by Pigeon Patrol | Sep 26, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons in the News, UltraSonic Bird Control
PIGEONS roosting under a railway bridge have got residents in a flap after depositing droppings all over pavements.
The winged offenders have been causing trouble from the railway bridge which crosses Gorgie Road near Tynecastle Stadium and Gorgie City Farm.
Calls have now been made for anti-bird netting to be installed to prevent the birds from roosting – following a successful similar method of defence in Abbeyhill.
Regular passers-by have written to Marco Biagi about the pesky pigeons and the Edinburgh Central MSP has taken up the case.
He said: “Unwanted deposits have been developing underneath the bridge which residents are unhappy about.
“I heard about it first when I was out during the referendum from a resident in the area.
“I decided to send round some surveys between Christmas and New Year on the subject and people got back to us saying it was a real problem.”
He pointed to the success of netting under the Abbeyhill rail bridge, near the Scottish Parliament.
Mr Biagi said: “I just thought if it is good enough for the Scottish Parliament then it should work for my constituency too.”
The threat of pigeon droppings has been raised with Gorgie Dalry Community Council a number of times in the last year, said chairwoman Fiona McLean.
She said: “We had a walkabout with the environmental wardens and this was one of the things that was raised.
“Under the railway bridge there are pigeons roosting and there is clearly a mess on the pavement.”
Concerns have been raised in the past over the state of bridges at Newcraighall park and ride, and Bingham.
A spokesman for Network Rail said: “The management of pigeons is the responsibility of local authorities and we regularly work with councils to facilitate access to structures to allow preventative measures such as netting to be installed.”
A city council spokesman said the authority would get in touch with Network Rail to discuss the matter.
In March 2013, dozens of dead pigeons were found
rotting under North Bridge after becoming trapped in a
net designed to stop them roosting.
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 Pigeon Patrol | Sep 25, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes
When someone mentions pigeons, the reaction of most within earshot is more likely to be “rats with wings” than “true marvels of the natural world.”
Filmmaker Scott Harper wants to change people’s minds with his new documentary The Secret Life of Pigeons, which rejects the prevailing avian-rodent notion and seeks to re-install the lowly pigeon on the much-loftier perches it enjoyed in centuries past.
The Secret Life of Pigeons, which airs Thursday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. on CBC’s The Nature of Things, is a rather fascinating examination of a creature that was once considered noble and even heroic, but is now more likely to be regarded as a nuisance or simply ignored completely.
Consider the history: it was the pigeon, not the dog or cat, that was the first animal to be domesticated, and this highly intelligent bird has served many important roles in human history. Pigeons were used as messengers in the military campaigns of Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan; they delivered the results of the first Olympic games in Greece; during the 20th century, their keen homing instincts were exploited to transport military intelligence across battlefields, medicines to distant clinics and financial information to Wall Street traders.
These days, however, the urban-pigeon population mostly just takes up space while struggling daily to survive — a tricky proposition that depends almost exclusively on handouts from humans.
Harper interviews several scientists who have become staunch defenders of pigeons, and their input provides some intriguing revelations about the intelligence and natural gifts of the birds.
Among the information offered is a new understanding of what gives pigeons their unique homing ability, along with first-ever footage of a pigeon’s in-flight perspective, thanks to a tiny harness-mounted camera that allows viewers to take to the skies with the bird.
The Secret Life of Pigeons takes its exploration beyond the “lowly” feral-pigeon population, reaching out into realms in which these creatures are beloved rather than detested. Harper visits with several pigeon “fanciers,” who raise showbirds with such exotic breed designations as African Owl, Short Faced Helmet, Voorburg Shield, English Trumpeter and German Beauty Homer.
“We’ve taken it to a whole other level,” says Manitoba cattle rancher Clint Robertson, president of the Canadian Pigeon Fanciers Association, “We’ve developed birds that aren’t even close to what the feral pigeon is anymore. This is an intense hobby of selectively bred birds that have evolved over thousands of years into something that has suited the taste of each individual breeder.”
Equally passionate about pigeons are the folks who breed them for racing — a relatively small-scale pastime in Canada, but a huge industry in other parts of the world, where purses can reach the million-dollar mark (in South Africa) and prize birds can sell for hundreds of thousands.
Most impressive, however, are the segments of the film that outline how intelligent and adaptable pigeons are — Harper includes re-enactments of a couple of scientific studies that show how the birds communicate over vast distances to ensure that available food supplies are distributed equally among the greater pigeon population.
The theory of “ideal free distribution” suggests — and is backed by solid evidence — that pigeons will disperse in a manner that guarantees equal access to food sources.
