Sam Hobson, 34, has captured a collection of pictures showing the birds snatching the pigeons above Bristol’s skyline, according to the Daily Mail.

Mr Hobson said it was ‘amazing’ to capture the birds hunting above his city.

In Britain, they are usually spotted in the skies above mountain ranges and other remote spaces.

Mr Hobson said: ‘There is something amazing about seeing one of the world’s fastest animals perched on a building you see every day,’ he said. ‘There are plenty of tall buildings in cities for the birds to perch on.’

Mr Hobson, who has been tracking and photographing urban falcons in Bristol for the past two years, said the birds had been attracted to the cities because of their large number of pigeons and other migratory birds.

‘I have seen falcons doing things they don’t do in the countryside,’ he said. ‘For example, I witnessed them hunting at night.

‘The falcons were using the city lights to spot other birds and then swooping on them.

‘We are used to seeing nocturnal hunting behavior in owls, but not peregrines.

‘They were hunting different birds as well, not just pigeons. They preyed on a lot of migratory birds.’

He added that March was a good month for photographing the birds – saying: ‘We are coming up to the time when falcons lay their first eggs of the year.

‘Males are particularly territorial during this time, and attack other birds like seagulls which come anywhere near their nests.

‘A couple of years ago two falcons in Bristol only managed to lay one egg, and a seagull knocked it into the floating harbour. Some workmen managed to fish it out with an umbrella, and it was saved.’

Mr Hobson told the Mail, he had captured the falcons from vantage points on high buildings – while carefully observing their nesting habits to determine where they will appear.

‘I stood on top of a car park all day, waiting for something to happen,’ he said.

‘From the pictures you would think these are really active birds, but often I sit there watching them perched on a ledge, digesting their food all day.’

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)

The post Peregrine falcons have moved to hunt pigeons in the skies over Bristol appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

“It’s Poopsville,” says architect David Whitmore, whose downtown building alone is home to 20 different nests belonging to the pesky, prolific birds.

Producing up to 25 pounds of poop apiece each year, the pigeons are damaging dozens of properties and relentlessly terrorizing townspeople. Roofers recently discovered a 6-inch layer of pigeon poop spackled atop the historic Courthouse Square building. Meanwhile, property owners scramble just to keep the pigeon poop in check, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports.

Twice a year, employees at a downtown parking garage must don Tyvek suits and respirators to scrape 75 gallons of guano from the structure’s concrete floors. They then must dispose of the droppings in the hazardous materials section of the area landfill.

“Pigeon crap weighs a ton,” says Marcus Dodge, executive director of the Fairbanks Parking Authority. “It’s not a lot of fun to clean up.”

Probably not. But folks in Fairbanks should expect to get down and dirty with bird waste far into the future, according to wildlife authorities. “Pigeons are pretty darn flexible,” says Cathie Harms, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “They will eat a variety of food. They are prolific breeders.”

Unfortunately for some, that reality has yet to sink in.

“They’re a hazard to the equipment. They’re a hazard to people,” says Robert Franklin, a maintenance foreman in town. “They get into stuff they are not supposed to.”

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)

The post This Town Is Covered in Pigeon Shit appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

Work to flatten the land began in the summer and it was finished last month.

And while the site on Mount Pleasant and Church Road has been left tidy and boarded up, the pigeons which roosted in the buildings have moved next door to the Pitcher & Piano bar and the Wellington Gate offices.

The ABC cinema has stood empty since it closed in 2000.

Rosemary Ehrler, who is building manager at office building Wellington Gate, told the Courier: “The birds migrated to every other building around. My opinion is they should have been culled before they pulled the building down.

“The problem is now we have a situation where the front of our building is getting covered in pigeon faeces and we have had to call in pest control at our own expense. We are a seven storey building and pest control are coming in next week to remove the mess.

“The whole building will have to be cleaned and they are going to put up something to stop the pigeons landing on the building.

“It’s a fairly expensive business. It’s in the thousands. Then the pigeons will just move on to another building.” said Mrs Ehrler.

She said the pigeon problem started as soon as the cinema was demolished.

“There aren’t hundreds of birds but it’s a fairly large flock and it doesn’t take many to create a mess. They tend to like the ledges on the front of the building and the mess spreads down the front of the building and on the windows. I know Pitcher & Piano had their pest control, so they’ve spent moneytoo,” she added.

At the Pitcher & Piano next door in Church Road, supervisor Liam Turner said: “It was when they knocked down the actual cinema. They were nesting in there and as soon as they started work they were everywhere. There must be hundreds of them.”

Mr Turner said the alleyway at the side of his building was a fire escape and it was “very, very messy because of the pigeons” and that the birds were nesting on top of their coolant fans.

He added: “It’s causing us hassle. It will cost a lot of money to get the problem solved. The company has to do it regardless. Our building is quite inaccessible so we’re trying to come up with a plan to get rid of them. We’d need a lot of netting. It’s such a big job, they need to pick the right time.”

Mr Turner said he had had to jetwash the delivery area because the delivery man had complained about it. Even the Town Hall was affected by the displaced pigeons.

A council spokesman said: “There are pigeon deterrents on the Town Hall including some replica owls looking down from the roof. We did see an increase in birds after the cinema came down and installed some additional deterrents which seem to have worked.”

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)

The post Tunbridge Wells pigeon poo problems now cinema has gone appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

The 45-story “power towers” shine with sunlight reflected by 350,000 heliostat mirrors spread across an area four times the size of New York’s Central Park. Receivers atop the towers heat to nearly 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, boiling water to turn turbines that crank out 392 megawatts — power for more than 100,000 houses.

But that intense heat is incinerating birds that fly into the “flux field” between the mirrors and the towers.

Bird mortality is a problem for Ivanpah developer BrightSource Energy Inc., operator NRG Energy Inc. and other companies that covet the power tower technology. Killing or maiming most bird species — even by accident — is illegal under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Ivanpah, which opened a year ago, is testing new ways to prevent bird deaths, trying everything from anti-perching devices to spraying a bubble gum extract that birds hate. Its efforts could be key to the technology’s future.

