by johnnymarin | Jun 30, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Dear Answer Man: I noticed the other day that there are very few pigeons flying around downtown. I used to love watching their superbly synchronized acrobatics, as squadrons of perhaps 100 birds took flight. Sadly, lately I’ve seen just a handful of pigeons. Did some institution get tired of cleaning up after them, like the owners of the Old Opera House in Pine Island did a few weeks ago? — A Sad Lover of Pigeons
Well, Sad Lover, some days you’re the pigeon and some days you’re the statue. And while it sounds like you were happy as a lark when the bird population soared, right now, they’re scarcer than hen’s teeth.
My first call was to Mike Nigbur, who is in charge of the city’s crow-scaring efforts. He did not know of any pigeon decline downtown. His guess was that Mayo’s peregrine falcon program may have caused the pigeons to chicken out.
Replacing one bird population with another? That would be a little hawkward.
Tom Behrens, Mayo’s facilities chief in charge of the peregrine program, thinks that’s a likely explanation, though.
“The falcons will take some pigeons out, but not a lot — especially when there’s no young,” he said. “But the pigeons learn not to get into big groups, because they know they’re vulnerable that way.”
What’s likely happening, dear reader, is a general spreading-out — not a thinning of the flock. The smaller birds are nesting farther away from downtown, and when they do show up here, they’re in smaller groups. Kind of like how you spread spinach around your plate to make your parents think you’ve eaten it.
Jackie Fallon of the Midwest Peregrine Society backed that up.
“I would not say that the peregrines would cause a significant decline in the pigeon population, but they may alter the behavior of the pigeons to roost or move away from the immediate vicinity of the nesting buildings at Mayo,” she said.
Mike Tenney, the area wildlife supervisor for the DNR, said the pigeon population could potentially drop due to disease or predation from other animals.
Jaime Edwards, also of the DNR, was not aware of any efforts to control the pigeon population (via poison or any other man-made means). It’s not an uncommon action, she said, but pigeon control usually occurs around grain loading areas and elevators — neither of which you’re likely to find walking around downtown.
West Nile virus has disappeared from headlines for a bit, Edwards said, but that doesn’t mean the animal population can sleep easy. Pigeons are still susceptible to the fowl disease, which could have an effect on the population.
Finally, she mentioned that when we have “goofy springs like this” (read: unending slogs of cold, wet weather), it’s hard for birds to incubate their nests warmly enough to hatch eggs. So over a short period of time, you’ll start seeing fewer birds downtown.
Behrens, though, reassured me that pigeons breed year-round, and the population probably hasn’t decreased.
In the end, the answer may be for the birds. Pigeons aren’t native to Minnesota, so Edwards said the DNR isn’t tracking any fluctuations in the population.
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 | Jun 29, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
The traditional mass release of balloons was missing for the first time ever at the inauguration of the recent 14th edition of the Puttinu Cares Football Marathon at the Marsa Sports Grounds.
Following an appeal by several students from Eco-Schools in Malta the Puttinu Cares Animation Team heeded the call to stop balloon releases due to the threat they cause to wildlife. It is also a misconception that biodegradable balloons are a viable alternative as besides the harm done by strings attached to such balloons they may take several years to completely disintegrate.
Instead, the team contacted the Malta Federation of Racing Pigeon Clubs and hundreds of pigeons were released during the launch ceremony, creating a marvellous spectacle for the hundreds of children from several schools and guests present for the launch ceremony. Two soap bubble machines were also rented to add to the magical atmosphere.
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 | Jun 28, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Most of us see pigeons pretty much every day, pecking around for food, or perching on buildings.
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 | Jun 27, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
A racing pigeon is a registered homing pigeon.
These pigeons are dropped off in a location and have to make their way back to their home in Amarillo. Each pigeon has to make it back to their loft and once they cross the antenna, their time is recorded on a clock. The flying speed is broke down into yards per minute to determine the winner.
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 | Jun 26, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
Breeding high nutritional varieties of chickpea and pigeon pea just got easier. Genomic processes which used to take years are being completed in just a few months with the help of new technology.
This was found by scientists from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) here, in collaboration with NRGene, Israel who helped create multiple assembly lines of pigeon pea and chickpea genomes. This means scientists can not only understand crop traits, they can also significantly speed up work on improved varieties.
With this technology from NRGene, ICRISAT has chickpea and pigeon pea genomes to a reference level quality that researchers can use. This would help maximise favorable nutritional properties of these high-protein legumes.
“The developing world has long faced the pressures of food security with limited farmland,” says Dr Rajeev K Varshney, Research Program director, Genetic Gains and director of Center of Excellence in Genomics & Systems Biology, ICRISAT.
“For effective use of genomics-assisted breeding, we need reference genomes of several varieties of a given crop. Therefore, new assemblies of chickpea and pigeon pea lines by NRGene and ICRISAT will allow our scientists and partners to better understand plant traits to breed more nutritional varieties.” ICRISAT in partnership with other institutions, has already decoded and documented genomes of pigeon pea and chickpea (Nature Biotechnology 2013, Nature Biotechnology 2012)
Traditional methods would have required years to complete each individual assembly. NRGene’s DeNovoMAGIC 3.0 delivered multiple assemblies in a matter of months. “While DeNovoMAGIC has been successfully deployed by the world’s leading seed companies and academic institutions, implementing this for organisations like ICRISAT enhances our mission of making an impact on the world food supply,” says Dr. Gil Ronen, CEO of NRGene.
“Chickpea, pigeon pea, and other protein-rich legumes will be even more critical crops in the future and we are glad that our technology can be used to improve the nutritional status of the world.”
Chickpea and pigeon pea have 15-22 grams of protein per 100 grams and are a critical food and nutrition source in India, Africa, and the Caribbean. India produces 64% of the world’s total chickpeas and 63% of the world’s pigeon pea. However, protein hunger, an important aspect of malnutrition continues to be a major concern in Asia.
The drylands, covering 55 countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa inhabited by 2 billion people, 644 million of whom are poor, is most vulnerable to climate change with very little rainfall, degraded soils and poor social infrastructure. ICRISAT through scientific research aims to find solutions for the nutrition security of people in these regions.
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)
