by Ryan Ponto | Mar 20, 2017 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
PESKY pigeons are being given a run for their money after council bosses brought in a hawk to scare them away – and stop them dumping their unpleasant payloads on people’s heads.
The harris hawk and its handler have been seen several times on the roof of the county council’s social services offices in Clacton.
The airborne attacker sends seagulls and pigeons screeching into the air as the hawk is released from the roof of the Magnet House building in Jackson Road.
An Essex Council spokesman said: “Due to the continued roosting of pigeons and seagulls on top of Magnet House, our partners Mitie are currently trialling the use of a hawk as a deterrent, to prevent the build-up of bird droppings at the building’s entrances.
“This method is highly effective and environmentally friendly, as the hawk’s presence should quickly make an area undesirable for pest species, and in doing so help to keep Magnet House clean and safe in future.”
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 Ryan Ponto | Mar 11, 2017 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
A group of behavioral scientists carefully gathered two sets of pigeons and put them in separate cages. Each cage was equipped with one green button and one red button. In one of the cages if the birds pecked the green button they received a generous portion of food every time. In the other, the green button yielded food erratically and the pigeons had to persist to receive their share of food. In both cases; pecking the red button did absolutely nothing. Surprisingly both sets of birds found out what worked and what didn’t! In both cases they thrived; both sets of pigeons were smart enough to learn very quickly to avoid the red button that produced absolutely nothing.
Now I already know what you are going to ask me. You are thinking, “Dr. J what has this have to do with us or anything spiritual?” It has a lot to do with us and those that we come in contact with every day as we travel the pathway of life. Why aren’t we or the people we observe as smart as those pigeons? What do I mean by that last statement? Why can’t we or those that we see every day of our lives able to avoid the red button issues in their life? Why are people still smoking when they know that it causes cancer? Smoking is a red button issue and yet I see young and old who refuse to heed the warnings. It blows my mind! Years down the road they will regret every cigarette that they have ever smoked. But do you know what? It will be too late. Therefore they continue to hit “the red button” while all the while knowing that sooner or later the “repo man” will arrive!
What about the red button of drugs and those in our community and around the world who are addicted to them? How many public service announcements have been aired over the years and yet the drug addicted keep “hitting the red button” hoping for a different outcome. How many times has the rescue squad been called to the scene of a drug overdose only to give the person a shot to bring them back around only to give them another opportunity to do it again and again!
Too many of us have other issues in our lives that we know that are harmful spiritually and yet we invest our lives in empty, meaningless or even harmful activities. We have a way of continually hitting red buttons that always result in a negative outcome.
Listen, Christians are not exempt! We as children of the King of kings need to eliminate our own red button issues. We need to learn through experience and hard work to accept personal responsibility for every area of our life. True, we were not responsible for our upbringing and early training, but as adults we are totally responsible for our recovery, our actions, and our well-being! We cannot fault find by blaming others. That is the plague that is engulfing our society; no one wants to take responsibility for their actions! It is time to take personal responsibility! Quit playing Adam and Eve blaming everyone except the one who is to blame and take a personal stand for integrity and righteousness.
Please understand that we need to remind ourselves that we are not only responsible for ourselves and what we do, but we are also responsible before God. Never forget that life is short and one day we will meet the Creator face to face. Remember we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. So with that in mind; start hitting “the green button” taking personal responsibility while making a difference in our community and the Church of Jesus Christ!
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 Ryan Ponto | Feb 19, 2017 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
SAO PAULO, Brazil — A pigeon in Brazil was busted for trying to smuggle a cell phone into a Sao Paulo state prison.
Guards at the Franco da Rocha prison caught the pigeon with a cell phone strapped to its body. Prison officials believe the bird was trying to deliver the phone to an inmate.
The guards were tipped off to the scheme when they saw several inmates running around trying to capture the pigeon.
Once guards captured the bird they discovered it carrying a small pouch containing a cellphone and battery.
Officials said they are investigating which inmate was behind the failed cell phone scheme.