“We take this issue very seriously, and Ivanpah’s project owners have gone to great lengths to investigate and minimize wildlife impacts,” NRG spokesman Jeff Holland said. “We are evaluating the use of humane avian deterrent systems, similar to those employed by airports and in food industry, and implementing other practices that go beyond conventional operational procedures to reduce avian activity near the towers.”

While bird kills happen at all energy projects, Ivanpah has had an outsize amount of press attention — possibly because it’s the largest power tower project in the world and because it got a $1.6 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy.

Trouble began last April with the release of a Fish and Wildlife Service forensics report documenting debris, birds and insects — all known as “streamers” — going up in smoke at Ivanpah. Vivid pictures of charred birds spawned headlines.

According to the report, Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers reported seeing an average of one streamer every two minutes.

One falconlike bird was seen with a plume of smoke rising from its tail as it flew through the field. It lost stability and altitude but was able to clear the plant’s perimeter and land, the officers said. It was never found.

One hundred forty-one bird carcasses were found at Ivanpah from June 2012 to December 2013, one-third of which likely died from the solar flux, with telltale signs including feather curling, charring, melting and breakage. Most were house finches and yellow-rumped warblers whose diets consist mostly of insects.

Federal investigators warned Ivanpah may act as a “mega-trap” where abundant insects attract small birds that are killed or incapacitated by the solar flux. Those birds in turn attract larger predators, “creating an entire food chain vulnerable to injury and death.”

Critics and media seized on the report.

An Associated Press story in August suggested a bird was being toasted every two minutes at Ivanpah, even though investigators did not know what percentage of the streamers were birds. The AP also quoted Shawn Smallwood, an ecologist at the Center for Biological Diversity, estimating that 28,000 birds were dying each year at Ivanpah, an estimate the environmentalist admitted was “back-of-the-napkin.”

Ivanpah consultants said they believe no more than 1,469 birds a year are being directly killed, 898 of which could be attributed to solar flux.

FWS conceded that “we currently have a very incomplete knowledge of the scope of avian mortality at these solar facilities.”

The agency late last summer said it is conducting a “systematic study” at Ivanpah “to determine its true impact on birds.”

Impacts on other projects

Ivanpah officials say the plant’s impacts pale in comparison to larger human threats.

They include building collisions that kill an estimated 365 million to 988 million birds annually in the U.S., according to a 2014 study by federal scientists in the journal The Condor: Ornithological Applications.

Stray and outdoor pet cats each year kill a median of 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion mammals, mostly native mammals like shrews, chipmunks and voles, according to a 2013 report from scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and FWS.

American wind farms kill upward of half a million birds annually, according to peer-reviewed research, and power lines kill hundreds of thousands to 175 million birds annually, according to another study.

But the lurid images of burned birds at Ivanpah seem to resonate with the public. And uncertainty over the towers’ impacts could bring headaches to new projects.

Whether bird deaths at Ivanpah will crimp the technology’s development remains to be seen.

Environmentalists are unlikely to endorse the technology until its environmental footprint is better understood.

“We’re cautious and somewhat alarmed until we find out the truth,” said Garry George, renewable energy project director for Audubon California. “Everything you build is going to have some impact on birds. The question is, how big? Is it affecting populations?”

Ivanpah ramps up monitoring

Ivanpah’s owners hope to answer that through better monitoring and the use of bird deterrents.

In mid-October, Ivanpah installed a “BirdBuffer” at the top of one of its towers. The moving box-size machine sprays a concentrated grape juice extract into the air at regular intervals, 45 minutes of every hour. The vapor extract, which is used in food products including bubble gum, causes a “safe yet irritating response” in birds, according to the manufacturer, BirdBuffer LLC of Everett, Wash., which sells the units for $8,995 each.

BirdBuffer CEO Gary Crawford said the plant has since seen a reduction in bird activity.

Ivanpah is also exploring anti-perching devices, fogging and sonic deterrents, and waste and water containment to keep birds from scavenging the area for food, NRG’s Holland said. It is turning off facility lights at night to attract fewer insects and repositioning heliostats to cut down on glare.

Birds continue to fall from the sky — 115 carcasses were located last year between May 23 and Aug. 17, about one-third of which showed signed of dying in the solar flux, according to Ivanpah’s latest filing with the California Energy Commission.

A Greenwire reporter visited the site Dec. 7 but saw no streamers or bird carcasses.

Ivanpah mirror
Ivanpah’s nearly 350,000 mirrors track and reflect sunlight onto the boilers atop the three power towers. Photo by Phil Taylor.
The true number of dying birds is likely underrepresented by human surveys.

Large facilities like Ivanpah are difficult to efficiently search; carcasses are often hidden by vegetation or solar panels, dead birds disappear to scavengers and others degrade too fast to determine cause of death, according to the FWS forensics report.

Ivanpah is also seeking to better monitor its airspace.

Last May, the plant’s owners commissioned the U.S. Geological Survey to study the effectiveness of video cameras, radar, acoustic detectors and other tracking devices to quantify the presence, diversity, movement and behaviors of birds, bats and insects flying near the facility. The results, expected to be published this year in a scientific journal, could spur new research into best management practices.

Birds are not the first major wildlife problem Ivanpah has faced.

In addition to invading avian airspace, the plant took over about 3,500 acres of native desert scrubland with a resident population of federally threatened desert tortoise.

Developers spent $22 million to care for tortoises, moving several dozen from the construction site and building a “head start” nursery where juvenile tortoises and hatchlings are reared until big enough to resist predation from kit foxes, ravens or coyotes.

The company plans to spend $34 million more to meet federal and state mitigation obligations.

“BrightSource was a very good partner for making that work for desert tortoise,” said FWS Director Dan Ashe.

Bird mortality will be an ongoing challenge, he said.

“Are we concerned? Um, yes,” Ashe said during a Western Governors’ Association winter meeting last month in Las Vegas. “Except … are birds killed at that facility? They are, clearly. Are birds killed by running into this building? They are, and every building. I’ve had birds run into the glass window of my house. Everybody has. Every time we put a facility on the landscape, it’s going to take birds. The question is, is it going to have a population-level impact? We need to figure that out.”

