by johnnymarin | Apr 11, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
HAIFA, Israel (Press Release) — Pigeons played an important role in turning the Byzantine Negev into a flourishing region 1,500 years ago. This is the conclusion of a new study held at the Institute of Archeology at the University of Haifa that was published Monday in the prestigious journal PlosOne. The study, which concentrated on the ancient settlement of Shivta and Saadon, found archaeological evidence showing that the Byzantines in the Negev raised pigeons not as a source of food, but in order to fertilize the loess soil and enhance its suitability for intensive agriculture. “Pigeon droppings are rich in phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen, which are vital for agricultural and are lacking in the loess soils of the Negev,” the researchers explained. “The pigeon bones we found are much smaller than those of pigeons bred for the meat industry. Together with the nesting materials we found in the compartments and their location in the middle of agricultural fields, the findings show that the pigeons were raised without significant intervention. The role of humans was mainly confined to providing protection for the birds.”
In recent years, extensive research has been undertaken in the Byzantine settlements of the Negev, led by Prof. Guy Bar-Oz of the University of Haifa. Among other goals, the researchers are interested in understanding how the Byzantines managed to maintain a broad-based agricultural system in the desert 1,500 years ago, and what led to the sudden abandonment and eventual collapse of these flourishing communities. In a study published several months ago, the research group presented important archaeological evidence to the magnitude of agriculture in the Negev in this period, based on the bones of a rodent called Tristram’s jird, which lives only in wetter environments and is not found in desert areas. The current study, led by Dr. Nimrod Marom of the University of Haifa and Tel Hai College, in cooperation with Prof. Bar-Oz and Dr. Yotam Tepper of the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa and Dr. Baruch Rosen of the Volcani Center, focused on the study of the bones of pigeons from the compartments discovered in agricultural areas close to the Byzantine settlements.
The researchers explain that pigeon droppings are a well-known source of important minerals for agriculture, such as phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen. Until recently, pigeons were used in many parts of the world to improve and fertilize soil. However, over the centuries pigeons have also been raised for other purposes, particularly for their meat. In order to determine the purpose of pigeon raising in the Negev, the researchers examined the bones found in the compartments, as well as the chemical composition of their droppings.
The large quantity of bones found in the excavations enabled the researchers to determine the average wingspan, body structure, and skull pattern of the pigeons from the Byzantine period. These were compared with data for various species of pigeons in the modern era. The comparative analysis was based in part of a comparison between the pigeons from the Negev and the pigeons collected and investigated by Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution. The bones of Darwin’s pigeons are today housed at the British National Museum. The most important finding reached by the researchers was that the pigeons from the Byzantine period were small, muscular, and “athletic,” and did not differ in their dimensions from wild pigeons. According to Dr. Marom, the smaller body size is not only clear evidence that they offered less meat. The smaller the birds, the more rapid their metabolism. To put it simply: smaller doves produce more droppings relative to the quantity of food they consume.
The chemical tests conducted at the laboratory showed that the droppings are indeed rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. “Together with this fact, the location of the pigeon compartments in an agricultural area remote from the settlements reinforces the hypothesis that the pigeons were raised in the compartments in order to produce high-quality fertilizer that accumulated on the floor of the compartments and was used to fertilize the fruit trees and vines in the vineyards and orchards. We also exposed rich botanical findings in the compartments themselves, including grape seeds, olives, peaches, and various kinds of wild plants – all remnants of the food eaten by the pigeons – as well as a large quantity of remnants of branches. All these findings provide further evidence that the Negev during the Byzantine period was green and flourishing,” the researchers concluded.
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 | Apr 10, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
When Colin Hill was eight years old, a friend gave him a pigeon. ‘I brought it home and put it in the aviary with Mum’s budgies, but when my father came home he let it out and it flew straight back to my friend,’ he recalls.
‘When I appeared with it a second time, my father relented and built me a little pigeon loft at the bottom of the garden.’
It wasn’t long before Mr Hill acquired more birds and the obsession he calls ‘the pigeon bug’ bit harder when he realised it was possible to race the birds.
In the past, Mr Hill has owned up to 80 pigeons, but he currently has 28 – it takes roughly three hours a day to clean them out and exercise them.
‘I set up a deckchair in the garden and wait for them to come back. That’s the most exciting part, seeing them arrive and thinking of the distances they’ve covered,’ says Mr Hill, who’s raced pigeons from as far as Thurso on the north coast of Scotland and Pau in southern France.
Having recently been instrumental in setting up the ‘Pigeons at War’ exhibition, currently on display at Bletchley Park, Mr Hill points out that ‘not many people know that messenger pigeons saved hundreds of lives in the Second World War and 32 were awarded Dickin medals for gallantry’.
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 | Apr 9, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
The kalyani (pond) in Sankey Tank has turned into city’s own Trafalgar Square, with hundreds of pigeons flocking the place everyday. While it looks picturesque, especially when the birds take wing together, some regular walkers are apprehensive about their presence. For, they ask, where are the other birds? Have the pigeons driven them away?