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 Ryan Ponto | Feb 14, 2017 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
The amount spent on ridding streets of pigeons and gulls has almost doubled in the past three years, it has emerged.
About two-thirds of England’s councils responded to a BBC information request on bird control.
Their responses reveal the amount spent rose from £452,000 in 2013-2014 to £830,000 in 2015-2016.
The British Pest Control Association said the increase in spending might reflect a growing awareness of public health risks posed by some birds.
The figures come about two years after then Prime Minister David Cameron called for a “big conversation” about gulls in the wake of attacks on a dog and a tortoise in Cornwall.
Of the 103 authorities that specified the types of control methods used, 12 said they employed marksmen to shoot pigeons, 12 used hawks and 46 used spikes to discourage pigeons landing.
Scottish councils spent £950,000 over the past three years compared with £43,000 in Wales and £9,519 in Northern Ireland.
The biggest spender on bird control is the London Borough of Southwark, which has shelled out £393,000 since 2013.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council had the biggest spend outside of London, with £75,000 since 2013, followed by West Sussex County Council which spent £65,000 and Portsmouth, which spent £63,000.
Money spent by councils on bird control ranges from approaches such as pigeon-proofing buildings to clearing up pigeon guano and removing dead pigeons.
But some types of bird control – such as pigeon-proofing – simply move “problems on” to another building or area, said Dee Ward-Thompson, technical manager at the British Pest Control Association.
“If you totally exclude them rather than control the population, they sometimes just move to an adjacent building.
“What we are seeing more often now is landowners coming together to deal with issues collectively.
“In London, they are trying to exclude gulls from all of the buildings because otherwise they will just be moving the issue on.”
Common control methods used in England
- Netting, which prevents birds getting on to buildings
- Spikes to deter birds
- Bird wire
- Hawking
- Decoy birds of prey
- Electric shock systems
- Shooting
- Trapping
- Egg removal and egg pricking or egg oiling (to prevent hatching)
Pigeon control was usually carried out on public health grounds, she said, while gulls were targeted by some authorities because they can be aggressive.
Ms Ward-Thompson, who said bird control activities must be carried out by professionals because of the various laws involved in protecting animals, said she was unaware of a growing issue with birds that could explain the doubling in spending over three years.
Falconer Mark White, of East Anglia-based Step Pest Control, said councils were increasingly using non-lethal methods of bird control.
He uses a combination of methods ranging from netting and spikes to special gels which look like fire, hawks and even a high-powered laser beam.
“A lot of people think we in pest control use hawks for killing. It is in fact the complete opposite – we use the birds for disruption and discourage killing as much as possible.”
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said it “would always advocate non-lethal measures in the first instance”.
The RSPCA said: “The most humane way of deterring birds is to remove what attracts them to urban areas – mainly food or shelter.
“Means of doing this can include reducing food availability, or preventing them from accessing roofs or other areas where they could cause disturbance.
“If deterrence methods and all alternatives fail, and there is a proven case for control methods, we urge people to use only humane methods and trained, experienced professionals.”
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 Ryan Ponto | Feb 8, 2017 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
A couple of weeks ago, a feral pigeon arrived on my doorstep, and forced me to reconsider some cherished preconceptions.
It had been attacked, by a cat, perhaps by a gull. All its tail feathers were missing, raw flesh was exposed on its rump. When I tried to shoo it away, it couldn’t, or wouldn’t, budge.
Why was I shooing it away? Well, I like to think I take a tough-minded attitude to these things. Wild animals kill and eat each other all the time. An injured pigeon is a meal for some other hungry creature. Part of me thinks we should never interfere in these interactions.
Victims of predators are generally weak or sick. Predation not only feeds the attacker, but benefits the health and ultimately the evolution of the prey species.
However, that rational but rather cold Darwinian argument seemed less and less compelling, every time I stepped over the unfortunate bird. It had an uncanny way of catching my eye with its own tiny green one. I don’t delude myself that it was asking for my help, but it was certainly suffering.
And there just didn’t seem to be any good excuse for not helping a suffering being.