‘Prosecutorial discretion’

Legal experts do not expect bird deaths to thwart solar development, even as the Justice Department cracks down on wind farms that kill significant numbers of birds and extracts major penalties under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

“Enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act essentially boils down to prosecutorial discretion,” said Andrew Bell, an energy attorney for Marten Law in San Francisco. “Prosecutorial discretion is in turn founded largely on a demonstration of good-faith efforts by companies to address phenomena like avian impacts.”

Solar developers typically meet that burden by agreeing to mitigation and bird and bat conservation strategies as a condition of federal permits, Bell said.

Solar farms, particularly future power towers, may need to do more if they want to maintain their green credentials.

George, of Audubon California, said he’s reserving judgment on Ivanpah until more studies are completed.

“Right now, we’re cautious and not willing to support the permitting of another power tower,” he said.

George visited the Ivanpah plant last fall and said the operator had roughly two dozen biologists that day fanning the property looking for dead birds with the help of scent dogs. Through binoculars, he saw plenty of streamers in the sky, though he said it was not clear whether any of them were birds.

“It was a great mystery,” he said. “It wasn’t the nightmare Wes Craven movie I had in my mind.”

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)

The post Bird deaths at Calif. power plant a PR nightmare for industry appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

Staff at the Wayne County court house in Wooster, Ohio, claim they have run out of options to protect the beautiful 19th century building from the ever increasing amount of bird-poo covering it.

After years of other plans doing little to deter the birds from defecating on the beloved building, Wayne County officials say they will add a chemical into bird seed that will stop the pigeons from reproducing.

MORE: Somerset police actually cordon off a swan sat in the road, for some reason

They say the seed will only affect pigeons, and will cut the population of birds that reside around the courthouse by half after only one application.

The strange new plan comes after citizens began complaining about the cost of repeatedly cleaning the ornaments on top of the building.

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)

The post Courthouse forced to feed pigeons birth control to reduce bird droppings appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

Birds of prey were introduced in 2009 with a strict “no kill” policy. Last year, the Evening News revealed laser pens were also being used to frighten the birds away, prompting warnings by experts that birds could be blinded by such measures.

Today, pigeon experts said the parliament was wasting money by paying for any more action against the birds.

Monthly reports to Holyrood by contractors NBC Bird and Pest Solutions say they find an average of 14 birds present each time they arrive for their early-morning visits.

And the reports claim they successfully disperse about two-thirds each time.

But Emma Haskell, who until recently ran the ­Pigeon Control Advisory Service, said there was little chance of getting the numbers any lower.

She said: “These will undoubtedly be the same birds each time. They will return to base once the hawk has gone. You would need to fly the hawks 24/7 to deter the pigeons permanently.

“They are never going to be pigeon-free. That’s just unrealistic.

“Fourteen is a very small number of birds for an area the size of the parliament. Why are they spending any money on that number of pigeons? It’s a complete waste of money.”

Ms Haskell said the only time the pigeons would be absent from the building was when a hawk was flying and there was no reason to suppose scrapping such flights would lead to an increase in numbers.

Edinburgh Southern SNP MSP Jim Eadie said: “Given the size and importance of the building, it is appropriate there should be proper pest control measures in place.

“The public is entitled to expect that any expenditure is constantly reviewed and evaluated to ensure the taxpayer is receiving value for money.”

It is understood the parliament will consider cutting back hawk visits when the contract runs out in May next year.

A spokesman said: “While we are pleased measures have reduced the number of issues in recent times, we are aware the problem can never be fully eradicated. A decision on whether to continue with the existing approach will be taken early next year.”

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)

The post Drive to rid Holyrood of pigeons ‘waste of time’ appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

Rosslyn Osinski, 67, had to be taken to hospital with pigeon fancier’s lung after 70 birds moved into the derelict home and excrement started to seep through her ceiling.

Her husband Michael, 68, feared for her life after she lost more than a stone and was hooked up to oxygen to keep her alive.

Rosslyn spent two weeks in hospital and had to undergo a six-month course of steroids.

Last night, Rosslyn demanded someone is held accountable, blasting: “This has been an absolute nightmare.”

Rosslyn first visited her GP in January last year with breathlessness, diarrhoea, vomiting and fatigue.

She went to Borders General Hospital where she was put on antibiotics and hooked up to oxygen.

Rosslyn said: “On Christmas Day, I just managed to get out of bed. I looked like skin and bone – I looked absolutely terrible.

“I spent a week in hospital on antibiotics and oxygen and then I was released.

“Within 24 hours, I had to call an ambulance. I couldn’t breathe. I went back to hospital, looked at myself in the mirror and I just started crying.

“I just thought to myself, ‘I’m going to die in here.’ I thought, ‘This must be what it’s like to die’.”

Michael said: “They did a CT scan and her lungs were white. If a doctor had not spotted it, she’d be dead.”

Rosslyn’s nightmare started after the Crown Hotel above her basement home in Coldstream, Berwick- shire, fell into disrepair and the birds moved in.

The couple are taking legal action against Scottish Borders Council, claiming they failed to make the building safe despite complaints. But the council’s insurers have denied liability.

The couple were left with a £5000 bill to repair the damage.

Rosslyn, who had hoped to run a B&B from their home said: “I still have scar tissue in my lungs and so there’s no way I can cater for people.

“It’s ruined the little business we hoped to have.”

A spokesman for Scottish Borders Council said: “We have no comment to make at this stage as we feel it may prejudice the legal process.”

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)

The post Woman left with deadly pigeon lung disease appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

Frustrated residents in Alva, Clackmannanshire, have hit out at council officials for failing to take action to remove the birds after they claim they have been hit be a ‘plague of pigeons’.

It is thought the birds are looking for a place to roost after the demolition of a former pub, the Alva Glen Hotel, which had lain empty for years and where they had taken residency.

But it was recently knocked down after it was discovered that drug barons had been using it as a cannabis farm in 2009.

Residents have complained that persistent problems include pigeons taking to balconies and that roofs of buildings are being covered in feathers and droppings.

Frank Cairns, 45, a local publican who lives and works in Main Street where most of the birds have settled, said: ‘It’s an absolute nightmare. It’s like we’ve gone back to the Middle Ages with street hygiene.

‘It will harm trade, no doubt about that. It gives us a harder job to keep the place clean.’

His sister Katrina Cairns added: ‘We have had to clean the gutters three times to clean out the pigeon mess. It is all getting dragged in here.

