by johnnymarin | Apr 15, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
Minnesotan Fredrick Harrison Becker was sent to France when America entered into the ongoing worldwide conflict. He was one of a class of 13 U.S. Naval Air Service pilots trained for coastal patrol duty to watch over and protect convoys at sea along the coast of France.
Becker was born in Dodge Center and for a time, he was a resident of Grafton Township in the northwest corner Sibley County. His grave is in New York state.
Sibley County Museum at Henderson has one of the French-made fur-lined flight suits worn by Becker during his time in the service.
His duties included dropping bombs on German submarines bent on torpedoing the convoys.
The air ships assigned to Becker’s group were Tellier single-engine biplanes. Each cost $16,000.
They were “flying boats with Hispano engines of 220 horsepower, geared to a big wooden propeller” wrote Becker in a Feb. 15, 1949, article for the magazine “The Sportsman Pilot.”
Becker thought the air ships were beautiful.
In the article, he described the problems he and his observer, Dan Carey, faced — rough seas on takeoff or landing, a primitive radio, an erratic compass and a fuel supply of only 160 gallons.
Four homing pigeons were aboard. The birds were used to send messages when all other methods failed.
Evidently, Becker’s pigeons were not very well trained and they were most reluctant to leave the ship. He would shoot a pistol to scare a pigeon and “persuade him to make an honest effort to find his way home.”
The article included accounts of the five times Becker and Carey ditched at sea. They were rescued each time.
The planes went out two at a time, usually flying about 1,000 feet over the convoy they were watching. If forced down, the plane was usually in sight of one of the ships and rescue was speedy.
Bad weather or malfunctions caused most ditchings.
Becker and Carey came close to dying in the fifth dunking. They were in Tellier No. 5, one of a dozen ships assigned to their station.
On that occasion, they had followed a French submarine on a dash to Spain and were well outside the usual shipping lanes when their engine failed.
Down they went. The boat overturned, but the two men found a protruding breather pipe they grasped by their fingers.
“We clung to the plane for a long, long time … squalls came and passed … the hull was filling with water and sooner or later it would go down … we wore life belts but they were no protection from the cold … the end seemed not far off. A sound came to me over my left shoulder … Dan caught it too. It seemed about a week later when a strong sailor grabbed me by the neck, the most welcome feeling ever to come to me … he got us both into his boat … to a big ship. The doctor removed our wet clothes. The boys rubbed me so hard they made me dizzy.”
Becker’s sister and her husband, Esther Daisy and Arthur Sander, lived in rural Arlington. He gave his flight suit to his brother-in-law during a visit to Sibley County, probably in the 1920s.
Art Sander wore the suit while doing chores in the winter.
After her husband’s death in 1959, Esther Sander donated the suit and a photograph of her brother to the museum.
The flight suit is now part of the World War l display under development on the main floor of the museum.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | Apr 14, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
With feathers preened and bills buffed, nearly 800 pigeons took part in Jordan’s largest beauty contest for birds.
The event in Amman was established over two years ago to ensure that pigeon rearing, popular with elder men, doesn’t die out.
Pigeons from across the Levant in a variety of sizes, some with bright, arched beaks, others all white birds, were aligned next to each other in mesh cages and evaluated for their beauty and poise, among other qualities.
“We love pigeons, and this is a hobby, just like those who love horses, camels, goats or falcons,” event organizer Mohamed Al-Masri told Reuters.
Around 1,500 people attended the spectacle as 500 pigeon breeders put their birds on show.
“People come from everywhere in Jordan and brought their birds that they love and care for …in order to show this beauty in front of everyone,” said Abu Rakan Al-Daaja, one of the breeders at the event.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | Apr 13, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
Winona residents have easy access to one of the most beautiful, scenic farms in the county! The farm belongs to Dick and Sue Gallien and the Minnesota Land Trust and is known as the Winona Farm on East Burns Valley Road (about three miles from mid-Winona). With its natural surrounding of woods, bluff land, pastures, fields, ponds and a creek, this Winona farm would be an ideal place of refuge and shelter for ducks and geese to live in peace — a sanctuary!
As a forward-thinking environmentalist and out-of-the-box conservationist, Dick Gallien may be open to this sanctuary idea. With clipped wings, nourishing food and water, plus a monthly stipend, he and Sue may open their picturesque farm to these feathered friends and to those youngsters who would enjoy feeding and visiting them.
As a neighboring farmer and teacher myself, I have appreciated years of wisdom and mentorship from the Galliens. I’ve enjoyed many a class field trip where we hiked the trails; caught wild birds and rodents and identified them; sent messages with homing pigeons; learned about raising cattle, horses, goats, sheep, poultry, pigs, and children; learned about the East Burns Valley one-room school and retraced the paths those early settlers took to get there. (Some children walked or rode horseback up to five miles for an education!)
Having acquired the legendary Walt Disney flock of white pigeons, Dick’s lovely birds are seen flying the countryside.