Unlikely to survive
But I had a tough-minded way to deal with that notion too, though it didn’t last more than a few minutes. I assumed, for no very clear reasion, that the pigeon was most unlikely to survive. Therefore I should just put it out of its misery.
But how? I’ve wrung a blackbird’s neck after hitting it with my car, many years ago, but a subsequent effort to kill a pigeon in similar circumstances turned out disastrously. No point in making this one’s suffering any worse…and upsetting myself more, if I’m honest.
So, hours later than I should have, I began googling emergency vet numbers. One referred me to Kildare Animal Rescue. That seemed like too long a shot for a Stoneybatter resident, but within 20 minutes a trained volunteer arrived from nearby Cabra to take the pigeon away. To my surprise, it has not been euthanised, but is apparently making a full recovery. It may soon be returned to its natural urban habitat.
Curious to find out more, I went to see the Kildare foundation for myself. It was founded in 1994 by Geraldine O’Hanlon, who still runs it. My guide was Dan Donoher, who has worked at the wildlife unit full time for 15 years, after volunteering aged 17. His commitment and practical, professional approach were evident.
The foundation is near Kildare town, in a farmhouse surrounded by outbuildings, many of which are occupied by dozens of abandoned pets. These are rehabilitated and, where possible, offered to new homes.
But the wildlife unit is different, orientated towards eventual release. It had 43 inmates when I visited. We started in the hospital section, where injured animals are confined in small cages for recuperation, often after surgery by specialist vets.
Two buzzards, each with a wing in an incongruously coloured vetwrap sling, glared at us when Donoher pulled back the curtain on their cages. The centre has nursed a dozen of these large birds of prey back to health recently, largely due to a spate of shooting incidents. This seems to have been sparked by sensational media reports claiming falsely that they kill pets and livestock.
Poisoned prey is a problem too, and children at Scoil Bhríde in Kilcullen were amazed to find a very sick buzzard staggering around their school yard one morning last year. They contacted the centre, and the bird recovered in its care.
The children were then able to witness the stirring spectacle of the bird their school had saved taking to the air again.
The hospital section also contained a rook, a rabbit, feral and wood pigeons and a collared dove, a mallard, a black-headed gull and a blackbird. All had been found injured by members of the public, sometimes passed on by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. This agency has statutory responsibility for injured wildlife, and licences every individual cared for by the centre.
Climate
There was a severely underweight hedgehog, apparently tricked by this very mild winter to emerge too early from hibernation. It had found few worms, snails and insects to build up its strength again. Its plight is probably another indication of the myriad impacts of our changing climate.
Out in a larger recuperation unit, the animals have much more space to exercise, before moving to an outdoor area that is the last stage before release. However, in some instances, such as foxes found as cubs, an inmate is assisted through a further stage with a mobile post-release shelter. This is placed out in the wild, and they can come and go to be fed until they learn to hunt for themselves.
Donoher says the centre has monitored several of its releases, including badgers and pine martens, through radio-tagging, and they generally appear to survive and thrive. See badgerdiary.net/the-beginning/
The only other full-time worker at the centre is Michael O’Toole. Like Donoher, he describes the work as very rewarding, though not, he concedes, in financial terms. “There are other riches in life,” he says.
There were three volunteers working there the day I visited. Martina Broughall is a nurse, and gives up her free Saturdays plus a morning a week to work there. There were also two transition year students, Lauren Reynolds from St Conleth’s Community College in Newbridge, and Lisa Lyons from Scoil Mhuire in Clane.
They spoke with infectious enthusiasm about their work. “It’s much more interesting than working in retail or something like that,” said Lauren. “We got to hold a ferret, see foxes up close.”
“I was surprised by the buzzard,” says Lisa. “I never knew we had such big birds of prey.”
They say the experience is leading them to consider careers involving “something in the line of animals.”
I left feeling more than a little humbled. There are more paths into engagement with nature than birding, botany, ecology and conservation activism. And Darwinism doesn’t offer helpful answers to every encounter with a wild animal.