‘School kids are walking along the street, walking it into shops, the school, their houses.

‘I know the council said they are sending a cleaner along the street, but the mess is still there. The disease it brings – they are not exactly clean animals.

‘It’s not great, you have to try to avoid it in the street.’

Graham Johnston owns a watch shop and has many of the pigeons roosting on his roof: ‘It is annoying. Someone must be feeding them or they’d be away by now.

‘There is droppings all along the pavement. It’s horrible. The mess gets brought into the shop from the pavement outside. There is nothing being done about it.’

James McDonald, 64, who lives opposite where the hotel used to be, added: ‘It’s not very nice, the mess in the street is horrible.’

George Horsburgh, former secretary of Alva Community Council, who is also part of the Alva Community Action Group, said: ‘This has infuriated many residents of Alva who are worst affected, in particular residents of the flattened dwellings in The Wynd.

‘The residents there have to put up with many of the pigeons roosting on their balconies overnight and part of the day, making them unusable to the residents, some of them have resorted to fitting strawberry netting across the front of their balconies to prevent the pigeons from gaining access.

‘One older lady constantly complains that they roost on her window ledges and wonders why no action has been taken.’

The derelict former hotel was bought and flattened by construction firm Murdoch Smith last year after it was branded an eyesore, due to its state of disrepair and problems surrounding the maintenance of the building date as far back as 2006.

Local MP Gordon Banks agrees the pigeon issue is causing distress for many people, and believes the situation has been a long time coming.

He said: ‘There can be no doubt that there are hundreds of pigeons displaced from the old Alva Glen Hotel and such populations are an obvious result of buildings lying empty and falling into disrepair, so the problem has been a long time in the making.

‘Now that their roost has been destroyed these birds are in the open and can often be seen swarming in their hundreds in the area.

‘The council’s hope that they will naturally disperse does not seem to have much support and I hope there is some way that the council will rethink their position and investigate methods for dispersal.

‘This is a problem where buildings are allowed to fall into disrepair and impacts other areas of the county as well, so I look forward to the council being more proactive on empty buildings in the future.’

Another resident said: ‘As soon as they took the roof of the Alva Glen Hotel, the town was hit by a plague of pigeons flying around wondering where their home had gone. They had all been roosting in the attic.’

Clackmannanshire Council said it had been concerned about the potential for problems from pests from the site and, in advance of the demolition, had investigated options for culling the birds.

A spokeswoman for the council said: ‘Due to animal welfare legislation we were unable to net the buildings as it would have trapped the birds inside and due to the poor state of the building we were unable to gain access to poison the birds.

‘It was expected that the pigeon population of Alva would decrease as the air temperature dropped and the pigeons are forced to find new sheltered spots for roosting at night.

‘The persistence of birds during daytime is indicative of food being put out for the birds during the day.

‘The council has investigated a number of reports and spoken to those responsible.

‘To reduce the impact off the pigeon droppings on the pavements of Alva, the council has organised extra street cleansing and also arranged for high powered jet washing of the worst affected areas.

‘Council officers will continue to monitor the situation, and consider further action should the issue persist.’

 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)

The post Get the washing in! Thousands of pigeons !!! appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

As per reports, the birds have been seen dropping dead from trees along the roads shedding saliva from their mouths.

Plenty of carcasses were seen in Brahmagiri market, Brahmagiri-Kusubenti and Delang-Brahmagiri roads. While the cause of death of pigeons have not been ascertained, possible spread of avian influenza has worried the locals.

Meanwhile, two persons have been admitted to Capital Hospital in Odisha capital for avian flu infection.

In the second week of December last year, a bird flu alert was sounded by the local administration in Chilika lake after hundreds of migratory birds were found dead in the area.

The local administration had put up posters around Chilika urging people not to catch, prey or eat bird meat or step over their excreta.  The posters had also advised the locals not to let their domestic animals go anywhere near the dead birds or touch it themselves warning them that they could risk getting infected if they did so.

It may be noted that, many migratory bird had died in 2012 in similar fashion. H5N1 avian influenza was detected after swabs and blood sample collected from dead birds from seven different areas of Nalabana were studied by experts from Institute of Natural Historical Science, Mumbai and Bird Research Centre in Bhopal.

As Brahmagiri is not far from Chilika, the largest brackish water lake in India, the people in the region have reasons to worry about.

 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)

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Every morning, from 5-9am, Rufus patrols the skies above Wimbledon and scares away any pigeons. And he’s been at it for fourteen years.

Lucky for the pigeons, its a humane process. They’re not killed, only scared away. At Nerdist, Kyle Hill explains:

Raptors like Rufus—large predatory birds that include eagles, hawks, and falcons—are nothing to mess with. Whether it is scaring pigeons or throwing goats from cliffs, raptors have the speed, vision, and strength to contend with all but the largest game (look at this eagle’s claw for goodness’ sake). All raptors also have ratchet tendons, which allow the birds to effectively lock their claws shut and maintain enormous grip pressures with bone notches and interlocking tendons.

None of that is good news for the pigeons that Rufus keeps out of Wimbledon, but Rufus isn’t a killer. According to a recent Reddit AMA with Rufus’ handler, “Rufus is a non-lethal deterrent which is based on the fact that pigeons have an innate sense of fight or flight, and they don’t hang around very long to fight when they see his talons!”

 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)

The post Wimbledon Hired A Hawk To Scare The Pigeons Away appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

Now councillors and residents in Maindee, Newport, are calling on Network Rail to install netting to stop the birds nesting.

Many worshippers at the Shahporan Bangladeshi Jam’e Mosque just off Chepstow Road have to walk underneath the bridge to get to prayers.

In Islam, there is a requirement that people are clean before they come into the mosque or begin to pray. But some feel the dirty bridge makes this difficult, while others say the pigeon prevalence is dangerous, as people have slipped over on the droppings.

Abbas Meah, 75, who has lived in Maindee since 1962, said the pigeons were causing problems for people going to mosque.

“People must walk through pigeon mess on both sides of the bridge,” he said. “I have spoken to our local MP. If they just put a net up that would help; that’s all we’re asking for. People can’t pray like this.”

