by Pigeon Patrol | Aug 25, 2019 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Bird Spike, Bird Spikes, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
Pigeons are helping researchers gather data on climate change. (University of Birmingham/Cover Images)
Pigeons have become the latest recruits in helping researchers gather data on climate change.
Scientists at the University of Birmingham have developed a tiny set of sensors resembling a small backpack that can be strapped onto the back of homing pigeons. These little sensors help researchers collect data on urban microclimates, including fluctuations in temperature, humidity, and winds that can have major effects on living in major cities.
The pigeons themselves come from local volunteers that raise them and who agree to work with the scientists. Pigeons are helping researchers gather data on climate change.
Known for their abilities to return to their nest, homing pigeons have been used as far back as Ghengis Khan to carry messages across long distances. Using homing pigeons means that the researchers are sure to get their instruments back and can download the information before sending the birds on their way to collect more data.
The design of the backpack conceived to keep the safety and comfort of the birds in mind. Each weighs less than 3% of the pigeon’s body weight, which is the standard for bird tracking devices. Sensors in the backpacks help researchers collect data on urban microclimates (University of Birmingham/Cover Images)
‘If [the pigeon owners] are not happy with any aspect of putting the sensors on their back, then they don’t have to fly their birds,’ explains Rick Thomas, the research fellow who leads the study. The welfare of the birds is utterly paramount and, they’re not likely to cause the same issues as drones, explained Thomas.
The pigeons all come from local volunteer groups.![Pigeons have become the latest recruits in helping researchers gather data on climate change. Scientists at the University of Birmingham in the U.K. have developed a tiny set of sensors resembling a small backpack that can be strapped onto the back of pigeons. These little sensors help researchers collect data on urban microclimates ??? the fluctuations in temperature, humidity, and winds that can have major effects on living in major cities. So where do the pigeons come from? The group works with local volunteers who raise homing pigeons. Known for their abilities to return to their nest, homing pigeons have been used as far back as Ghengis Khan to carry messages across long distances. Using homing pigeons means that the researchers are sure to get their instruments back and can download the information before sending the birds on their way to collect more data. The design of the backpack conceived to keep the safety and comfort of the birds in mind. Each weighs less than 3 percent of the pigeon???s body weight, which is the standard for bird tracking devices. Thomas???s wife sewed each backpack, going through several versions until they found the perfect fit. ???If [the pigeon owners] are not happy with any aspect of putting the sensors on their back, then they don???t have to fly their birds,??? explains Rick Thomas, the research fellow who leads the study. ???The welfare of the birds is utterly paramount.??? Thomas also pointed out several good reasons to use birds rather than something like drone technology. For one, drones are not allowed to fly freely in any area, particularly after the trouble a drone caused at Gatwick airport in December. Secondly, different technology would not be as cost effective as what???s possible with the pigeons. Thus far, the group???s band of pigeons have logged over 620 miles with their backpacks over the course of 41 flights. The hopes are that the climate data can be used by scientists to help them predict how pollution](https://i2.wp.com/metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/SEI_58347563.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&zoom=1&resize=540%2C719&ssl=1)
Drones are not allowed to fly freely in any area, particularly after the trouble a drone caused at Gatwick airport in December. What’s more, drone technology would not be as cost effective as what’s possible with the pigeons.
Thus far, the group’s band of pigeons have logged over 620 miles with their backpacks over the course of 41 flights. Impressive!
Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2019/03/25/scientists-recruited-pigeons-help-stop-climate-change-9008203
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by Pigeon Patrol | Aug 25, 2019 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Bird Spike, Bird Spikes, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
Elisa Menendez – Wednesday 19 Jun 2019 9:56 PM
A woman has been fined £150 by her local council for feeding a piece of sausage roll to a pigeon. Sally-Ann Fricker fed the bird while shopping with her three children in Bath.
Her daughter, Toni Bradley, said they were approached ‘seconds later’ by an officer for littering, despite the pigeon flying away with the food.
Toni said: ‘If she’d chucked the wrapper down then that would have been fair enough, but this was absolutely ridiculous, we were very upset and very shocked.’
According to Bath and North East Somerset Council, those caught littering face a £150 fine, reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days.
Councillor Dave Wood, cabinet member for climate change and the environment, said the authority would review whether the fine was appropriate in this incident.
However, he added that there are notices on many streets asking the public not to feed pigeons as they are a ‘public nuisance’.
Daughter Toni was outraged at the fine, adding that her mum is a carer and the fine was worth more than her weekly earnings.
She said: ‘When I got home my three-year-old asked me to take down the bird feeder from the garden “because nanny got into trouble” for feeding them.’
Wood added that councils and their contractors should use ‘common sense’ with situations like Sally-Ann’s.
‘I have asked officers to urgently look into this matter and review the action taken with the contractor, to determine whether it was proportionate,’ he said.
