at scandal-hit hospital where deaths of child and elderly patient were linked to bird mess infection – as officials order review into £842m design

Pigeon droppings could today still be seen on the ground outside a scandal-hit hospital where two patients died after contracting a fungal infection.

A child, said to be a cancer patient, and a pensioner both died at the hospital in Glasgow after becoming ill with cryptococcus, which is linked to pigeon droppings.

The 14-floor Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, one of the largest in Europe, is under scrutiny after claims the pigeon infestation was known about two years ago.

Separately, a third patient at the same hospital was last night seriously ill with the life-threatening disease of mucoraceous, which is another type of fungus.

Pigeon droppings on the grounds of The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow today

The Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board said two patients had tested positive for the condition, with one in a stable and the other in a serious condition.

Today, pigeon droppings could be seen on the ground outside the ultra-modern building, which opened in April 2015, costing £842million.

Meanwhile it also emerged that pest control had been called in this week to another hospital in the city, the New Victoria Hospital in Southside.

Healthcare workers reported concerns about pigeon droppings in an underground car park.

One worker, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said: ‘In the underground car park there is significant pigeon droppings which have remained for the last year.

Pigeons roost on top of the neurology building at the £842million hospital in Glasgow today

‘Every person who uses this stairwell steps in the droppings and tramples it through the whole hospital. No effort has been made to remove the pigeons from the car park.’

What is cryptococcus and who is at risk?

Cryptococcus is a yeast-like fungal infection found in soil and bird faeces that can infect humans who breathe it in.

The infection causes symptoms similar to those faced by people with pneumonia, including coughing, fever and headaches.

Cryptococcus, which normally affects people with weak immune systems, can even impact their mental wellbeing.

But most people who become infected to do not get sick – and it cannot be spread between people.

Pigeons can also transmit the fungal infection of histoplasmosis to humans, as well as bacteria such as E.coli and salmonella – and even a form of encephalitis which can cause the brain to inflame.

But most people who are exposed to pigeons have no problems because they do not come in contact with large quantities of infected droppings.

A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: ‘Our pest control contractor has been called to respond to a complaint received (on Tuesday) about pigeon droppings in the car park at the New Victoria hospital.’

The child who died from the infection was reported to be a cancer patient from the Grampian area, while the other person who was infected was an elderly woman, according to the Glasgow Evening Times.

The young patient was among those receiving treatment in the main adult building as a result of contamination in the water supply in the children’s hospital – which led to six paediatric patients developing infections last year, according to a source.

Children being treated in wards 2A, 2B and the adjoining bone marrow transplant unit were transferred to wards in the adult hospital while work is ongoing to upgrade the ventilation and water system.

A hospital source claimed the room the child was transferred to should have included a Hepa air filter.

The health board said portable Hepa filters are now being installed in ‘all the rooms identified as requiring them’ as part of additional infection control measures following the deaths.

The source said: ‘The child that died had been moved from the children’s hospital to a room in the adult hospital. The Hepa filter should already have been fitted.

‘I have been told that there are other rooms in the hospital, where HEPA filters should have been fitted but weren’t.’

Pigeons fly over The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow today after the incidents

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said a ‘small crack’ was identified in the wall of the hospital’s plant room – identified as the source of the infection – and spores from the droppings ‘may have entered the air supply via the ventilation system.

Snags, blunders and deaths at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital

March 2016 Operations cancelled because of sewage leak.

April 2016 Problems found at specialist children’s mental health ward. Its rooftop garden was deemed a health and safety risk; locks not fit for purpose and no staff alarm system to call for back-up.

September 2016 Patients and visitors complain of getting stuck in lifts.

March 2017 ‘Significant concerns’ raised by Healthcare Environment Inspectorate during unannounced visit – including dust and body fluids on patient trolleys and mattresses.

October 2017 Contractors carrying out routine maintenance smash a section of glass on the building’s roof. Emergency helicopters diverted.

November 2017 Automatic entrance doors opening too frequently because of sensor problems. Reception staff given heaters to keep them warm.

December 2017 Cladding similar to Grenfell Tower also found at the QEUH and removed.