Fellow councillor Christine Jenkins said: “They clean it but as soon as they do, the mess is there again. It’s time Network Rail took responsibility for their bridge. It’s dangerous – someone is going to slip on it.”

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Network Rail has a responsibility to taxpayers to ensure that it spends its limited public funds wisely.“When looking at the problem and nuisance we know pigeons cause, we look at the scale of the problem and undertake a risk assessment to make an informed judgement. We cannot justify the expense of netting as we don’t believe there is a statutory nuisance.”

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)

The post Call for action over pigeon droppings from Maindee bridge appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

Pigeons and humans have co-existed for thousands of years. But when they become a nuisance, who is to be blamed?

Pigeons, one of the most resourceful species on the planet, are traditionally, symbols of love, peace, family and faithfulness. Their inflated throaty coos are a common sound in virtually every part of the globe with the exception of the Sahara Desert and the Polar ice caps. It is ironic that the species is currently being referred to as “the most serious bird pest associated with human habitations”.

Flock together

Pigeons have lived alongside humans and been used for food, sport and as messengers. Considered one of the most intelligent species on the planet, pigeons can perform tasks previously thought to be the sole preserve of humans and primates.

Descended from wild rock doves that thrive in a cliff environment, feral pigeons form large flocks that roost on building and ledges and under bridges. They can often be found in loft spaces and empty buildings — anywhere that offers a small amount of shelter.

Naturalist Dr. T. Murugavel says, “Feral pigeons thrive in urban areas in particular because there is usually a good food source and the absence of predators. The result is that they can become ‘pests’ in built-up areas. Unless food is strictly controlled, pigeons will rapidly breed out of control, resulting in overpopulation in areas of human habitation. Researchers have proved that pigeons do not usually like any change in their nesting area. Even a decoy or an image of a raptor when placed in the nesting or roosting area of pigeons discourages them from nesting. Whatever you do, ensure that it is humane and eco-friendly.”

Research conducted around the world to find a humane way to control, includes methods like ‘birth control’ pellets to controlling the number of eggs allowed to hatch, spikes to deter landing and thorny cacti on a sunny windowsill! But aren’t ‘pigeon problems’ really ‘people problems’? Can we coexist better with a bird that has survived in close association with man for over 10,000 years?

A recent report in The Independent spoke of how people found feeding pigeons in the Austrian city of Vienna were to be fined €36 in an attempt to keep the city clean. Pigeon experts from the animal welfare ombudsman said that it was rubbish in the city that caused problems beyond the pigeon population. Obviously, unclean neighbourhoods in any part of the world are the reason for many health and environmental issues, but looks like it is the issue that is being most conveniently pigeonholed!

Shoo!

The National Audubon Society Birds site, which gives tips on “how to shoo them away”, says that many safe and effective commercial products are also available including plastic or metal bird spikes. If pigeons are roosting on a utility wire or other area where they can’t be easily blocked, a weatherproof bird sound device that plays bird alarm or distress calls may chase them away.

Downside

Pigeon droppings are acidic and can cause damage to buildings and machinery. Nesting material, droppings and feathers can block drains and air vents. Startled flocks that take flight suddenly may cause hazards to motorists and pedestrians. While large numbers of pigeons can drive smaller birds away from feeding areas, they can also spread disease to other birds.

The post Pigeons, pigeons, everywhere! appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

Ten grams more and he’s too sedentary. Any lighter, and he ceases being the non-lethal deterrent Wimbledon contracts him to be and roams farther afield for mouse, snake or hare.

But if Rufus arrives at his optimum weight, he need only soar over centre court a few times to earn his hand-fed reward of raw chicken bits.

The mere sight of his one metre wingspan is enough to shoo away the pigeons that might otherwise land on the court during a critical point, deposit droppings in the Royal Box or roost in the eaves to feast on grass-seed all winter, as if the sod were a buffet table.

A 6-year-old Harris Hawk with prodigious self-esteem, Rufus is just one of several hundred actors in the meticulously choreographed dance that unfolds between dawn and 10.30am daily in London throughout the Wimbledon fortnight.

From strawberry-hullers to bomb-sniffing English Springer Spaniels, every man and beast has a task before the All England Club’s wrought-iron gates open to the tennis-mad public. And every task – whether mowing, measuring, marking, pruning, watering, soaring, sniffing, sweeping, scrubbing or polishing – has its appointed time for completion.

No detail is overlooked. Everything must be just so at the most esteemed of the four Grand Slams. A ticket to Wimbledon, after all, constitutes an invitation to a private club that opens to royals and commoners alike for two weeks each year to watch the world’s best players in the most pristine setting in sports.

“It’s all about the details,” says Lucy Tomlinson, 21, a member of Wimbledon’s daytime housekeeping staff, which from 7.30am onward restocks the loos with soap and hand towels, polishes the banisters, scrubs scuff marks from the entryways and wipes away beads of water left by the power-washing of ticket-holders’ seats.

“We make sure everything is absolute perfection!”

Neil Stubley, the head groundsman, starts his day with a 5.30am check of the forecast. Based on that, he directs his staff when to deflate the translucent covers on the 41 grass courts so they can be rolled up and stowed and the sod watered if the daily measurements of its hardness indicate there’s a need.

All of Wimbledon’s courts are oriented in a north-south direction. A specific groundskeeper is assigned to each court for the tournament’s duration. And each mows the rye grass to precisely 8 millimetres each morning, in exactly the same pattern of alternating stripes.

Every cutting is captured by the mower; even a stray snippet of grass could cause a player to slip.

“If Roger or Andy or Rafa goes out onto any of the practice courts in the morning and then comes out to any of the match courts, they should play exactly the same because we have controlled the moisture, the grass species and the cutting,” explains Stubley, who supervises a staff of 32 groundskeepers and gardeners.

Then come pairs of groundskeepers who mark the lines with titanium dioxide and set up the nets.

By that point, roughly 9am, David Spearing has started work at the golf course across Church Road that doubles as a camping ground for the thousands of fans in the queue for tickets.

Wimbledon’s honorary chief steward, Spearing has the privilege of informing the campers over a loudspeakers at 7.30am the number of tickets available for public sale that day and handing out the wristbands that guarantee entry to centre court, court 1 or the grounds in general.

