by johnnymarin | Mar 7, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
SHRAVANABELAGOLA:With just a day to go for the Mahamastakabhisheka, the world media has arrived in the temple town of Shravanabelagola to cover the anointing ceremony which is held once in 12 years. The event will be telecast/streamed live on various channels and websites from February 17 afternoon.
The advent of the media in the recent decades has been a plus in attracting people from all over the world for the veneration and as well as to visit Shravanabelagola as tourists. But before internet was invented and telephones were a rare thing, covering the Mahamastakabhisheka was a challenge for news agencies.
But the reporting team from Madras Mail Eveninger from Chennai took this as a challenge. The reporter G M Edward got trained pigeons to Shravanabelagola six months ahead of veneration ceremony in 1910, and got the pigeons to fly back to his office in Chennai. This was repeated on the day of Mahamastakabhisheka in 1910, and the pigeons left carrying a ‘report’ on the ceremony tied to their legs. The pigeons landed in the office of Chennai Mail and the same evening the news of the Mahamastakabhisheka was published on the front page of the Eveninger.
Historical records preserved in the Jain Mutt of Shravanabelagola throw more light on the incident. “The story of Madras Mail is considered as rare feat in the modern history of the Mahamastakabhisheka,” said Ashok Kumar, a senior writer and head of the cultural committee for the event in Shravanabelagola.
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 | Mar 6, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Iran may suspect special lizards of spying, but the use of animals for intelligence purposes dates back well over 100 years and involves not just reptiles but cats, dogs, birds and even sea life.
Carrier pigeons were used in ancient times for relaying messages. But interest in the use of animals has changed with the development of microelectronics and miniaturization that allowed small listening devices to be put on birds and even small mammals.
More recently, technology has been catching up with dog-like robots for defense use as well as hummingbird-size drones tested by the Pentagon. The Air Force also has released video of “bugbots” or “birdbots” that could be used for surveillance and military applications, including potential swarm attacks.
Iran has a long history of suspecting animals for spying, particularly accusing the West of trying to gather information about its nuclear activities.
Back in 2008, two “spy pigeons” were suspected of being used to gather intelligence about Iran’s uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, reported Iran’s reformist paper Etemad Melli. It said one of the birds was captured not far from the heavily bunkered underground facility and had metal rings, strings and other suspicious features attached.
‘Spy’ squirrels busted
Iran’s media also reported the case of 14 “spy” squirrels that were busted in 2007. The account at the time by the daily Resalat claimed the rodents were released along its border by Western intelligence and fitted with espionage equipment, including navigation tracking, bugging devices and a camera.
As for lizards spying, the stories about the reptiles surfaced Tuesday when Hassan Firuzabadi, a senior military advisor to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told the state-run Iranian Labour News Agency about how lizards and perhaps salamanders were used by Western countries to “find out where we had uranium mines and where we were involved in atomic activities.”
According to Firuzabadi, “lizard-like animal skins attract nuclear waves.” He claimed Iranian authorities stumbled on suspicious cases of outsiders with reptiles in their possession and concluded it was part of a pattern of espionage conducted by environmentalists.
“Probably the reason the Iranians are paranoid and jumpy is because people have used fake rocks outside Iranian nuclear facilities to monitor what they’re up to,” said James Lewis, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based international security think tank.
Lewis, a former U.S. diplomat with experience in high technology and intelligence, said the rocks reportedly would self-destruct when they were picked up. The rocks were found by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on patrol near the country’s underground nuclear enrichment facility in Fordow and reported first in 2012 by U.K.’s Sunday Times newspaper.
Similarly, Iran-backed militant groups also have accused Israel of using animals for espionage.
Dolphin with arrows
In 2015, Gaza Strip’s Hamas security officials reportedly captured a dolphin equipped with “video cameras” off the coast, according to the Palestinian paper al-Quds. The Iran-backed group claimed the dolphin was sent by Israel and also fitted with a weapon that could fire arrows at humans.
There also was a 2016 case of a “spy vulture” captured in the southern Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil. Local media in Lebanon called it a “spy” bird because it reportedly carried transmitter equipment, but Israel claimed it was from a nature reserve and asked for it back. Parts of southern Lebanon are controlled by Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist group.
There have also been claims over the years from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Sudan of the Israelis using eagles, vultures or other birds for espionage. An Egyptian official in 2010 claimed sharks controlled by Israel’s Mossad were responsible for attacks on tourists in the Red Sea to hurt the local tourism economy.
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, the R&D arm of the Pentagon, has tested controlling sharks, and the U.S. Navy does training with dolphins and sea lions. There’s also been research over the decades with beluga whales.
The use of the dolphins by the U.S. military focuses primarily around locating underwater mines and helping with rescues at sea. The dolphins, which are trained at a base in San Diego, were used by the U.S. military during the first and second Gulf wars to help clear mines.
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 | Mar 5, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
Ninety-seven homing pigeons were tested for their ability to detect small changes in magnetic fields. The tests, which were intended to corroborate and extend those reported by Reille (1968), were performed in uniform magnetic fields using 2 m diameter Helmholtz coils (series I), and also in non-uniform fields using 24 cm diameter coils (series II). There were no significant differences between responses to magnetic fields and control tests, though significant responses to a light flash demonstrated the overall viability of the test method, which was a classically conditioned increase in heart rate. In series I there were indications of a difference between two magnet treatments, steady fields vs. alternating fields, but in a more sensitive test for the same effect in series II no differences were observed.