March 2018 Bacteria found in the water supply at the Royal Hospital for Children, which is part of the site. Children with cancer, who have low immunity, infected and treated with antibiotics. Taps and ventilation system in the area now being upgraded.

August 2018 Pane of glass fell ten floors and shattered near front entrance, said to be the third time this had happened. Safety netting installed.

October 2018 Blocked waste-pipe damaged ceiling at the entrance of the building.

December 2018 Two patients contract Cryptococcus, linked to pigeons nesting in walls, but this is not made public until weeks later, when Jeane Freeman confirms infection contributed to the death of a child.

January 2019 Health bosses confirm that two other patients have been infected with an unspecified fungal organism caused by a ‘water leak’.

However, the source said they had seen pictures taken by a bacteriologist employed by the health board which showed the plant room – which contains air conditioning and ventilation equipment – in a ‘filthy’ state.

He said the room was ‘infested’ with droppings and pigeon feathers, suggesting several birds had been in the room.

The source said: ‘The room had a serious infestation of pigeon droppings. It was filthy.

‘The Health Board knew about the problem on December 23 but they didn’t take appropriate action. The pigeons were in that room.’

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been approached for comment.

Today, Nicola Sturgeon was pressed on whether the ‘tragic’ death of a child at Scotland’s flagship hospital was linked to the NHS’s £900million repairs and maintenance backlog.

Ms Sturgeon said the situation was ‘a very serious incident that must be and is being treated seriously’.

The First Minister expressed her ‘deepest condolences to the families of the two patients who contracted the infection and who have subsequently died’.

Scottish Conservative interim leader Jackson Carlaw said the ‘alarming’ situation at the flagship hospital ‘raised wider questions about the Government’s record on the NHS, because there is a £900 million maintenance backlog on NHS buildings, including hospitals in Scotland’.

Pressing the SNP leader at First Minister’s Questions, he said: ‘Is it any wonder then that we do see problems emerging, not just at the Queen Elizabeth but at other hospitals across Scotland?’

The Tory stressed while tens of thousands of Scots had been successfully treated at the hospital the ‘tragic events’ had ‘shaken confidence’.

He also noted public spending watchdogs at Audit Scotland had reported there were currently ‘no coherent proposals to bring our NHS estate up to standard’.

Ms Sturgeon said: ‘At any given time there will be maintenance requirements in the health service estate.

Pigeon droppings could be seen on the ground outside the modern hospital, pictured today

‘The Scottish Government works closely with health boards through our capital allocations to health boards to make sure we’re providing, as far as we can within the resources available to us, capital provision to do that.’

Mucormycosis, a fungal infection suffered by two further patients at the Glasgow hospital

Two patients are currently suffering from mucormycosis at the hospital, which is a rare and severe fungus. infection from the fungi mucorales

The condition has a very high mortality rate of at least 50 per cent, with severe infection of the facial sinuses potentially extending into the brain.

Those at risk are people with impaired immunity from various causes, including serioid use, iron overload, burns or malnutrition.

The condition can be treated through the reversal of underlying disease or surgical management.

She added: ‘I’m not going to go into party political exchanges on this issue, it is too serious for that.

‘But obviously we work within a financial envelope and I think everybody knows that that has been under pressure in recent years and everybody knows the reasons for that.

‘But within that we have prioritised spending on the health service and we will continue to do so.’

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard also challenged her on the outbreak, saying: ‘The awful news that two patients, including a child, died after contracting an infection at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow has shocked us all.

‘Our sympathies, our thoughts, are with the families who have lost loved ones. This simply should not have happened.’

He also listed a number of incidents at the hospital since it opened four years ago, including a premature baby dying from an infection and 22 children becoming infected from bacteria in the water supply. He challenged Ms Sturgeon over whether this was ‘good enough’.

This chair covered in pigeon droppings was left in the open for three months at the hospital

The First Minister responded: ‘The evidence suggests there is no general problem with infection control.’

She added: ‘Nobody thinks it is good enough for any patient to get an infection in hospital.

‘Infections do happen in hospitals. There is probably not a hospital anywhere that hasn’t had some kind of infection outbreak and the implications for very ill patients can be severe.

