Pigeons take aim at Etobicoke sidewalk — and people — with wet bombs

People walking through an underpass on The Queensway should keep their heads up and hats on, to avoid a wet and smelly surprise.

If their gaze is not fixed upward, they could be victimized by pigeons that are bombarding the north sidewalk from the rafters of the South Kingsway overpass.

Pigeons love to find a covered area where they can roost, which makes the support beams running along the underside of overpasses a prime location to set up shop.

Once they’re domiciled, the birds are not bashful about where they do their doo-doo. It’s no skin off their beaks if the sidewalk below is slathered with droppings, along with hapless pedestrians.

A time-tested solution is to put up screens on the bottom of overpasses. It works until the crafty pigeons find a way to sneak in under the screens and foil the best laid plans of mice and men.

Stan Pietlock emailed to say he walks in the area where the South Kingsway passes over The Queensway and is appalled by the bird droppings along the sidewalk on the north side of the underpass.

“The amount of pigeon excrement mixed with feathers is unhealthy, especially with toddlers riding in strollers close to the ground,” he said, adding it’s also “an example of poor sidewalk maintenance.

“One is literally forced to walk on the curb to keep one’s shoes out of the mess.”

We went there and watched as pedestrians veered around bird droppings and feathers coating the north sidewalk, a sign that pigeons still rule the roost.

And no wonder. We spotted pigeons perched above screens that had large holes in them, allowing easy access to a no-bird-trespassing area.