by johnnymarin | Aug 22, 2017 | Bird Deterrent Products
As the Community Council members are on a summer break until September, our news this month is mainly ongoing issues but progress is happening!
The Pipe Band Championships at the end of July certainly brought another successful day to our town with the usual influx of visitors and the amazing talent from all ages in the pipe bands including some local young talent which is always an extra reason to experience the feel good factor.
Work on Dumbarton East Railway Station has finally been completed . The work started last year and was an on/off project for months when problems were experienced with the bridge crossing. However, the station has been resurfaced and new concrete slabs have been laid. We will see if the shelter builds up water or not when it rains.
Unfortunately, although the station has had a makeover, the area under the bridge is still a haven for the pigeons so the pigeon mess is still as disgusting within a day or two after being cleaned. No word has been heard on whether the Council has been able to obtain a stream of funding to address this problem but an effort is being made to obtain finance to deal with this. The wheels of time etc etc!!
If you are passing the new Council Offices, you will notice the progress being made and the building is certainly taking shape. The old Academy Building is getting the makeover which is bringing it back to life and when it is finished will be an asset to the town centre.
The next meeting of Dumbarton East & Central Community Council will be held on Tuesday 12 September 2017 in St Augustine’s Hall at 7pm. The AGM will be held that evening and members of the public are welcome to come along and meet their Community Councillors and if there any issues you wish to raise, this is the meeting to come to and make your views heard. If it is in our remit, we will be happy to take any issues up with the appropriate personnel. Also, we are always looking for news members – but that is certainly not obligatory.
Enjoy what is left of the summer. Could be an indian summer yet!
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 | Aug 21, 2017 | Pigeons in the News
Police have launched an investigation after the death of a peregrine falcon in a quarry at Ashburton. Officers believe the young bird had been poisoned, and issued a warning that the poison could also be deadly to humans.
There are also suspicions that rogue members of the pigeon racing fraternity could be to blame for the poisoning. A £1,000 reward has been put up in an effort to find the poisoners,
PC Josh Marshall, who is Devon and Cornwall Police’s Wildlife Crime Officer, posted an emotional Tweet after the falcon was discovered.
He wrote: “Look into the eyes of a juvenile Devon peregrine falcon moments before its death.”
Police were contacted by staff at Glendinning Quarry in Ashburton, on Tuesday following reports of an injured peregrine falcon on the floor of the quarry which is home to a breeding pair of the birds.
PC Marshall made sure the bird received immediate care, but it died the following day.
He said: “The initial inspection and condition of the bird strongly suggests that this bird had been poisoned. The bird has now been placed into the Wildlife Investigation scheme administered by Natural England where it will be forensically examined to establish the cause of death and a police investigation has now begun into the incident.
“Members of the public are warned that poisons commonly used to commit a crime like this are incredibly toxic to humans and pets. Should any person locate any dead or injured birds they are strongly advised not to touch them or let pets come into contact with them.
“Ingestion of these poisons can lead to death. It is incredibly concerning that individuals are using these types of chemicals within public areas that not only kill our wildlife but could also place members of the public, children and their animals into harm’s way.”
The area around Ashburton and Buckfastleigh is a hot spot for the poisoning of these birds of prey.
In 1992 two peregrines were found dead at White Cleaves, Buckfastleigh, having eaten a poisoned pigeon.
In 2000 a peregrine was poisoned at the Ashburton quarry.
In 2000 a sparrowhawk was shot near Buckfastleigh but survived.
In 2003 two men with a pigeon on a length of string were spotted trying to lure peregrines at Buckfastleigh.
In 2005 a live racing pigeon with clipped wings was coated in poison and used as bait. Peregrine chicks were rescued but adults were missing, presumed dead.
In 2005 a dead peregrine was found on a dead pigeon which had been baited with poison and had its wings clipped.
In 2011 a peregrine was poisoned at a Buckfastleigh quarry.
PC Marshall added: “As can been seen from this data, the use of illegal banned poisons are evident and put the public at significant risk. In the 2005 incident, a number of children could have been harmed or potentially worse when the poisoned bait (a racing pigeon) was located wandering around near to a childminder’s address.
“Significantly racing pigeons have been used as the bait for a number incidents both here and nationally and the answer to solving and preventing these poisonings could lie somewhere within a rogue minority of the racing pigeon community.
“Peregrine falcons do not differentiate between prey items such as wild pigeons and racing pigeons, and this obviously causes conflict with some prize racing pigeons being taken by these birds of prey.
