by johnnymarin | Jan 9, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
Scottish Parliament bosses have been urged to rethink spending £80,000 on using birds of prey to scare away pigeons after their effectiveness was called into question.
Hawks and falcons are brought in regularly to fly over the Scottish Parliament building to deter pigeons from making it their home.
But MSPs say that the unwanted birds have gotten wise to the scheme and simply wait for them to be taken away by their handler before settling back on the roofs and ledges of the £414 million building.
The parliament has renewed its maintenance contract – which includes an £80,000 on the birds of prey – for another five years with a possible two-year extension.
It is believed that pigeon numbers are low as they are likely to go but the parliament believes the hawks and falcons are necessary to stop them increasing again.
Lothian Tory MSP Miles Briggs, a member of the cross-party animal welfare group at Holyrood, said it was time to reconsider spending so much money on the bird handler.
He said:”I don’t think they have looked at how effective it is actually being.
“For a lot of building users it has become a bit of a joke. The pigeons are sitting up on Arthur’s Seat waiting for him to go away.
“The pigeons seem to be quite bright. The effectiveness of him turning up now and again is questionable at least.”
The Holyrood building was plagued by pigeons even before it officially opened in 2004.
Muck and feathers were blown through vents onto researchers’ desks and some birds even got into MSPs’ offices.
The cross-party Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, which oversees the building, brought in birds of prey as a deterrent nine years ago.
Mr Briggs said: “When the MSP office block was first built there were so many nooks
and crannies it was like a massive pigeon loft, but that has all been netted off now.
“That probably had more effect displacing the pigeon population than the man
coming to fly his birds of prey.
Wallace the Harris Hawk at the Scottish Parliament.
“The corporate body needs to review this decision and whether it’s an effective use of taxpayers’ money to have the man coming with his birds of prey.
“The pigeons seem to have got wise to it.”
Monthly reports by the contractors to the Scottish Parliament claim between 50 and 65 per cent of pigeons are dispersed during their presence on site.
But the numbers seem to return to roughly the same level after they have gone.
A parliament spokesman said: “Like many buildings in Edinburgh, a small number of pigeons visit regularly.
“We are aware the problem can never be fully eradicated and we will continue with the current approach.”
The idea of trapping pigeons as a way of cutting the numbers has been ruled out.
Five of the contractors’ monthly reports – from January to May – recommended: “Trapping of birds can also be considered to further reduce numbers on site.”
But any reference to trapping was then dropped from later reports.
A parliament spokesman said: “We have no plans to use traps.”
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 johnnymarin | Jan 8, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
In Peru, the government is currently running a program that we might call the Internet of Garbage Vultures (IoGB), fitting GPS-enabled mobile GoPro cameras to vultures, so that these scavenging birds can be used in the fight to identify and eradicate illegal dumping of waste.
According to a report on ABC News Australia, “Ten trained vultures wearing purpose-designed vests have already started to monitor the city from above with the help of tracking technology as part of the Vultures Detect program, and have been carefully trained to return to their keepers.”
This trend is growing. The central north African country of Chad has developed a similar initiative and fitted dogs with IoT sensors to track down diseases and the United Kingdom has begun a program to use pigeons to monitor air pollution.
But you don’t just switch on collective intelligence overnight. Whether data comes from from humans or from IoT initiatives, engineering information streams so that they can be woven into the operational fabric of government is a big challenge.
In a January 2016 Nesta white paper, Governing with Collective Intelligence, authors Tom Saunders and Geoff Mulgan point out that adopting collective intelligence is not always easy. “Many governments resist openness and citizen input of any kind. Sometimes this is out of a sense that governments know best,” they write.”More often, it is because political organizations created many years ago lack the mechanisms to easily request, absorb, analyze and act upon ideas and information offered by citizens, external organizations [and other external sources].”
To overcome these challenges, the public sector needs a clear strategy to make use of the collective intelligence not just of citizens but also sensors, meters, devices – and, indeed, vultures dogs and 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 johnnymarin | Jan 7, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
Holyrood officials have been urged to think again about their decision to spend £80,000 on using birds of prey to scare pigeons away from the Scottish Parliament building over the next five years. Hawks and falcons are brought in regularly to fly over the parliament to deter pigeons from making it their home. But MSPs claim the pigeons have become wise to the practice and now simply wait for the birds of prey to leave with their handler before settling back on the roofs and ledges of the £414 million building. The parliament has renewed its maintenance contract – of which the birds of prey are now a part – for another five years with a possible two-year extension. Overall pigeon numbers are thought to have been reduced as far as they are likely to go, but the parliament believes the hawks and falcons are necessary to stop them increasing again. However, Lothian Tory MSP Miles Briggs, a member of the cross-party animal welfare group at Holyrood, said it was time for a rethink on spending so much money on a bird handler coming to Holyrood. “I don’t think they have looked at how effective it is actually being,” he said. “For a lot of building users it has become a bit of a joke. The pigeons are sitting up on Arthur’s Seat waiting for him to go away. The pigeons seem to be quite bright.” The Holyrood building was plagued by pigeons even before it officially opened in 2004. Muck and feathers were blown through vents on to researchers’ desks and some birds even got into MSPs’ offices. The cross-party Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, which oversees the building, brought in birds of prey as a deterrent nine years ago. Mr Briggs said: “When the MSP office block was first built there were so many nooks and crannies it was like a massive pigeon loft, but that has all been netted off now. “That probably had more effect displacing the pigeon population than the man coming to fly his birds of prey. “The corporate body needs to review this decision and whether it’s an effective use of taxpayers’ money.” Monthly reports by the contractors to the Scottish Parliament claim between 50 and 65 per cent of pigeons are dispersed during their presence on site. But the numbers seem to return to roughly the same level after they have gone. A parliament spokesman said: “We are aware the problem can never be fully eradicated and we will continue with the current approach.”
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 johnnymarin | Jan 6, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
An animal owner in Luzerne County is under investigation after several animals were left outside in frigid temperatures.
More than a dozen dogs and farm animals were left with no food or heat.
State police spent their New Year’s at a home near Wapwallopen investigating the incident where they found dogs kept outside with chickens, goats, and pigeons.
“Lacking shelter, two dogs to one small shelter with frozen water is just not sufficient,” said Mary Sult of the Animal Resource Center.
Troopers and Luzerne County SPCA came to the home on Cemetery Drive Sunday evening to confiscate the dogs and other animals. Pigeons and chickens are still there, left in the cold weather.
Neighbors alerted the Animal Resource Center near Bloomsburg about the conditions. Sult went to the home to provide food and that’s when the investigation started.
“I really have to toast them for the new year because they’re the ones who saved these animals,” said Sult.
The owner was not home at the time. Authorities brought the animals to a local shelter. Now, animal activists are warning others that might be doing the same thing.
“Bring your animals inside,” said Sult. “It does not take much and if you can’t bring them inside then don’t have them.”
Sult says no animal should be outside for more than 20 minutes when it’s 32 degrees or colder. That’s the new state “Libre’s Law,” which makes a conviction for such an offense a felony.
“They would have been in these temperatures for weeks and who knows if they would have survived,” said Sult.
Sult says if you can’t care for them, take them to your local shelter. It may cost a few bucks, but it might be cheaper than animal cruelty charges.
We are waiting on more information on whether charges will be filed.
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 johnnymarin | Jan 5, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
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.
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)