“You can never feed pigeons more,” says Luc-Alain Giraldeau, dean of science at the University of Quebec at Montreal. “You can just attract more pigeons.”
Rats with wings? Hardly.
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 Pigeon Patrol | Sep 24, 2015 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes
Concerns about a pigeon problem in Warminster town centre are growing with the population of the birds multiplying alarmingly.
And the burgeoning bird flock is said to be caused by people feeding them.
Town councillor Paul Batchelor says the pigeon population has doubled in the last 18 months and birds are not just gathering on the Old Town Hall but on other town centre buildings as well.
Cllr Batchelor, who runs Batchelors Cycles in Market Place, believes people are still not heeding the advice to not feed the pigeons and said he has been approached by several businesses and residents concerned about the issue.
Warminster Town Council has previously looked at drastic solutions to the long-running pigeon problem, including using a Harris Hawk or a contraceptive feed, but the ideas were dismissed by a feral pigeon expert.
Cllr Batchelor said: “It is noticeable that the pigeon population has doubled in the last 18 months and they only multiply according to the food supply they get.
“If the population is doubling then there must be people out there doing a good job of feeding them. I understand that people just think they are harmless creatures, but they carry disease and create a mess on our pavements.
“We do need to make sure the town centre is a safe environment for people, but I can see an increasing number of pigeons on roofs of buildings other than the Old Town Hall.
“It can be someone having a bit of crust leftover and throwing it to pigeons, which may seem harmless, but only makes the situation worse. Traders and people in the town are noticing and have raised the issue with me.”
Warminster Town Council discussed the issue at a meeting earlier this month, where councillors agreed that the pavements are a disgrace, especially outside eating establishments.
Because of concerns that droppings are creating a health hazard, Cllr Batchelor is going to ask the finance and assets committee on November 3 to put forward money for warning signs.
Cllr Batchelor added: “I have asked for an item to be put on the agenda about having signs put around the town to warn people about feeding pigeons.
“We need to educate people about the issue before taking more radical measures.”
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 Pigeon Patrol | Sep 23, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Bird Netting, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Spikes, UltraSonic Bird Control
BLYTHE, California — Authorities say safety netting could have prevented the death of 64 birds at a Southern California solar energy plant.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise says the birds died this month at the Genesis solar plant near Blythe after getting mired in wastewater evaporation ponds that contained an oily toxic chemical.
The California Energy Commission says safety netting designed to keep birds away from the plant was destroyed by high winds in August and never replaced.
Roger Johnson, who oversees environmental compliance for the commission, says new netting’s been ordered but won’t be installed before year’s end.
However, authorities say the 10 acres of ponds are being drained and people stationed around them to keep the birds away.
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 Pigeon Patrol | Sep 22, 2015 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting
HAMILTON HEIGHTS — A domesticated pigeon owner captured a red-tailed hawk who tried to make a meal of his trained pigeons on Monday, delivering the hawk to officials.
Rene Leclerc, 56, who keeps about 15 pigeons in two air-conditioner units he converted into pigeon shelters in the window of his third-floor 138th Street apartment said he saw the hawk divebomb his birds about 10:30 a.m.
The hawk managed to get inside one of Leclerc’s handmade shelters, tearing up the birds inside. When Leclerc saw the “carnage,” he said he opened his living room window to allow his birds a place to flee.
What followed was a chaotic scene when half a dozen birds, followed by the hawk, started flying around his apartment living room, he said.
“He had already killed two pigeons and injured at least four more when I got ahold of him,” said Leclerc, who once held a falconry license.
He used a towel to capture the hawk.
“He flew right into it,” Leclerc said.
After catching the hawk, who weighed a little more than a pound and had a 4-foot wingspan, Leclerc brought the raptor to The Bird Wildlife Fund, a nonprofit that provides medical care and rehabilitation to injured wild birds in the city.
“He seems perfect,” Wild Bird Fund Director Rita McMahon said after examining the raptor. “We found blood in his mouth but we think it was probably coming from when he attacked the pigeons because he was not injured,” she said, adding that the juvenile hawk would be released in Central Park Tuesday morning at the latest.
Leclerc, who used to be in the military, said he has had birds for more than 25 years.
“I’ve always gotten along with animals better than with people,” Leclerc said. “ I like training pigeons. It’s all based on faith and loyalty. I open their cage in the morning and I don’t know if they’re going to come back. I hope they come back but I have no guarantee. It’s all based on trust,” he said.
Most of Leclerc’s pigeons are Portuguese Tumblers and Budapest High Flyers, Leclerc said.
“They’re easier to care for because they’re small,” the bird owner said.
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)
PIGEONS roosting under a railway bridge have got residents in a flap after depositing droppings all over pavements.