It is but one of his duties. The other is sitting in the players’ guest box on centre court. Wimbledon is the lone major that seats the relatives, coaches and friends of both players in the same box. And Spearing, expert in protocol and discretion, is on hand to greet, seat, and on the rarest occasion, mediate.

“It’s basically an honour to have the job, rather than any particular ability,” says Spearing, who sits in the corner of the 39-seat box, with the top seed’s 19 guests to his right and the lower seed’s 19 guests to his left.

“Being pleasant is easy.”

Based on wags, few enjoy their early morning rounds more than dogs tasked with sniffing potential explosives. A mix of spaniels and retrievers, they scamper up and down the walkways, peer under benches and poke into trash bins positively quivering with excitement over the prospect of finding something that warrants a prize. At Wimbledon, naturally, that prize is a fuzzy yellow tennis ball.

Dogs, however, are one of the few sights that unsettle Rufus. So handler Imogen Davis, whose parents and five siblings breed and train raptors for a living, does her best to steer the hawk clear of Wimbledon’s canines. It’s not always easy, given that Rufus’s vision is 10 times better than her own.

“If Rufus was at one end of a football pitch, and a newspaper was at the other end, Rufus could read the headline!” Davis says by way of illustration.

“If he could read.”

One could get the impression Rufus can indeed read from his Twitter account, @RufusTheHawk, which reveals a raptor of cracking wit and considerable ego. Among his recent tweets: “Chasing pigeons is an art form, like poetry or twerking. And I, Rufus, am an artist.”

And, “The reason Sharapova is so loud when she serves is because she wants to scare away pigeons to be more like me.”

Apart from the sight of dogs, nothing rattles Rufus. Not the sound of Wimbledon’s lawn mowers. Not the sound of leaf blowers. Not even the fire alarm that gets a full-song test each morning at 9.35am.

It’s followed at 9.45am by a call over the public-address system for all staff and contractors to remove all vehicles and carts from the grounds in preparation for the opening of the gates, 45 minutes away.

And the pace of activity picks up.

Gardeners deadhead petunias and pluck yellowed leaves from ferns and hydrangeas at Centre Court’s South Entrance, where guests of the Royal Box enter.

The 250 ball boys and girls start arriving at Gate 13. They form a single-file line and march up the steps of St. Mary’s Walk without uttering a word, the only sound the pad of 500 sneakers on the pavement.

Aged 14 to 18, the schoolchildren have trained for this duty since late January, schooled by gym teacher Sarah Goldson in how to properly roll tennis balls between points, how to raise their right hand before feeding the ball to the server and, above all, how to stay still during play.

“They can move their eyes, and they can wriggle their toes,” Goldson says.

“But that’s about it.”

They also must wear their uniform correctly. Shoelaces must be tied in double knots. Shirts must be tucked in; trousers worn at the waist, not sagging in any manner. Water bottles must be tucked on the right side of their backpacks. And for girls, long hair must be tied back.

“Make-up, chewing gum is a big no-no.” Goldson adds.

“Jewellery, definitely not!”

As the ticket holders mass at the gates, the strawberry-sorters’ hands are flying in a chilled catering room tucked behind the grounds’ largest food court. Wearing green fleeces for warmth, a staff of six sits around a table and inspects and hulls the berries. They’re picked at 5am daily at a farm an hour’s drive away and delivered to the grounds by refrigerated trucks.

No scales are needed for the portioning out; it’s 10 strawberries per little plastic bowl. And roughly 8600 bowls, or “punnets,” are consumed daily.

Outside the sun inches higher in sky. The clock shows 10.25am, the next cue for Wimbledon’s public-address announcer.

“Attention ladies and gentlemen, we will shortly be opening the gates,” he advises.

“In the interest of your own and others’ safety, please do not run.”

In five minutes’ time, everything is in its place. The dogs have exited with their minders. The ball boys and girls have assumed their posts. Two towels have been placed on each player’s chair on every court. The air smells of petunias in full bloom.

And Rufus, having secured his realm for another day, has slipped on the custom leather hood that signals naptime and a job well done to Wimbledon’s brave hawk.

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)

The post Rufus, Wimbledon’s pigeon poo policehawk appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

1 | X-Games
As with waterfowl, being where the birds want to be is vital. “You can run traffic with pigeons and have some success,” Hunt says, “but being on the X makes most hunts a home run.” Scouting is the key here. Simply glass from a distance to see where the birds spend most of their time in a feed field.

2 | Basic Spread
Rock doves will work a decoy set into the wind, so place yourself upwind of it. Hunt keeps six or eight dozen full-bodies balled up tight, like feeding birds, with a hole about 15 yards in front of the blind. Decoy color variations within the spread, as well as mixing in shells and silhouettes, increase realism.

3 | Bodies in Motion
“Pigeons constantly jump and fly ahead of the flock,” says Hunt. “They’re always in motion. The males are trying to breed all year, so they’re strutting and spinning in circles.” Along with his full-bodies, Hunt uses two or three spinning-wing Mojo Pigeon decoys, each placed where he wants flocks to finish. Installing timers in them enhances the appearance of birds leapfrogging within the flock.

4 | Bring the Noise
Hunt plays preloaded pigeon sounds from Mojo’s Double Trouble E-Caller. “Pigeons on the ground are loud,” says Hunt. “We’ve used both the -E-Caller and mouth calling, and it definitely makes a difference.” If you’d rather mouth call, a deep-throated coo works best.

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)

The post Pigeon Hunting: 4 High-Tech Tactics for More Birds appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

Pennsylvania legislators have proposed a bill that would institute a statewide ban on live pigeon shoots. In addition the bill would outlaw the slaughter or sale of cats and dogs for human consumption. Officials with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals state that while this is a relatively rare occurrence, shockingly it remains legal in the state of Pennsylvania.

Companion animals belong in loving homes, not forced into the heartless meat trade to spend their short lives full of fear and cruelly confined until their brutal slaughter. Urge government officials to show compassion to pigeons and companion animals alike and vote in favor of this humane legislation.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Representative Smith,

As an animal welfare advocate I find it shocking that two horrific practices of animal abuse are currently legal in the state of Pennsylvania: live pigeon shoots and the slaughter and sale of cats and dogs for human consumption.