He added: ‘As a general point, pigeons and gulls cause a public nuisance and are part of the problem the council has to manage when dealing with litter on the streets. ‘There are notices all over the city asking people not to feed birds.’
Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2019/06/19/mum-fined-150-feeding-sausage-roll-pigeon-10016074
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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.
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by Pigeon Patrol | Aug 23, 2019 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Bird Spike, Bird Spikes, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
CHENNAI: A number of pigeons are swarming the Chennai airport premises for the last three days. Authorities were forced to hire a nomadic community to shoo them away.
Efforts by the airport personnel to shoo them away have failed; as the birds come back again and again, giving anxious moments to the authorities.
Many birds were spotted around the runway today, authorities requisitioned the services of Narikorava community, who are well versed in shooing them away using traditional techniques.
The gypsies were on the job to shoo the birds away, and have been very successful.
As part of the State Safety Programme, preventing wildlife (bird/animal) strikes to aircraft was identified by Directorate General of Civil Aviation as one of the most important safety priorities.
Have a Pigeon Problem?
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 eight years in a row.
Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279, or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
by Pigeon Patrol | Aug 22, 2019 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Bird Spike, Bird Spikes, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
BHUBANESWAR: With the onslaught of social media and e-communication services, pigeongram may have become a thing of the past across the globe, but the Odisha Police continues to keep alive this unique practice.
The service was put to test yesterday when the Odisha Police, in association with the Bhubaneswar chapter of Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), flew 50 pigeons at OUAT Grounds here to deliver missives of heritage conservation to Cuttack, 25km away.
The ceremony was attended by people from all walks of life, including schoolchildren from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
Former DGP and state convener of INTACH, A B Tripathy, praised the police department for preserving the age-old tradition.
The determination of the men who run India’s only police pigeon service has “guaranteed the survival of a practice” that was prevalent in the Mughal era, he said.
SP (signal) BN Das said Odisha was the only state in India to use carrier pigeons to communicate among police stations.
The Odisha Pigeon Service started in 1946 when 200 pigeons were handed over to police personnel by the army on an experimental basis to communicate in areas with no wireless or telephone links, Das said.
The service was first pioneered in the mountainous Koraput district, and its success and reliability resulted in its introduction to almost all the districts of the state with over 700 sturdy Belgian Homer pigeons ferrying messages to assigned destinations.
For years, these dependable birds have been a vital link between remote police stations, where traditional communications failed, beating storms, disasters – and birds of prey, the SP (signal) said.
The messages, written on a piece of paper, were inserted into plastic capsule and tied to the feet of the Belgian Homer Pigeons, which can fly 25 km in just 15 to 25 minutes and live up to 20 years, he added.
The service, headquartered in Cuttack, was extensively used during floods and Super Cyclone in 1999, as radio networks were disrupted, said a senior police officer, adding that the pigeon service was also the only line of communication to the marooned town of Banki during the disastrous flood in 1982.
Ornithologist Panchami Manoo Ukil feels this practice needs to be preserved for the next generation to get an idea about the ancient traditions.
“Pigeon service is an art that dates back to the Mughal days. The birds delivered messages to the harems and battlefields. This unique tradition has historical significance and should be preserved,” he said.
Anil Dhir, a member of INTACH, said the heritage service has generated a lot of interest among the collector’s community.
“All the pigeons reached Cuttack within an hour,” he added.
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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.
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by Pigeon Patrol | Aug 21, 2019 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
Blinged out Bird!
A lot of us look at pigeons less than fondly – but clearly not all of us. A bird shelter in Arizona, USA, is looking for the owner of a pigeon found wearing a rhinestone-covered vest. The bird, now nicknamed ‘rhinestone bird’ and ‘Liberace’, was given to the Fallen Feathers rescue and rehabilitation facility for birds in Phoenix.
According to local reports, the pigeon was found by a woman in Glendale, wearing a blingy flight suit.
The woman said he wouldn’t fly away and she was afraid an animal would eat him, so she turned in the bedazzled bird to Judy Kieran – the founder of Fallen Feathers.
The bedazzled bird received instant online fame once Judy shared his picture on Facebook a week ago, in hopes of tracing his owner. Comments quickly flooded in, ranging from ‘fabulous’ to ‘fancy’ to ‘rhinestone birdy’.
“Looks like it’s maybe El Chapo’s pigeon with that fancy gold encrusted vest,” wrote one person in the comments section. “You have to name him Elvis!!!” joked another.
In fact, the lost bird received so much attention that Judy shared some better pictures later.
(We must say he’s a fabulous bird)
“Apparently he did belong to somebody, because he does keep going to cages and being as friendly as he is, he’s missing his home,” said Judy.
The search is still underway for Rhinestone Pigeon aka Liberace’s owner.
Have a Pigeon Problem?
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 eight years in a row.
Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279, or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
