by Ryan Ponto | May 9, 2017 | Bird Netting
It’s quite a tale.
Actually, it’s quite a tail.
When Bill Robertson went out to his garage on Lewis Drive near Jacksonville last week, he was surprised to find a pigeon wandering around inside. Thinking the bird was simply avoiding the rain, Bill and wife Colleen found it interesting that the bird didn’t appear to be scared in anyway. In fact, it was right down friendly.
“It showed up on Tuesday afternoon,” Bill said. “I was out in the garage and I was working on my tractor, and I see this pigeon walking from the back of the garage. I just opened up the garage door, and it just came walking up towards the front of the door. I thought maybe I’d trapped him in there from the night before.”
Bill said that the bird was in no big hurry to get away, so Bill thought maybe the pigeon was hurt. Getting closer to the open garage door, the pigeon flew off, going about 30 feet and landing on the Robertson’s house roof.
“The next thing I know, he comes flying back down to the driveway and comes walking back into the garage,” Bill said. “Then, that’s when I noticed the bands on his legs.”
The pigeon had two bands, one on each leg. A bluish-gray band that had no writing on it; and a green band that contained some letters and numbers that appeared to identify it.
“He just hung around there for the rest of the day,” Bill said. “We had the garage door open, and he would just walk in and walk out. He wasn’t acting like he was sick or injured, so I didn’t think anymore about it.”
Bill went off to do his mowing, and that’s when Colleen came home. She also spotted the pigeon near the garage.
Later that night, the couple went into the garage, and the pigeon was still there. He had found a small room in the corner of the garage that Bill figured reminded the bird of its coop.
“We finally got the number off of the green band on his leg, and we looked it up on the Internet,” Bill said. “We found out that it was a racing pigeon, and that it was the American Racing Pigeon Union, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
That’s approximately 830 miles from Switzerland County.
But wait – there’s more.
“The band had JEDDS on it, which is apparently a supplier in California of feed and everything for that particular niche,” Colleen said. “So he gave me their number and I contacted them, and they called me back and gave me the owner’s phone number.”
The band also told the couple that the pigeon is four years old, along with other information used in identification.
“We gave them the number of the band, and he got back with us and said that owner was in California,” Bill laughed. “I went ‘whoa’. He lives in Downey, California, which is just west of Los Angeles. So my wife called the gentleman out in California and spoke to him, and he said that he had noticed the bird was missing.”
That’s when Colleen told the owner just where his racing pigeon was currently located.
“He was really nice,” Colleen said of the owner. I explained who I was and I told him that I had one of his birds, and how I got the phone number and stuff. He said, ‘Where are you?’ I said, ‘I’m in Southeastern Indiana, near the Ohio River’.”
Going further, Colleen explained that they lived near Vevay, a small town they were sure the owner hadn’t heard of, but the California resident was still very confused about just where his bird was.
“I said, ‘I’m near Cincinnati, just west of Cincinnati’,” Colleen continued. “And he said, ‘Ohio? Cincinnati, Ohio?’ I said ‘I think you’re bird took a wrong turn some place’.”
Downey, California is 2,154 miles from Switzerland County, if you take the fastest route. If you take a plane, it will take four hours and 40 minutes to fly there.
No one is sure how long it took the pigeon.
Once the owner came to the realization just how far away his bird was, he decided that perhaps his pigeon now had a new home.
“He said, ‘I don’t know what happened there’,” Bill said. “But he said it was too far for him to come and get him. He told us that they make good pets, but if we didn’t want him, the guy asked us to make sure that the bird went to a good home.”
So how does a racing pigeon get from Downey, California to Switzerland County?
Tail wind?
“We had two pretty windy days right prior to that, and that day was pretty windy,” Bill laughed. “I figured that he must have gotten up in the jet stream or something!”
Bill said that the officials in Oklahoma City were skeptical that a pigeon could travel that far; and the Robertsons also contacted a racing pigeon organization in Hamilton, Ohio, who were also skeptical about the distance. Both theorized that the bird had been sold to another pigeon enthusiast closer to Indiana; but the California owner made no mention of ever selling or trading his birds, which is common among pigeon owners.