“Generally the method used will be to smear the bait with a Vaseline type substance containing the poison on to either a live or dead bird. When the peregrine plucks and eats the bait item the poison is then ingested and kills the bird. The bird then endures an excruciating few hours whilst waiting to die.
“South West Peregrines, a volunteer group who monitor these birds and others within the South West, have described the incident as ‘abhorrent’.
“We are urging members of the local community to come forward with any information they may have that can assist in bringing these offenders to justice.”
Information is handled in the strictest of confidence and can be passed directly to PC Marshall at Joshua.marshall2@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk or by email 101@dc.police.uk or calling 101 quoting log number 0223 180817.
Information can be passed anonymously to Crimestoppers via 0800 555111 or the charity’s website at www.crimestoppers-uk.org
Tony Whitehead, speaking for RSPB in the South West said: “Peregrines are magnificent and much-loved birds, whose comeback over the past twenty years is a conservation success. However, once again, it appears the peregrines at this site have been deliberately targeted and, it is suspected, poisoned.
“Should this prove to be the case, this is outrageous and the criminals must be brought to justice. We are also concerned that, should this again prove to be a poisoning, someone is wantonly placing toxic chemicals in the countryside which can be a danger to both humans and pets.
“Someone in the local community must have information about who’s doing this and we urge people to come forward and contact the police. A £1,000 reward has been offered by the RSPB for information that directly leads to the prosecution of the offender.”
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 | Aug 20, 2017 | Bird Netting
There are many ways to offer tips about crimes to Smiths Falls and District Crime Stoppers – social media is not one of them.
In a press release, Crime Stoppers say they appreciate all the help and support from the community especially when the tips help solve crimes.
“So far, 2017 has been a stellar year both in terms of volume/quantity of tips that have been received and the financial support that the community has provided in order to pay our rewards,” the release states.
To remain safe and anonymous, they recommend three ways to provide tips and information:
* Phone: 1-800-222-TIPS (8477);
* Online: https://www.tipssubmit.com; and,
* Text Message: text to CRIMES (274637); in the message field, type “tip252”.
Some of the tips Crime Stoppers has received in 2017 have arrived in some unusual forms, they said, and they want to stress how potentially unsafe this may be to our tipsters.
Here are a few examples of tip methods that should never be used:
* Carrier Pigeon;
* Mail;
* Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.);
* In Person;
* Anything other than the three methods previously mentioned by Crime Stoppers.
This reminder is being provided so that Crime Stoppers can continue to make sure that our tipsters always remain anonymous. Anonymity keeps tipsters safe.
“Crime does not pay, but Crime Stoppers does,” is their motto.
Did you know that Crime Stoppers does not receive government funding from any level? It relies on funds raised by the board members of each individual program and on donations provided by the public.
Crime Stoppers does make a difference in our community.
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 | Aug 19, 2017 | Pigeons in the News
Birds have an impressive ability to navigate. They can fly long distances, to places that they may never have visited before, sometimes returning home after months away.
Though there has been a lot of research in this area, scientists are still trying to understand exactly how they manage to find their intended destinations.
Much of the research has focused on homing pigeons, which are famous for their ability to return to their lofts after long distance displacements. Evidence suggests that pigeons use a combination of olfactory cues to locate their position, and then the sun as a compass to head in the right direction.
We call this “map and compass navigation”, as it mirrors human orienteering strategies: we locate our position on a map, then use a compass to head in the right direction.
But pigeons navigate over relatively short distances, in the region of tens to hundreds of kilometres. Migratory birds, on the other hand, face a much bigger challenge. Every year, billions of small songbirds travel thousands of kilometres between their breeding areas in Europe and winter refuges in Africa.
This journey is one of the most dangerous things the birds will do, and if they cannot pinpoint the right habitat, they will not survive. We know from displacement experiments that these birds can also correct their path from places they have never been to, sometimes from across continents, such as in a study on white crowned sparrows in the US.
Over these vast distances, the cues that pigeons use may not work for migrating birds, and so scientists think they may require a more global mapping mechanism.
Navigation and location
To locate our position, we humans calculate latitude and longitude, that is our positon on the north-south and east-west axes of the earth. Human navigators have been able to calculate latitude from the height of the sun at midday for millennia, but it took us much longer to work out how to calculate longitude.