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 | Mar 4, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
In a previous publication we reported a correlation between normal fluctuations of the earth’s magnetic field and the day-to-day variations in the initial bearings chosen by homing pigeons released repeatedly at a single test site under sunny skies. We here examine the question whether this correlation reflects a cause-and-effect relationship. A series of 20 test releases was conducted in 1974 to compare the bearings of pigeons wearing bar magnets glued to their backs with the bearings of pigeons wearing brass bars. As in a pilot series conducted in 1970, the day-to-day variations in the bearings of the birds wearing brasses were inversely correlated with the variations in the K index of magnetic disturbance, whereas no such correlation was found for the bearings of the birds wearing magnets. We conclude that the magnets mask the effect of the K fluctuations, which suggests that it is the magnetic events themselves that influence the orientational response of normal pigeons. This conclusion is further supported by a demonstration that bar magnets, like natural magnetic disturbances, deflect the birds’ bearings to the left.
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 | Mar 3, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
The final of the Million Dollar Race SAMDR took place on 3rd of February in Sun City, South Africa. The pigeons of Freddy and Jacques Vandenheede were always at the front of the race, winning a 5th and 6th prize in the final over 521km.
The SAMDR in South Africa is regarded as one of the hardest and most prestigious one loft races worldwide. The winning pigeons are usually very strong racing birds with plenty of strength, and they generally originate from long distance bloodlines. And this is why the pigeons of such renowned long distance fanciers as N. & F. Norman, Gaby Vandenabeele, Gerard Koopman and Chris Hebberecht have achieved some historic results on South African soil.
We reported earlier on that this year’s Ace Pigeon title was won by Return Flojo, a pigeon bred by Pieter Veenstra based around several long distance bloodlines, bred from a crossing of a Pieter Veenstra hen (sister Dolca Vita) and a cock of Chris Hebberecht. He comes from a son of Ike x sister Champion, or a crossing of a 1st Nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB x a 2nd Nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB.
Other top prizes in the final race were won by the noble long distance bloodlines of Freddy & Jacques Vandenheede from Zingem; they claimed a 5th and 6th prize in the final, a race of 521km.
5th place in final SAMDR
The 5th place was won by a youngster of Miss Marsupilami 15-89538 of F.B.I-Racing & Breeding (Ireland). The sire of this Miss Marsupilami is Daapel BE11-4289698, a direct Freddy & Jacques Vandenheede, bred from Mastodon BE07-4093204 (the sire of Ace Marsupilami I and II: 2nd and 4th Nat. Ace Pigeon Extreme Long Distance YLs respectively in 2014, and a son of top breeder Sjah BE02-4478695, one of the most talented sons of the iconic breeder Limoges De Rauw-Sablon) x Alisia BE09-4035302 (winner of a 1st Prov. Vierzon 3,614 p.). The dam of Miss Marsupilami is Future National BE08-4334596, from Daniel Aerens from Drongen (a daughter of a 1st Nat. Montélimar, herself a full sister of a 1st Intnat. St. Vincent paired to a grandson of a 1st Nat. Pau – Van der Wegen).
6th place in final SAMDR
The 6th place was won by Chinese champion He Bin, with a direct pigeon of Freddy & Jacques Vandenheede. The pigeon that won this top prize is called Flatwater BE17-4200429, bred from the sire of Fantast, winner of a 1st Nat. Libourne 6,134 p. in 2013: Boss Simonne BE11-4244384. He comes from the world famous bloodline of Topkweker Freddy. He is a son of Raipipon BE01-4483224 (a grandson of top pair Antigoon x ’t Krijt: the parents of Topkweker Freddy De Rauw-Sablon, and then Pros Roosen) x Simonne BE07-4093286 (winner of a 1st Nat. Bourges 27,506 p. in 2009).
The dam of Flaterwater is Angie BE14-4000004, winner of a 22nd Prov. Villemandeur 5,156 p., a 39th Prov. La Souterraine 6,205 p., a 48th Prov. Bourges 4,930 p., and an 81st Prov. Chateauroux 5,641 p. Angie is a daughter of Super Champ BE07-4093015 (8th Nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB) x Darya BE10-4101084, winner of a 1st Prov. Bourges 2,031 p. and a 5th Nat. Bourges 12,607 p. Darya is a daughter of Triggerfinger BE07-4093269 (1st Prov. & 3rd Nat. Ace Pigeon Long Distance KBDB ’09) x Mariska BE07-4045034 (1st Nat. Argenton).
There is no getting around a top class breed
The Vandenheede racing pigeons feel particularly at home in good racing weather, where the pigeons have to work hard (speeds of 1300 m/min or lower). The world class pigeon breed from Zingem was again outstanding in 2017, and this showed in their title of General Champion of Belgium KBDB 2017. The Vandenheede breed has now shown their potential in South Africa as well, claiming a 5th and 6th prize in the final of the SAMDR Million Dollar Race in Sun City. It is no secret that the team of Freddy & Jacques Vndenheede is a world class breed, and they demonstrated this again in South Africa.
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)