Thankfully legislators have proposed House Bill 1750 (H.B. 1750), which would ban both of these cruel practices in your state. Pigeons are fully capable of feeling distress, fear and pain and do not deserve the cruel fate of being used in live pigeon shoots. These barbaric events involve forcing pigeons into spring-loaded boxes and launching them into the air only to be shot down moments later. Live pigeon shoots are disturbingly a part of everyday target practice and shooting competitions throughout your state, despite readily available and humane alternatives such as clay discs.

While slaughtering and selling dogs and cats for human consumption is far less common, surprisingly, it is legal in Pennsylvania. These animals have been our companions for hundreds of years and rely on humans to protect them from unimaginable cruelty like this.

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)

The post Outlaw Horrific Live Pigeon Shoots appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

The RSPCA says discarded fishing nets, unkempt bird-deterrent nets and goal nets could injure birds and other wildlife during the summer months.

RSPCA wildlife scientific officer Llewelyn Lowen said: “Netting that is not maintained, repaired and tended to regularly enough poses a serious threat to wildlife.

“The same also stands for sports nets that are not tidied away when they are not in use. Netting is of a nature that when it is blown away it can quickly entangle animals, particularly wildlife, causing them distress and injury.”

The RSPCA receives around 2,000 reports of birds and other wildlife being trapped by netting each year.

Llewelyn said: “Netting such as goal nets pose a real hazard to our wildlife and sadly we get too many calls to injured wild animals that are trapped in them.

“There is a really simple way to prevent this from happening and that is for nets to be removed after use and safely stored away.

“We would ask people who use deterrent netting on buildings to ensure that it is maintained and that netting in goals or elsewhere is rolled away properly when not in use.

“Members of the public can also help by safely disposing of litter such as netting that they find littering both rural and urban areas.

“Garden netting or chicken wire should never be used as building deterrent netting and owners could consider enclosures using weld-mesh around pens and enclosures as this is harder for foxes to get into and is less likely to entangle them or other wild animals such as hedgehogs.”

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)

The post NETTING ‘POSES RISK TO WILDLIFE’ appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

But park rangers didn’t see it that way. Two years ago they told the 81-year-old Squirrel Hill resident to stop because she was attracting geese and creating a nuisance.”They said it was up to them, not me,” she said. “I would not defy.”Mrs. Schultz followed orders because she feared going to jail.She needn’t have worried. Rarely are ordinances governing city, county and state parks enforced for minor infractions. And when they are, law-breakers get little more than a slap on the wrist.As temperatures rise and people flock to the region’s public spaces, violations of various rules seem rampant, according to an informal survey conducted in recent days by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporters.A host of illicit behaviors — walking dogs off a leash, splashing about in fountains and feeding birds — was visible from Mellon Square to Frick Park, Schenley Plaza to Point State Park.To be sure, certain misbehavior — such as public nudity or intoxication — is bound to spur unwanted attention or even a police response. But it’s the lesser violations, which also tend to be habitual, that underscore the toothless nature of regulations.”I’ve never seen anyone get in trouble for anything in a Pittsburgh park,” said Jason Lockard, 34.Court records attest to this. A review of Pittsburgh Municipal Court records shows just six violations this year under use regulations for parks and public spaces. Five were for being in parks after hours, and one was for driving off paved roads. None carried a fine. Last year there were 22 violations.The same low rate of enforcement holds true for the county’s public transit system, which asks patrons to obey rider etiquette in various ways. Citations are rare, Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said, because the first response is simply to ask people eating, drinking or smoking on the bus or light rail to stop.Officials at all government levels say they prefer to educate rather than incarcerate.The clash between enforcing public ordinances and ignoring them has come into focus in Mellon Square, a Downtown plaza that reopened last month after a six-year, $10 million renovation.A prominent sign posted by the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy near the center of the square bans, first and foremost, feeding pigeons and other birds. It also prohibits all forms of littering, swimming and bathing in the fountain and camping and building fires. By and large, these laws are uniform across the city, county and state.But Pittsburgh Councilwoman Darlene Harris, an avowed bird-feeding advocate, complains that ordinances are being unequally enforced. In her opinion, if the city wants to ban littering, then all forms of it — like throwing cigarette butts and french fries on the ground — must be punished. She said people like Mrs. Schultz who feed birds are being unfairly targeted.”Those parks are for everyone,” she said. “You can’t say, ‘you can’t feed the birds, but you can have lunch here.'”Mrs. Harris took issue with the parks conservancy setting rules for the use of public space.”When they start telling our residents what they can and cannot do in parks, then they are taking the roles of elected officials,” she said.Chris Fletcher, the conservancy’s content officer, defended his group’s role.”We were invited to be a part of this project, and we are required to follow all ordinances of the city,” Mr. Fletcher said. “The code expressly says that you can’t leave any organic or inorganic materials on the ground.”Even with the rule on the books, chances are slim that anyone would get in trouble for feedings birds in the plaza.Myron Hyman, a Mellon Square guard from the AM-GARD security firm contracted by the city, said he is supposed to allow people to feed pigeons out of their hands. More flagrant feeders who throw food on the ground are not cited, Mr. Myron, 29, said, but he gives them a stern lecture.In Pittsburgh there is no rule against feeding birds, but officials interpret the ban on littering to prohibit such activity. In the past two years, just one person has been charged under the city’s sanitation ordinance. The charge carried no monetary penalty and was dismissed.Meanwhile, county officials cannot write citations for feeding wildlife because it is not formalized in county ordinances, according to county spokeswoman Amie Downs.At all levels, the goal is education, officials said.”We want to bring the public up to speed — to teach them about the hazards and the dangers of feeding wildlife,” said John Hallas, assistant director of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of State Parks.Citations are issued only in cases of “flagrant or habitual violations,” and they carry little penalty beyond a nominal fine, Mr. Hallas said.The same apparently applies to dog walkers, who flout the rules just as much as bird feeders, if not more so.On a recent sunny weekday in Frick Park, dogs roamed untethered. Tricia Wood of Edgewood said she is careful to put her Australian Shepherd on a leash when she sees a white truck approaching — what she says is the well-known signal to dog walkers that Pittsburgh’s Bureau of Animal Care & Control is near. Otherwise, she said, the “off-leash area” carries little practical meaning.Rich Wagner, 57, said he walks through Frick Park’s four miles of trails every day, and frequently sees people walking their dogs without leashes despite it being a violation of city ordinances. He added that most rules have little hold over people’s behavior because there are few signs posted in the park.John Levine, a professor of social psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, said the prominence of signs articulating a given rule is a deciding factor in whether it is followed.When a rule is unclear or does not exist, it is social consensus that determines the norms people follow, Mr. Levine said.An Animal Control employee who would not give his name said he “could” cite people caught with roaming dogs, but rarely does. He referred further comment to Sonya Toler, spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety.Ms. Toler said that when someone breaks a law that is not a criminal offense, the police prefer to instruct rather than arrest.Mr. Levine said authorities use a cost-benefit analysis when deciding how to punish misbehavior. For park-related infractions, he said, the sliding scale may lead to a more lax response.On the same day that owners unleashed their dogs in Frick Park, Kinjal Patel, a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student, dipped her feet in an Oakland fountain near Schenley Plaza, which is owned by the city. She said she knew it was against the rules, recalling how a Pitt police officer once told her to stop playing in the water. But he didn’t write her up, so, she figured, what’s the risk?Meghan Dale, a Pitt graduate student, said the enforcement of rules is similarly loose for the possession of alcohol on the plaza, where students congregate at outdoor concerts and other events.”As long as you’re not chugging,” Ms. Dale said, “it’s pretty hard to get in trouble.”