Both organizations told the Robertsons to keep the pigeon around for a couple of days and feed it some seeds and let it rest for a couple of days, and decided that perhaps the bird was waiting out the extremely rainy conditions (pigeons won’t fly in the rain, because the water weighs down their feathers, making it nearly impossible to fly, so the theory was that it was waiting on nicer weather). They told the couple once the weather was nicer, to open the garage door and see if it would leave on its own. If it didn’t, then the group in Hamilton would take the bird.
By Friday, the pigeon was still hanging around, with no apparent motivation to leave.
“The folks in Hamilton said that when you get these birds, you get them used to their ‘home’, and then you take them a short distance away and they’ll fly home, and then over time you just keep taking them further and further away,” Bill said. “I guess it’s possible that he thinks this is his home now.”
From California to Switzerland County – quite a race.
Quite a tail.
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 | May 8, 2017 | Bird Netting
A photo was tweeted by Michelle Davey, #Vancouver Police Superintendent, last week. It depicted a heap of used hypodermic syringes and three pigeon eggs, nestled in a filthy sink. Davey captioned the image to say this was a symbol of the opioid crisis. While she added the hashtag #notstaged, many people doubt the nest is, in fact, the real deal.
Vancouver Police Sergeant Randy Fincham told CKNW the image had been snapped by a homeless outreach coordinator who used to work for the department. Fincham said the person found the “pigeon’s nest” in a room in an empty single-occupant housing unit. Fincham said the reason for Davey sharing the image was to raise awareness about the problem of drug use in Vancouver.
He also said it was shared to start people talking about the work of first responders in the city and the urgent need for treatment options for substance abusers.
The image is genuine according to Vancouver Police
Fincham told the Huffington Post in an email that the photo is genuine. He added there were pigeons inside the room when police officers arrived in the vacant area and the birds reportedly flew out the window when disturbed.
Wild Bird Fund says the nest is unlikely
The Huffington Post spoke to the director of the Wild Bird Fund, Rita McMahon, who said it could be real, but she doesn’t think it is.
McMahon noted that for one thing, pigeons normally only lay two eggs, whereas the photo depicts three. She also said pigeons do collect unusual objects when creating their nests but she would expect to see other items in there, not just the hypodermic syringes. While the sink is filthy, McMahon said there didn’t appear to be any pigeon droppings in the image, which is unusual.
National Audubon Society believe the nest might be real
However, spokesman for the National Audubon Society thought it might be genuine. The spokesman said they couldn’t be 100 percent sure, but they do resemble pigeon eggs and according to the spokesman, pigeons will pick pretty much anywhere to make their nests. Saying they often use a pile of sticks to make their nest, the spokesperson said it is possible the female pigeon used a bunch of hypodermic syringes instead and that the abandoned sink was the ideal place to make a nest. Reportedly the Audubon Society is investigating to find out if the photo is the real deal, or just a hoax to promote the cause. #opioid crisis #WeirdWorldNews
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 | May 7, 2017 | Bird Netting
RSPCA called to rescue a PINK pigeon from a car wash in Lancashire.
Staff at a car wash in Lower Hollin Bank Street, in Blackburn, contacted the animal welfare charity on Wednesday morning (10 May) after spotting the unusual coloured bird.
RSPCA inspector Nina Small, who went to collect the pigeon, said:
“I’ve never seen anything like it in 15 years of this job.
“He was covered in a pink, greasy paint-like substance from head to tail with only his eyes clear. And he was in a car wash of all places – perhaps he was trying to clean himself off!?
“After a wash, his feathers were still stained pink (pictured below). The amount of paint coming off his body was astonishing.
“We can’t be sure whether the bird had been deliberately covered in paint or whether he’d fallen in something.
“If someone has intentionally painted the pigeon’s feathers then I’d be very concerned for other birds and animals in the area. This is a cruel and unnecessary thing to do to an animal and could cause health problems, impair his ability to fly and make him more vulnerable to predators.”
Dye and paints can be toxic to birds and animals, and they would be likely to try to clean any such substance from their coat or feathers which could result in them swallowing it.
“Luckily this pigeon wasn’t injured and we’re hopeful that we’ll be able to clean all of the paint off of his feathers and get him back to good condition so he can be released back into the wild where he belongs. I just hope his feathers haven’t been permanently damaged and that his flight won’t be affected, which could mean he will need to stay in care much longer before being released”.
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 | May 6, 2017 | Bird Netting
Residents of a Devon town have criticised a supermarket and pest control company after a pair of pigeons died after allegedly being trapped in nets for more than a week.