‘That is why it is so important that everything possible is done to reduce infection and everything possible will be done in this case to ensure there is repetition.’

Across Scotland she said there had been a fall in hospital infections since a major outbreak of Clostridium difficile at the Vale of Leven Hospital in West Dunbartonshire more than a decade ago due to improvements in infection control.

Nightingale Associates, which was bought by Canadian firm IBI Group for £13million in June 2010, was the architect behind the hospital.

 

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)

HORROR ILLNESS Pigeon poo outbreak – Glasgow superhospital worker claims she was left so ill by pigeons she feared she was dying 2 YEARS before bird filth was linked to child’s death

HORROR ILLNESS Pigeon poo outbreak – Glasgow superhospital worker claims she was left so ill by pigeons she feared she was dying 2 YEARS before bird filth was linked to child’s death

Jennifer McLoughlin, 43, is suing health chiefs over the problems she suffered while working at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Jennifer told how she feared she was dying after being struck down by an illness she blames on pigeons.

She claims birds nesting in the ceiling above her desk sparked weeks of severe breathing problems.

The mum of two was an admin worker in the neurological unit at the hospital in Glasgow when she started to feel ill.

Tests later blamed her issues on her “environment” — and the flagship health complex is now at the centre of an infection scandal linked to pigeon droppings.

Jennifer was horrified when a bug connected to the birds’ mess was this week confirmed as a factor in the death of a child patient — two years after she raised concerns about the £842million site.

She said: “I knew it was those birds making me ill. I could hear them over my head every day in our office.

“It started with a cough and then it just got worse and worse.

“After a few weeks I was in a horrendous state — I thought I was dying. I couldn’t breathe, I was in and out of hospital and calling ambulances to the house.

“I visited my GP at first then found myself having to go to the out of hours team.

“I would suffer violent coughing fits so bad that I fractured my rib during one of them.

“I was put on eight different types of steroids and inhalers. They ran loads of tests on me — I had X-rays, CT scans and a scope put down my throat.”

Jennifer, of Clydebank, added: “I told them about the pigeons at my workplace and they put it down to environmental issues.

“The birds managed to get in through the air vents and were above us.

“I’d complained loads of time but nothing was done.

“To think something could have been done to save that child — it’s just absolutely disgusting.”

Jennifer needed a month off work as she recovered and on her return demanded to be moved to another office.

Her bosses agreed, but she claims the superhospital didn’t do enough after she raised the alarm in April 2017.

5 QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERED

1 Why didn’t health bosses or the Government alert the public earlier?

2 Would they have made the deaths and infection public had the media not pressed them?

3 Why does an £842m ‘superhospital’ not have adequate preventative measures against invading pigeons?

4 How did pigeon filth enter a closed ventilation system?

5 Are other hospitals being checked for pigeon problems?

She said: “I told them that I wasn’t working in that office again so they moved us. My health got better but I started looking for other jobs straight away, I couldn’t work there anymore.

“I think they knew deep down they were at fault because I was off ill for a month and those days weren’t even subtracted from my sick leave.”

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman announced a probe into the superhospital on Tuesday.

It came as she confirmed the cryptococcus infection — which can be breathed in from bird droppings — had been a factor in the death of the child in December.

Another elderly patient at the hospital who also had the infection died from an unrelated cause.

The likely source of the bug has been traced to a plant room. As details of two more infection cases emerged this week, Ms Freeman admitted the hospital “may not be fit for purpose”.

Jennifer, who lives with partner John Fenner, 46, and her children Georgia, nine, and seven-year-old Keenan, now works at the Golden Jubilee in Clydebank.

She went to her union for support after leaving the QEU then contacted Thompsons Solicitors.

They are helping take legal action against NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, claiming her working environment was to blame for her health problems.

She said: “I’m suing them for how ill I was — my rib problem, all of the medication I had to take and how ill I was.

“Up until now they have been denying it — now they can’t hide any more. A child has died and who knows how many others have been affected.

“They should hang their heads in shame.”

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said it was “unable to comment on this ongoing legal case”.

A spokesman for Thompsons Solicitors added: “We are very keen that the health board engage with us to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.”