As a visionary, Dick Gallien has mentored, inspired, and sometimes frustrated many of us who attempt to fully understand him. However, in this situation — the need of a sanctuary for our ducks and geese — the Galliens and the Winona Farm with its spectacular landscape would be a near perfect solution to an over-populated problem at the lake.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | Apr 12, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
PETA has uncovered what La Crosse is doing with pigeons and the group is not happy about it.
Mayor Tim Kabat says he’s responded to a letter from the animal advocacy group’s cruelty investigations department. La Crosse is working with the USDA on a process to bait, net and remove the pigeons,which is what PETA has complained about.
Kabat assured the group the latest effort comes only after a long string of other, non-lethal methods. Working with the USDA is really just the latest step in pigeon control that has included contraceptive feed, bird barriers and no feeding rules, among others.
In December, the city entered into the $23,000 pigeon removal contract, after spending more than $33,000 to clean pigeon poop out of the Main Street parking ramp.
“I think we have employed a pretty comprehensive approach over the last several years,” Kabat said, “and the city did quite a bit of review and analysis before taking the next step to contract with the USDA.
“I think we’ve been pretty deliberate in our approach and our conversations with the contractor, I mean, we’ve received reassurance that they do everything in their power to treat them as humanely as possible.”
Kabat says the city will stick with the new method for now.
“Obviously, we want to see it succeed and do what it’s supposed to do, so we do need to run its course just a little bit and if we need to make adjustments, we will do that,” Kabat 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)
by johnnymarin | Apr 11, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
HAIFA, Israel (Press Release) — Pigeons played an important role in turning the Byzantine Negev into a flourishing region 1,500 years ago. This is the conclusion of a new study held at the Institute of Archeology at the University of Haifa that was published Monday in the prestigious journal PlosOne. The study, which concentrated on the ancient settlement of Shivta and Saadon, found archaeological evidence showing that the Byzantines in the Negev raised pigeons not as a source of food, but in order to fertilize the loess soil and enhance its suitability for intensive agriculture. “Pigeon droppings are rich in phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen, which are vital for agricultural and are lacking in the loess soils of the Negev,” the researchers explained. “The pigeon bones we found are much smaller than those of pigeons bred for the meat industry. Together with the nesting materials we found in the compartments and their location in the middle of agricultural fields, the findings show that the pigeons were raised without significant intervention. The role of humans was mainly confined to providing protection for the birds.”
In recent years, extensive research has been undertaken in the Byzantine settlements of the Negev, led by Prof. Guy Bar-Oz of the University of Haifa. Among other goals, the researchers are interested in understanding how the Byzantines managed to maintain a broad-based agricultural system in the desert 1,500 years ago, and what led to the sudden abandonment and eventual collapse of these flourishing communities. In a study published several months ago, the research group presented important archaeological evidence to the magnitude of agriculture in the Negev in this period, based on the bones of a rodent called Tristram’s jird, which lives only in wetter environments and is not found in desert areas. The current study, led by Dr. Nimrod Marom of the University of Haifa and Tel Hai College, in cooperation with Prof. Bar-Oz and Dr. Yotam Tepper of the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa and Dr. Baruch Rosen of the Volcani Center, focused on the study of the bones of pigeons from the compartments discovered in agricultural areas close to the Byzantine settlements.
The researchers explain that pigeon droppings are a well-known source of important minerals for agriculture, such as phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen. Until recently, pigeons were used in many parts of the world to improve and fertilize soil. However, over the centuries pigeons have also been raised for other purposes, particularly for their meat. In order to determine the purpose of pigeon raising in the Negev, the researchers examined the bones found in the compartments, as well as the chemical composition of their droppings.
The large quantity of bones found in the excavations enabled the researchers to determine the average wingspan, body structure, and skull pattern of the pigeons from the Byzantine period. These were compared with data for various species of pigeons in the modern era. The comparative analysis was based in part of a comparison between the pigeons from the Negev and the pigeons collected and investigated by Charles Darwin, the father of the theory of evolution. The bones of Darwin’s pigeons are today housed at the British National Museum. The most important finding reached by the researchers was that the pigeons from the Byzantine period were small, muscular, and “athletic,” and did not differ in their dimensions from wild pigeons. According to Dr. Marom, the smaller body size is not only clear evidence that they offered less meat. The smaller the birds, the more rapid their metabolism. To put it simply: smaller doves produce more droppings relative to the quantity of food they consume.
The chemical tests conducted at the laboratory showed that the droppings are indeed rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. “Together with this fact, the location of the pigeon compartments in an agricultural area remote from the settlements reinforces the hypothesis that the pigeons were raised in the compartments in order to produce high-quality fertilizer that accumulated on the floor of the compartments and was used to fertilize the fruit trees and vines in the vineyards and orchards. We also exposed rich botanical findings in the compartments themselves, including grape seeds, olives, peaches, and various kinds of wild plants – all remnants of the food eaten by the pigeons – as well as a large quantity of remnants of branches. All these findings provide further evidence that the Negev during the Byzantine period was green and flourishing,” the researchers concluded.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
