by Pigeon Patrol | Mar 31, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeons in the News
Three oil sands companies say scores of birds were killed after landing at their waste facilities in east-central Alberta, Canada, even though their avian deterrents were operational at the time.
All three companies – Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNRL), Syncrude and Suncor – said the birds began landing the morning of Nov. 4 and that their wildlife deterrents were working properly at the time. However, a dense fog was reported at the time, which may have disoriented the birds, contributing to their deaths.
All told, 122 waterfowl died on the companies’ tailing ponds, where waste from oil extraction is dumped, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) reported on Nov. 5. CNRL reported finding 60 dead birds at its Horizon site, and Syncrude said it had to euthanize 30 birds that landed on a similar facility at its Mildred Lake site.
Suncor said that about 120 birds closed in on one of its waste ponds at about the same time, but its deterrents frightened most of them away. Six, though, managed to land.
Investigators sent in by the AER are trying to determine whether the companies’ deterrents were, in fact, working that day. The deterrents include ordinary scarecrows as well as more high-tech devices as radar units and acoustic devices such as propane cannons, which shoot nothing more dangerous than noise, to scare wildlife from toxic areas.
The oil companies expressed concern about the birds’ deaths. CNRL spokeswoman Julie Woo said in an e-mail to Canadian Broadcasting Corp. News, “We are saddened that approximately 60 waterfowl were not deterred and we are currently in the process of confirming the final affected number.”
Will Gibson of Syncrude offered a similar sentiment. He said his company noted increased bird activity in the region that morning. “As a result of these observations,” he told Global News, “our bird deterrent system went into heightened alert.”
“We don’t want our operations to harm wildlife,” Gibson said, “so we’re going to be reviewing our systems to see if there’s additional areas to improve on what we’ve already implemented.”
Syncrude, a major oil sands operator in the region, was hit with a $3 million fine for the deaths of more than 1,600 ducks that had landed on its tailings pond in 2008.
Mike Hudema of Greenpeace Canada says wildlife deterrent systems aren’t enough, and that the oil sands operations need to get rid of tailings ponds, period. “The systems that they put in place to try to keep birds off are not working,” he said. “The only way to keep birds and animals safe in, really, what is a toxic brew of chemicals is to get these tailings ponds off the Alberta landscape.”
AER spokesman Ryan Bartlett said his agency is investigating the incident, but the results may not be known for months. Meanwhile, neither Alberta’s Environment or Energy ministry would comment, leaving the matter to AER. Provincial Premier Jim Prentice said he’d have nothing to say until the AER issues a report on its investigation.
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 | Mar 31, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Pigeons in the News
A 26-year-old transient was arrested Wednesday on a charge of cruelty to animals after a wing was ripped off a live pigeon in a parking lot at 221 W. Union St., according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Simon Abromson remains in the Duval County jail on $10,000 bail after his 1 p.m. arrest, according to jail records.
Abromson was feeding birds in the parking lot at noon Monday and threw bread on the ground to gather birds, a witness told police. After gathering birds around him, he grabbed one pigeon and ripped off a wing before it fell back to the ground. The bird tried to run away, but died behind a dumpster, according to the arrest report.
The witness confronted Abromson about torturing the bird and was told to “back off or I’ll slit your throat and drink your blood,” according to the arrest report.
Police found the man two days later, but he became violent when arrested and said he would come back and shoot people in the parking lot. The man told police he eats pigeons regularly, according to the arrest report.
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.
by Pigeon Patrol | Mar 31, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Pigeons in the News
A persistent bird feeder given an Anti-Social Behaviour Order to restrict his habit was feeding pigeons around 40kg of bird seed a day, a court heard.
John Wilkinson, Morecambe’s Pigeonman, can now only feed birds half a kilo of bird seed three days a week under the varied terms of his ASBO.
Prosecuting body Lancaster City Council was granted a variation of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order against Mr Wilkinson, of Cavendish Road in Morecambe.
The variation extends an existing ASBO for a further year to December 2015 and varies the conditions by further restricting the amount and also the times he can feed pigeons.
Proceedings were brought against Mr Wilkinson due to the annoyance and distress he has brought to residents for a number of years by feeding flocks of up to 300 pigeons outside his home and in other parts of the district. The flock wait for their regular feeds by perching on rooftops of neighbouring houses, where their fouling causes blocked and leaking gutters and their noise disturbs sleep.
Mr Wilkinson was feeding approximately 40kg of bird seed to the pigeons each day.