Finding help for injured animals
“We can’t keep up with the demand,” says Emma Higgs, director of Wildlife Rehabilitation Ireland. She now logs up to 4,000 wild animal casualties a year, far more than the National Parks and Wildlife Service, overstretched as ever, had been aware of.
Higgs is a veterinary nurse who set up this group to co-ordinate the activities of people who want to help injured wild animals recover, from individuals to institutions such as the Kildare foundation.
WRI has organised 17 training courses for 20 people each over the last five years. Higgs is working full time pro bono, but aims to set up a wildlife rehabilitation and teaching hospital eventually.
If you find an injured animal, before taking any action you should contact one of the WRI contacts list
And, as spring comes on, do remember that fledgling birds and young animals that may appear abandoned are actually in the care of a nearby parent, and are best left well alone.
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 Ryan Ponto | Feb 3, 2017 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
SINGAPORE — When it comes to managing Singapore’s animal population, culling will be done only as “a last resort”, said Minister of State for National Development Koh Poh Koon in Parliament on Monday (Feb 20).
He was responding to questions by Member of Parliament (MP) Louis Ng (Nee Soon GRC) and Non-Constituency MP Daniel Goh in relation to the culling of 24 free-roaming chickens in the Sin Ming area, which had sparked a public outcry recently.
Dr Koh pointed out that the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) had found that the free-roaming chicken population in the Sin Ming area had “more than doubled” in the past two years, from about 20 in 2014 to 50 last year.
Given that chickens are more susceptible to bird flu, compared to other birds such as pigeons, and can transmit the virus to humans, Dr Koh said the AVA decided to remove some of the chickens, and to keep their population close to the “baseline level”.
When asked by Mr Ng for the number of people who complained, rather than the number of complaints relating to the chickens in Sin Ming, Dr Koh disclosed there were three people who complained in 2014, five in 2015 and 13 people last year.
Countering suggestions that the chickens could have been easily relocated to the wild, such as in Pulau Ubin or other forested areas, Dr Koh said this could create a situation of inter-breeding, thus adversely affecting the genetic stock of the endangered species of red junglefowl, which are found in Ubin and the Western Catchment area.
And while rehoming of chickens is a possible solution, it cannot be done in the same way it is done for cats and dogs, since the fowl cannot be housed in Housing and Development Board flats and they also carry the risk of transmitting avian influenza.
However, Dr Koh said that the AVA acknowledged that engagement and communications with residents and other stakeholders on the Sin Ming chickens issue “ought to have been better managed”.
Adding that there is no “magic number” on what the threshold figure should be before the authorities decide to cull, and citing a lack of specific recommendations on when to cull free-roaming chickens when there is no bird flu infection, Dr Koh reiterated that the AVA takes a “calibrated and measured approach” to reduce the risks posed to public health.
To find the best way to manage the population of free-ranging chickens and other birds, the AVA is currently undertaking research with academics, wildlife experts and other public agencies, he added.
For instance, in January last year, the authority initiated a study with the National University of Singapore to better understand the ecology and population of selected bird species, such as free-range chickens, in Singapore.
Separately, in response to another parliamentary question filed by Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon GRC), Dr Koh said the AVA received about 21,000 cases of bird-related complaints in the last three years, mostly related to the feeding of pigeons by the public, and pigeon nuisance.
Beyond reducing cases of birds feeding on leftover food in hawker centres, Dr Koh cited other solutions to the problem, such as bird deterrent gels, oral contraceptives for pigeons, and fogging trees to deter mynahs.
However, in situations where the authorities perceive the risk is high or there is a higher incidence of bird flu around the region, for instance, they might have to step up measures “more aggressively”, such as culling these birds to reduce the risk.
“Clearly, there is no perfect answer. If you want a perfectly safe environment, then yes, we should go all out, guns blazing, to remove every single bird from the sky of Singapore.
“But that’s not a practical approach … You can cull a thousand birds today and tomorrow, another thousand will fly in from somewhere else … So, it’s something we have to take a practical view and escalate when necessary,” Dr Koh 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)