Ilfracombe resident Lynda Godliman said she was ‘absolutely furious’ about the way in which the animals died at the town’s branch of Tesco on the Old Barnstaple Road.
Lynda shared this picture of the dead pigeons to local Facebook group Gossip Around Ilfracombe, saying: “Two pigeons trapped behind the netting for over a week at Tesco, apparently Rentokil was supposed to be releasing them, bit late now their dead, obviously died because of lack of food and water, shocking.”
Her anger was shared by many other members of the group, who left comments such as:
“Horrible way to die, poor pigeons.”
“No excuse for causing suffering – they might be rats with wings and vermin, but any kind of pest control has to be humane.”
“I’m disgusted with the whole scenario and will be talking to the manager.”
The Tesco store in Ilfracombe
Diana Lewis, founder of the North Devon Animal Ambulance charity, said told DevonLive she had received several complaints about the matter.
She said: “I have spoken to Tesco today and they have assured me that it won’t happen again. I believe the contractor they employ have to come from far away to carry out this work.
“I have told Tesco that if they discover birds that have become trapped, I will always come rapidly and get it sorted.”
Diana Lewis of North Devon Animal Ambulance
Diana said there is netting all over buildings and businesses in North Devon which is designed to birds like seagulls and pigeons nesting.
She said: “Almost all of it has been installed by professionals and is generally effective. It is one of the least offensive methods of control.
“However sometimes it breaks and birds can get in but not out, which often leads to a very slow and miserable death. When it is installed by amateurs it can be very cruel and unpleasant for the birds.”
Diana added: “In fairness to Tesco, I usually have a very quick response from them and all their local stores frequently contact me about lost dogs and cats or injured birds. It is unusual for them not to respond fast on animal welfare issues.”
A Tesco spokesman said: “We have installed netting beneath the store canopy at our Ilfracombe Superstore in the interests of customer health and safety.
“Unfortunately two pigeons became trapped in the netting and we called our contractor to release the birds. We apologise for any distress to customers.”
DevonLive contacted the pest control company but no one was available for comment.
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 | May 5, 2017 | Bird Netting
Logan Dean gently cradled a pigeon named Pablo in his hands.
He stood inside the backyard loft where Logan and his dad, Scott, feed, water and care for dozens of racing homers — pigeons bred and trained to use their instinctive ability to fly long distances and find their way back home.
Scott guided a half dozen of the birds to a platform aside the loft, while a few pigeons fluttered their wings and moved from one perch to another. May sunshine beamed through screened windows, lighting the shelter.
“It’s so addicting,” Scott said of the hobby. “The birds are so calming and peaceful. Sometimes we’ll even bring lawn chairs out here and just sit and talk and watch the birds.”
And occasionally Pablo, 15-year-old Logan’s favorite, sits on the teenager’s shoulder in the Deans’ living room, watching TV with the family.
Logan and Scott are among 20 members of the Crossroads Racing Pigeon Club, which has roots dating to the 1950s. The homing ability of pigeons can be traced back 5,000 years, according to the American Racing Pigeon Union. The father-son Dean duo just got started last year, and Logan’s glad they did.
“I love being able to do this with my dad and come out here and be able to do this with the birds,” Logan said. “They just fascinate me.”
The Crossroads ranges from firefighters, such as Scott, to a retired delivery driver, doctor, restaurant manager, teachers and other vocations. Some care for 30 pigeons, while others maintain as many as 500.
The members’ ages run from 94 to 15, said Ron Deisher, club president. They come from as far north as Montezuma to Bruceville in southern Indiana, from eastern Illinois to the outskirts of Indianapolis.
They raise and train racing homers to fly back to the birds’ home lofts, where they know to find food, safety, shelter and daily attention. It’s a gradual process. Scott and Logan keep a couple dozen breeding pigeons, and their eggs hatch in about 18 days. When the racing homers hit five weeks old, they’ll start flying. Those flights begin with a simple release at the home loft, letting them fly and return. Soon, the Deans drive the birds to a spot 10 miles away, and release them to fly back home. Eventually, the pigeons can find their way home from distances of hundreds of miles, often from release points designated along Interstate 70, Scott explained.
Some perils exist. Hawks and falcons prey on racing homers occasionally, Deisher said. Also, hunters sometimes mistake pigeons for doves and shoot them. Some are killed by hitting utility power lines. The vast majority, Deisher emphasized, safely reach their destination, motivated by the desire for the food, water and comfort of their home lofts.
