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
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
Armando, the most expensive pigeon in the world.
A Chinese buyer bid more than $1.4 million for a prized Belgian racing pigeon in an “unprecedented” sale, according to the auctioneer that organized the sale.
The pigeon, named Armando, is considered to be the best long-distance racing pigeon “of all time” according to PIPA, the website that organized the sale. The bird has been dubbed by some as the Lewis Hamilton of racing pigeons, in reference to the Formula One racing driver.
“This type of champion is rarely offered for sale,” the site said.
The price spike came in the final hours of bidding, as two Chinese fanciers kept one-upping each other. The price went from about $600,000 to $1.4 million in about an hour, PIPA said.
Jiangming Liu, who works for PIPA in China, said the company was expecting Armando to fetch a high price but “multiple times less” than what he actually got.
“We’re all surprised,” Liu said.
PIPA said Armando is the most expensive bird ever to be sold at auction by a huge margin. The next most expensive is believed to be a bird called Nadine, which fetched more than $450,000 at auction in 2017. The buyer was a Chinese fancier named Xing Wei, according to media reports at the time.
Joel Verschoot, the Belgian breeder who put Armando up for auction, sold a total of 178 pigeons at auction for more than $2.5 million, including 7 of Armando’s offspring. He also sold a bird named Contador, which fetched more than $225,000, per PIPA.
Pigeon racing has become increasingly popular in parts of China among the country’s elite and its middle class.
Sun Yan, the deputy general-secretary of Beijing Changing District Racing Pigeons Association, said at least 100,000 pigeon breeders live in Beijing, and almost 90,000 of them are registered with Racing Pigeons Associations in different levels, to qualify for the games held in the spring and autumn.
Competitions can be lucrative for bird owners, with some prizes amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. Liu said in recent years, pigeon racing has been surging in popularity across China.
“Now other people, like regular people, are joining too,” he said. “It will be bigger in the future.”
Liu attributes the industry’s growth and increasing professionalism to a number of factors. It is the only legal bidding race in mainland China, where most forms of gambling are outlawed, and the sport is becoming increasingly accessible.
“Everyone can do it. From regular people to some rich people. Regular people buy cheap pigeons. Rich people buy expensive pigeons.”
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 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 19, 2017 | Pigeon Spikes
Fifteen years ago, the center of London was densely populated — not just with people, but also with birds. Particularly pigeons.
Huge flocks of them would fill the capital’s parks and squares. But something has changed. The pigeons are gone. One reason for the pigeon decline can be seen in Trafalgar Square at 7 a.m. every weekday.
Not far from Big Ben, the square is the very center of the city. Even early in the day it bustles with commuters, tourists and school parties. But among all that activity there is a hunter on the loose. A silent killer. One who watches over every movement — from the National Gallery on the north side to Charing Cross Station on the south. Up close to him, you notice powerful shoulders, a penetrating gaze — and also a tendency to twist his head around to the back looking for prey.
That hunter’s name is Lemmy, and he is a Harris’s hawk.
Lemmy is employed by the Greater London Authority to ensure that places like Trafalgar Square remain free of pigeons, and therefore free of their waste. He works in a team: his handler, Paul Picknell, is employed by Hawkforce, one of London’s leading avian security firms.
Speaking to Picknell, there is no mistaking his love for his work buddy. “He’s a work colleague, he’s a friend. [But he is] essentially a wild animal. Never tame. In amongst all these people — he’ll totally ignore everybody apart from me,” he says. “It’s almost a telepathetic communication.”
Until the early 2000s, pigeons ruled Trafalgar Square and other open spaces in the center of London. You could buy food to feed them. Even Mary Poppins had a song advising Londoners to feed the birds.
Things changed in 2003, when the mayor of London declared war on the birds. So many pigeons produced a lot of … waste. And that’s not hygienic.
The pigeon feed stall was closed. If Mary Poppins tried to feed the birds now, she would be hit with a fine. But a humane and natural way to move the pigeons on was needed. And that’s where Picknell and Lemmy come in.
As Picknell is talking, Lemmy suddenly gags and vomits up a small oily lump of yellowish paste onto the sidewalk. Picknell is relieved. “Oh. That’s what we’re waiting for,” he says. “That’s the cast. It’s basically beaks, the feathers, the claws of the food he had yesterday that he can’t digest.”
He picks it up and rubs it carefully between his fingers for a diagnosis. It crumbles under his thumbnail. “That one’s quite normal looking. Nothing wrong with this bird. He’s ready to go now.”
Although Harris’s hawks do hunt birds like pigeons, the idea is not for Lemmy to kill while on duty. He is fed exclusively from a small plastic box of raw chicken scraps. Picknell takes a large handful and fills his pocket with these snacks at the start of every shift.
Instead, the idea is to use Lemmy’s presence to deter and intimidate pigeons. “It’s a visual thing. It’s a presence,” says Picknell. “The pigeons are aware there’s a bird of prey — there’s predator around, therefore they stay away.”
There’s an air of “The Sopranos” when Picknell describes the effect Lemmy’s presence has on pigeons. “I suppose he does intimidate them,” he says. “The big kid’s around. Keep yourself to yourself. Stay out the way.”
Unlike other forms of pest control, such as poisoning or shooting, the use of hawks is environmentally friendly and ultimately humane. It is also popular: Picknell and Limmy are constantly pestered for selfies. Some hawks like the attention more than others, Picknell says. Lemmy is not too keen on having his feathers ruffled.
There was some backlash at first — a renegade pro-pigeon activist group is still rumored to carry out vigilante bread distributions somewhere nearby — but the square today is much cleaner. And almost completely free of pigeons.
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 18, 2017 | Bird Deterrent Products
BEIJING (Reuters) – Guarding against avian flu, which has forced a mass cull of birds in China, pigeon fancier Wang Jincang paid out nearly $400 to get his 200 racing pigeons vaccinated and fortified for the onset of the spring racing season.
“I normally choose imported medicines, which are several times more expensive than some local brands,” Wang told Reuters as he lined up to enter birds for contests that begin this month.
The cost of vaccination is small change compared with how much pigeon enthusiasts can pay to buy prized breeds.
An egg can cost a few hundred dollars, while the price for a full-grown bird with a coveted bloodline can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In 2013, a Chinese businessman paid 310,000 euros (nearly $334,000) for a Belgian-bred racing pigeon, whereas local birds can be bought for less than $100.
Wang doesn’t want to say how much he has invested in his birds, though he spends almost $1,500 a month looking after their health, and describes his pastime as wagering time and money.
“Pigeon racing is essentially gambling. We are betting our time and fortune on the birds, similar to horse-betting,” Wang said.
Any form of gambling is banned in China, but pigeon races, which are flown over hundreds of kilometers, fall under the gray category of social sports.
China hosts more than 100,000 pigeon races annually, some of them organized by corporate-backed professional pigeon clubs like Huashunde, supported by Beijing Huashunde Power Engineering Ltd, and Hongjin Pigeon Club, backed by PetroChina Huabei Oil Field Co.
Prize money has been rising. A club in Beijing is set to award 70 million yuan (over $10 million) in total prize money at its autumn championship.
Ge, a 39-year-old pigeon owner in Fujian, has 80 pigeons. So far, they have helped him win 150,000 yuan (nearly $22,000).
“We aim for good scores and big rewards at contests,” said Ge. “Otherwise, why raise pigeons?”
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)