 

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)

Florida Man Hunting Pigeons With A Net

Florida Man Hunting Pigeons With A Net

mesh bird nettingThere are some weird things that happen in Florida – after all, that is the foundation of the entire Florida Man subReddit, so is it really that shocking that a video has surfaced of a man catching pigeons in a net? Probably not for most.

The majority of questions surrounding the video is about what the man plans on doing with the birds. Although the video posted on World Star HipHop is pretty low quality and only just over 30 seconds in length, you can clearly see a man standing near a group of pigeons with something in his hand. It is soon revealed that “something” is a net that he throws over the birds – successfully catching several.

The video cuts off with the man putting the birds in the back of a vehicle. It is not clear if it is his vehicle or someone else’s – but we would put money on it being his. There is no further information on who the mystery bird man is, so that is also up to speculation. Knowing the internet his identity will not remain a secret for very long.

As for the legality of this man’s actions – well, according to the Chicago Tribune, it is not illegal to catch and eat a city pigeon unless it happens to be someone’s trained homing pigeon.

With that being said, a lot of people are assuming he was catching his dinner.

 

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)

Death of child at Glasgow hospital linked to pigeon droppings infection

Death of child at Glasgow hospital linked to pigeon droppings infection

pigeon toxicityPigeon droppings were a contributing factor to an infection which led to a child’s death at Scotland’s flagship hospital.

The child died at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and a post-mortem found that they had inhaled fungus which is primarily found in pigeon droppings.

Another patient was also infected but it is thought the infection did not contribute to their death.

Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said a review would be carried out in the design, build, handover and maintenance of the flagship hospital.

She told MSPs that traces of pigeon excrement had been found in a top floor room where there was a small crack in the wall which was “invisible to the naked eye”.

The hospital was built for the Scottish Government at a cost of £842 million and opened at the end of April 2015.

Despite the hospital having only recently been constructed, Ms Freeman said there appeared to be a “number of instances” where the fabric of building was “less than satisfactory”.

After visiting the hospital, the Scottish health secretary said: “I have agreed a review, with external expert advice, that will look at the design of the building, the commissioning of the work, the construction of the building, the handover of the building and the maintenance of the building, in order to ensure we identify where issues were raised that should have been addressed and where maintenance programmes now should be perhaps more robust or more frequent.”

Ms Freeman announced the review after setting out “clear factual points” on the two patient deaths to MSPs at Holyrood.

She said the Cryptococcus bacteria had initially been identified in one patient in November 2018 but was not linked to that person’s death the following month.

Ms Freeman added: “In December a post-mortem of a child who has passed away conformed that Cryptococcus was both present and a contributory factor in their death.”

She explained the second case triggered the introduction of additional infection control measures by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, including prescribing anti-fungal medication to “vulnerable patients” and the provision of additional air filters.

“I am confident the board have taken all the steps they should to ensure and maintain patient safety,” she said.

Labour health spokeswoman Monica Lennon said the public would be “shocked” to learn one of those who had died was a child as she claimed there had been a “complete lack of clarity” from the health board about the infection.

Ms Lennon said: “I think the people of Scotland will feel it is absolutely extraordinary that in a modern hospital, Scotland’s flagship and apparently super hospital no less, we have a situation where pigeons and infections can kill patients.

“If this unthinkable and deadly infection can happen at the flagship Queen Elizabeth, what is to stop it happening at other hospitals?”

 

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)

Bird bond: The story of an Alberta rancher and his favourite pigeon

Bird bond: The story of an Alberta rancher and his favourite pigeon

In just a few weeks, an Alberta man and a pigeon that showed up at his ranch have become inseparable.

Greg and Maureen Germscheid say the pigeon, which Greg calls Pidge, first flew onto their property last September.

“He looked so terrible when he came here,” Maureen Germscheid told CTV Edmonton.

Their concern grew through the fall, as Pidge continued to show up at the ranch near Entwistle, Alta. A few weeks ago, Greg decided to pick up the pigeon. When the bird didn’t resist or struggle, he says, a bond was formed.

The Germscheids soon found themselves amazed by Pidge’s quirks and seeming intelligence. The bird responds to mentions of its new name and seems eager to accompany Greg on his tractor and the occasional sleigh ride.

 

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)