What has attracted the birds to the tank in such large numbers is the kindness of a few people who every morning and evening feed them without fail. But the pigeons are loved by some and considered a menace by others.
“A few people bring a sack of foodgrain and feed the pigeons near the pond. Sometimes, it is difficult to walk through the place as it is full of bird droppings. Encouraging the practice, a vendor sells pigeon food to those interested in feeding the birds,” said Priya R. (name changed on request), a regular walker.
Pigeon feeding is largely a religious practice, wherein people believe that it is akin to doing good deed and will bring prosperity. Some do it on humanitarian grounds.
“These birds thrive and breed because of the easy availability of food. One cannot even spot crows in the area now,” she said.
However, others say the presence of pigeons does not bother them. “They don’t come near the walking area and remain on the steps of the kalyani. The only worry is the bird droppings, which we hear can cause allergies and breathing issues,” said Ramakanth, who has been regularly walking around Sankey Tank for three years now.
The Sankey Tank Walkers’ Association has also been receiving complaints from a few walkers about the presence of the birds. “The number of pigeons has definitely gone up in the last few years and some people have complained about this. But, there are others who are for the practice. We cannot take a stand on the issue, it is up to the civic body to decide on this,” said Anand A.R., of the association.
However, ornithologist M.B. Krishna says that it is unlikely that pigeons can drive away other birds. “Pigeons are quite harmless, though a nuisance at times. The reports about them spreading diseases is also not proven. Cross-species infection is not as prevalent as some people make it out to be,” he said, and added that by designing our buildings better so that they have sloping ledge not a flat one, the number of pigeons can be controlled.
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 | Apr 8, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
A spokesman for Active Northumberland, which runs leisure centres in the county, said: “A hawk is currently being used to deter pigeons, which have been causing issues at the centre. “A professional company has been hired to fly the hawk around at different times over a week to scare the birds off to find a new home.” The use of the hawk has certainly surprised some Willowburn users. One gym-goer, who did not want to be named, contacted the Gazette to say: “It looks like it’s been drafted in to frighten off the pigeons which are nesting above the entrance. “The spikes on the parapets have had no effect whatsoever. “I thought the hawk had been brought in to make sure we do our exercise programme – although it could never match gym manager Jackie for that!” Meanwhile, another reader said: “As I was walking past the door of Willowburn, I noticed two gentlemen – one up a ladder and one carrying a large hawk on his wrist. “I should think that they were there to kill the nuisance pigeons that have made the beams under the roof a nesting place.” The Gazette asked how much the hawk was costing, but did not get an answer before going to press.
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 | Apr 7, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
From Monday 9 April 2018, it will be an offence to feed pigeons in Waterlooville Town Centre and doing so could result in being issued with a fixed penalty notice for £80.
A Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) is being introduced in the area as pigeons are causing significant problems for shoppers, businesses and residents of flats in Waterlooville Precinct.
Pigeons – that are awaiting food – have been roosting on residential balconies that surround the precinct despite preventative measures such as netting, sound boxes, spikes and decoy birds of prey being introduced. These pigeons have impacted the quality of life in the area and have effectively prevented residents from using their balconies and opening their windows.
Local businesses and cafés are also suffering and are frequently having to clear pigeons mess off tables and chairs.
Sophia Goodwin from JDI Property Holdings, who manage a block of flats in the precinct, said: “Pigeons are the number one problem for our residents. We have invested a considerable amount into preventative measures for the building, however our residents are still suffering. We hope this extra measure will improve the situation”.
Councillor Tony Briggs, Deputy Leader of the Council, said: “The problem of pigeons is of real concern to residents of local flats and it’s not fair that people have to live like this. By preventing individuals from feeding them, we hope we will reduce their numbers and the associated impact on businesses and residents.
“Our officers have spoken to a number of individuals feeding pigeons asking them to stop and explaining the associated impact. Local businesses have approached people feeding pigeons and signage in the area and a wider media campaign has been rolled out. Despite these effort individuals continue to regularly feed pigeons leaving us no other option but to follow the PSPO route”.
By limiting available food, the number of pigeons at the precinct is expected to decline with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Pigeon Control Advisory Service (PiCAS) advising this as best practice.
Pigeon activity causes ill-effects on the local community with:
buildings being covered in fouling which looks unpleasant, can smell and projects a poor image of a business and the area
bird droppings are acidic and can corrode or erode building materials
nesting materials birds use can block chimneys, flues and guttering, causing possible issues with carbon monoxide and damage to buildings as water overflows from blocked gutters
birds carry a variety of diseases such as Ornithosis, Listeria and Ecoli that can be transmitted to humans not only from the droppings but also the birds themselves. When dry, pigeon droppings can become airborne in small particles, which can lead to respiratory complaints such as psittacosis.
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)