A natural GPS, of sorts, enables homing pigeons to navigate even confusing territory and return home, according to a report in ZME Science this spring. The story cited two curious findings. First, the U.S. Geological Survey concluded that pigeons use low-frequency waves emitted by the earth to map their path. Second, the creatures also may be able to relay knowledge among each other, Oxford University scientists said, an ability previously thought to be limited to humans and primates.
Return is ‘exciting part’
Pigeons in the Crossroads club are putting that uncanny knack to use right now. The group’s spring racing season, for older pigeons (those born before this year), is under way and continues into June. Its fall season runs from August to October and features the young racers, all born in 2017. Members drive their pigeons to a race starting point on a Friday evening, leave them with organizers overnight and drive home. Officials release the birds at sunrise and alert the competing members by email.
Each member awaits the birds’ arrivals to their home lofts, where an electronic timer records the pigeons’ identities and flight time and speed. (Some fly longer or shorter distances, depending on the owner’s home location.) Those times and speeds are relayed to the organizers, who calculate the order of finish and prize money, and all of the club’s $100-per-bird race entry fees go toward those prizes, said Walt Williams, a longtime member.
Racing homers’ flight speed averages about 45 mph, so a club member may wait more than two hours for a pigeon to return from a 100-mile race.
“That’s the exciting part,” Scott Dean said, grinning.
Pigeons fly home from incredible distances, said Deisher, a 58-year-old former college instructor and insurance businessman from Darwin, Illinois, who now raises and sells the birds for a living. He’s released his own racing homers at Kansas City, Missouri, and added, “You can’t drive on the interstate and beat ‘em home.”
“These birds are athletes,” Deisher said, “and you treat them just like that.”
Along with food and water, racing homers typically get vitamins, minerals and any needed medications, Scott Dean said. Tending to them requires time. As a firefighter who often works 24-hour shifts, Scott is grateful to have his son’s active partnership. “He does as much with them as I do,” Scott said.
Youth involvement crucial
The involvement of young people in the sport matters to both the Crossroads club and the national organization. The American Racing Pigeon Union hired Karen Clifton, whose background was in marketing, to target growth in youth participation, she said by telephone from the group’s base in Oklahoma City. Its overall membership grew from 7,100 in 1999 to just under 10,000 this year, but junior membership has tripled.
That increase “is a good thing, because you want to get young people involved to perpetuate it,” Clifton said.
Williams began the hobby as an 8-year-old. Ed Chambers, a teacher in his hometown of Hymera, started a club in 1958 for kids to raise and show pigeons at county fairs. By the early 1960s, that group — the Sycamore Haven 4-H Pigeon Club — included adults and continued until 1996. The following year, the West Central Indiana Racing Pigeon Club formed, evolving in 2006 into the Crossroads club, which keeps a “working man’s” affordability, Williams said, by spreading prize money to several places in the finish order.
Williams’ interest hasn’t wavered since boyhood. Now 68, he lives south of Fairbanks in rural Sullivan County.
“I just enjoy it,” Williams said. “The birds are relaxing and a lot of fun. And, there’s a sense of accomplishment when a bird that you raised comes back in at the end of a 300-mile race.”
Americans’ fascination with homing pigeons rose after their heralded exploits in World War I and World War II. Allied forces used the birds to deliver vital messages in dangerous zones where radio communications were either disabled or too risky, according to American Racing Pigeon Union archives. They crossed seas and endured harsh weather, yet “provided the balance between victory and defeat” in some situations.
“They delivered,” Clifton said.
Today, local and regional clubs do presentations to church, scouting, farm and service to help spread the racing and homing pigeons’ popularity, Clifton said. While most pigeon fanciers live in California and Texas, the Midwest makes up nearly half of the national organization’s membership.
Here in western Indiana, Scott Dean is happy with the niche he and Logan found in the sport. “A lot of people don’t realize how much fun these birds are,” Scott said inside his loft, surrounded by cooing pigeons. “I’ve had a lot of hobbies over the years, and this one, by far, I enjoy the most.”
Williams discovered that joy long ago. While he likes the racing, sometimes he’s happy to just observe the birds.
“I like to sit on the porch,” he said, “and watch.”
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)