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)

The post What happens in the park tends to stay in the park appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

Peregrine Falcons are a protected species and the deliberate killing of them is a criminal offence.

The Department said that a “significant threat” to the birds has arisen, as on Wednesday evening a walker noticed two tethered pigeons flapping near the Perigrine Falcons’ nest.

The pigeons’ wings had been clipped to stop them flying, and the birds had been attached to ground stakes. They also had a “wet substance” on their neck.

The pigeons were brought to the State laboratories for testing.

It is believed that they were laced with a poison in a deliberate attempt to kill the breeding Falcons. Peregrines eat live prey and would have been attracted to the pigeons by their wing flapping as they attempted to escape their tethers.

The NPWS and the Parks Department for Killiney Hill, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council are now calling on the public who use the park to remain vigilant and report any similar incidents.

Here’s how you can help:

• Look out for people acting suspiciously around the nest area
• Keep watch for tethered birds or birds fluttering a lot in the one area but not moving, which may mean that they are tied in some way.
• Report any dead birds seen
• Keep children and pets away from suspect birds

”It is not tolerable for these majestic and extraordinary birds of prey or any other wildlife to be persecuted or poisoned,” said Jimmy Deenihan, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

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)

The post Peregrine Falcons fed poisoned pigeons appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

While the exact number of dead pigeons is not known, eyewitnesses estimated that around 50-60 pigeons were lying dead in the garden. What surprised people was that there was no bleeding or injury marks.

However, since the city witnessed a powerful thunderstorm and hailstorm on late Thursday night, it is also being cited as the reason for mass deaths. Parmeet Sethi, a resident who witnessed the site in the morning, said, “There were no naked wires or any electricity pole where birds were lying dead. Maybe lightning fell on them but that is only a suspicion. The exact reason must be known through proper post-mortem.”

Residents suspected that birds might have fallen prey to poisonous grains or food served by people in the Rose Garden. “People come here daily to offer grains to pigeons. Maybe they ate something poisonous,” said Pravin Kumar, a resident.

The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation was not aware of the deaths initially. Sumit Jarangal, additional commissioner and in-charge of Rose Garden and horticulture department, said, “I will get the dead bodies cleared from the garden and also find out the reason behind the tragedy.”  Later, Jarangal said that “pigeons died because of short circuit”, but failed to explain the source of short circuit. Sandeep Jain, co-opted member of Animal Welfare Board of India, also contacted Jarangal and demanded post-mortem of the pigeons to know the exact reason.

Isha Kalia, additional commissioner, confirmed to Newsline that a post-mortem had been ordered. “Health wing incharge A S Sekhon and animal husbandry department have been given responsibility to get the post-mortem done,” she said.  The Rose Garden presents an utter dismal picture. While once it had a full-fledged zoo with monkeys, deer, ducks and rabbits, now it houses nothing except 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)

The post Pigeons found dead in Rose Garden; MC orders post-mortem appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.

This green laser pattern reflected on a transmission pole is one of several being tested to help prevent bird collisions. (Photo By: Carey Koide /KIUC)

Kauai Island Utility Cooperative is testing a new “light fence” along a portion of its system. Co-op crews are attaching 30 lasers on transmission poles about one mile inland from the island’s southern coastline.

“The purpose of this research is to learn more about the birds and their patterns of activity so we can come up with ways to minimize potential hazards and do it in a cost-effective way,” said Carey Koide, transmission and distribution manager for the Lihue-based co-op.

The research is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife. More than 80 species of birds live on Kauai, including seabirds, native forest and wetland birds, according to scientists.

“As far as we know, this is the first time anywhere that lasers have been used to create a ‘fence’ for the birds,” Koide said.

Laser generators are being installed on six spans of a transmission line. The laser generators will provide narrow beams of light, similar to those produced by pointers, focused parallel to the ground.

Several colors and patterns of light will be tested in an area outside of designated aviation space to prevent the lasers from posing aircraft hazards.

“Researchers want to determine whether the green beams provide a deterrent for native species like the Newell’s shearwater and the Hawaiian petrel,” said Shelley Paik, KIUC’s public affairs specialist, adding that those species are particularly vulnerable to utility line collisions.

“They fly in and out to sea at night and in the early morning and are at greatest risk during a new moon phase when the skies are darkest,” Paik said.

If the test is successful, deployment of a similar system could occur along a transmission corridor near Wailua, where bird collisions are more frequent, said Paik. That could be less expensive than lowering or burying power lines.

The co-op spends about $2 million annually on endangered species protection, including research, power line and lighting configuration, predator control, habitat restoration and rehabilitation of injured birds.

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)

The post Hawaii Co-op Tests Lasers for Bird Control appeared first on Pigeon Patrol Canada - Bird Control Products & Services.