Coun Karen Leytham, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental health, said: “The order does not prevent Mr Wilkinson from feeding pigeons but tries to curb the worst excesses by restricting the amount he can feed and also the times and location.”
The conditions of the ASBO prohibit Mr Wilkinson from feeding pigeons within 100m of his home on Cavendish Road. Outside that radius he can feed up to half a kilo of bird seed between 9.30am and 10.30am on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday.
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 | Mar 19, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeons in the News
Bird fans are in a flap after there appeared to be fewer of the feathered inhabitants around Redhill’s shopping area and station in recent weeks.
Natalee Spencer, 20, said she feared for the birds’ safety when they did not take the food she left.
She told the Mirror: “I was wandering through the town centre on my way to work one day when I noticed I couldn’t see many of them.
“I sometimes put some food out for them because they need to eat too. But I couldn’t see any of them around so I just left the food on the ground.
“That night I went to Sainsbury’s with my dad and the food was still there. It hadn’t been touched. I was worried there had been a cull or something.”
Others have also noticed the area around Redhill Station, once littered with pigeon droppings, is now clearer.
Daniel Nixon, 36, who works in the area, said: “I have noticed the pavement is cleaner these days; there doesn’t seem to be so many birds chilling out overhead.” “Pigeons have no predators and they have an easy life with food easy to find.
“If their easy life has been disturbed by roosting being made more difficult or less food being available, then they might have simply gone somewhere else where it is easier for them.”
He added the pigeons could have caught a bug which depleted the population, but could not be sure without investigating.
In response to concerns about bird droppings on the pavement, Network Rail said it would look into installing new measures, such as mesh or nets, to deter the birds.
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 | Mar 19, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
Residents of Fairbanks, Alaska, are sounding the alarm bells over a surge in guano that’s threatening to consume their city. According to reports, the local pigeon population has exploded in recent years, leaving people reeling from their inescapable excrement.
“It’s Poopsville,” says architect David Whitmore, whose downtown building alone is home to 20 different nests belonging to the pesky, prolific birds.
Producing up to 25 pounds of poop apiece each year, the pigeons are damaging dozens of properties and relentlessly terrorizing townspeople. Roofers recently discovered a 6-inch layer of pigeon poop spackled atop the historic Courthouse Square building. Meanwhile, property owners scramble just to keep the pigeon poop in check, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports.
Twice a year, employees at a downtown parking garage must don Tyvek suits and respirators to scrape 75 gallons of guano from the structure’s concrete floors. They then must dispose of the droppings in the hazardous materials section of the area landfill.
“Pigeon crap weighs a ton,” says Marcus Dodge, executive director of the Fairbanks Parking Authority. “It’s not a lot of fun to clean up.”
Probably not. But folks in Fairbanks should expect to get down and dirty with bird waste far into the future, according to wildlife authorities. “Pigeons are pretty darn flexible,” says Cathie Harms, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “They will eat a variety of food. They are prolific breeders.”
Unfortunately for some, that reality has yet to sink in.
“They’re a hazard to the equipment. They’re a hazard to people,” says Robert Franklin, a maintenance foreman in town. “They get into stuff they are not supposed to.”
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 | Mar 19, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News
Pigeons have been steady residents of Copenhagen City Hall’s tower for over 100 years, but that has now come to a sad end.
Pigeons have made their home in Copenhagen City Hall’s tower since 1905, but on Tuesday the current flock of around 120 pigeons living in the seat of local government were euthanized after contracting psittacosis, an infection spread through bird droppings.
“There have been pigeons since the City Hall was completed and we have always been proud of that. This is absolutely not something we are happy about,” Kåre Jørgensen, a City Hall spokesman, told DR.
Psittacosis, also known as parrot fever, can also spread to humans and two workers who helped take care of the birds came down with flu-like symptoms but have since been cleared to return to work.
Jørgensen said that although the infection could have been treated, it would have been too hard on the pigeons.
“If we were to [treat them, ed.] it would require that the pigeons be shut up in our tower for four months. The veterinarian determined that that would be a gross violation of the animal’s welfare, so we couldn’t subject them to that,” he told DR.
Jørgensen said officials haven’t yet decided whether they will attempt to repopulate the City Hall tower with a new flock of pigeons. To do so, the dead birds would first have to be removed and the entire tower would have to be disinfected.
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)
Three oil sands companies say scores of birds were killed after landing at their waste facilities in east-central Alberta, Canada, even though their avian deterrents were operational at the time.