Eventually it was solved by having a highly accurate clock that could be used to tell the difference between local sunrise time and Greenwich meantime. Initially, scientists thought birds might use a similar mechanism, but so far no evidence suggests that shifting a migratory bird’s body clock effects its navigation ability.
There is another possibility, however, which has been proposed for some time, but never tested – until now.
The earth’s magnetic pole and the geographical north pole (true north) are not in the same place. This means that when using a magnetic compass, there is some angular difference between magnetic and true north, which varies depending on where you are on the earth. In Europe, this difference, known as declination, is consistent on an east west axis, and so can possibly be a clue to longitude.
To find out whether declination is used by migrating birds, we tested the orientation of migratory reed warblers. Migrating birds that are kept in a cage will show increased activity, and they tend to hop in the direction they migrate. We used this technique to measure their orientation after we had changed the declination of the magnetic field by eight degrees.
First, the birds were tested at the Courish spit in Russia, but the changed declination – in combination with unchanged magnetic intensity – indicated a location near Aberdeen in Scotland. All other cues were available and still told them they were in Russia.
If the birds were simply responding to the change in declination – like a magnetic compass would – they would have only shifted eight degrees. But we saw a dramatic reorientation: instead of facing their normal south-west, they turned to face south-east.
This was not consistent with a magnetic compass response, but was consistent with the birds thinking they had been displaced to Scotland, and correcting to return to their normal path. That is to say they were hopping towards the start of their migratory path as if they were near Aberdeen, not in Russia.
This means that it seems that declination is a cue to longitudinal position in these birds.
There are still some questions that need answering, however. We still don’t know for certain how birds detect the magnetic field, for example. And while declination varies consistently in Europe and the US, if you go east, it does not give such a clear picture of where the bird is, with many values potentially indicating more than one location.
There is definitely still more to learn about how birds navigate, but our findings could open up a whole new world of research.
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 | Aug 18, 2017 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
Roosting birds of prey at a Taunton landmark have been given a leg – er, talon – up on the housing ladder thanks to public funds.
Taunton Deane Borough Council is planning to contribute £3,500 towards the £7,000 cost of setting up a nest box for peregrine falcons that have set up home at St Mary Magdalene Church tower and a webcam so people can keep a close eye on them.
The peregrine falcons have become a real talking point in town and they have an extra benefit in scaring away pesky pigeons and gulls.
The grant is one of several recently approved by the Taunton Unparished Area Committee that allocates money collected by the council for Taunton-specific, community focused groups and projects.
Councillor Jane Warmington, executive member for community leadership, said: “The falcons have become an attraction in their own right and, if they return as expected to St Mary’s, they would have somewhere to nest and rear young.
“The webcam will give people a chance to watch these beautiful birds without disturbing them. Of course, there is the practical point that the falcons will help control pigeons and gulls that can be a nuisance.”
The agreed funding will be released once the balance has been raised by the Church.
Other grants approved – subject to the call-in process – are:
- £919.96 to replace four existing litter bins on Mount Walk, Taunton with bins with fixed lids – to prevent litter being removed from the bins and spread into the surrounding area, including Stockwell Stream, by gulls and crows looking for food.
- £784 for a plaque commemorating the visit by the composer Franz Liszt to Taunton in 1840. While in the town he performed at the Assembly Rooms in The Market House as part of his European Tour. The plaque would be sited on The Market House alongside the one commemorating the Monmouth Rebellion.
- A contribution of £5,785 towards the overall cost of £15,381 to provide a range of adult, outdoor gym equipment to be sited on the Hawthorn Play Area off Rowan Drive, Taunton. The main part of the funding will be derived from a money in the Community Leisure budget which resulted from the development in Normandy Drive, Taunton.
- £700 to buy a replacement building ‘Poppy’ for positioning on The Market House in the centre of Taunton in the weeks before Remembrance Sunday.
- A further grant of £175 to pave a route around the newly completed toilet block at Galmington Allotments to serve an emergency fire escape door which is to be made in the fence dividing the allotment site and the adjoining Trident Centre Play Group.
- To meet 50 per cent of the £5,000 cost of enabling 12 young people from the Taunton Academy to participate in a ‘Phoenix’ course to be run by the Devon and Somerset Fire Rescue Service. The course will provide a unique opportunity for the young people who are at risk of being excluded from school and/or involved in anti-social behaviour to work with the Fire Service and take part in a variety of physical and mental challenges that will help develop life-long skills.
- A contribution of £500 to the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society towards the £1,800 printing costs of a book on the life of Sir Benjamin Hammet.
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)
