Getting the drop on droppings: City vows to put an end to pigeon poop — at least under one Dartmouth, N.S., bridge

Getting the drop on droppings: City vows to put an end to pigeon poop — at least under one Dartmouth, N.S., bridge

Dartmouth has a problem with pigeons and their droppings.

“They’re literally pooping in the lake,” said Emma Wattie, a water resource specialist with the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Feces from pigeons that roost under a bridge along Highway 111, between Lake Banook and Lake Micmac, has been identified as one of the bacteria sources in the water.

“There’s no barrier underneath, the bridge is essentially a throughway from the old canal system, the Shubenacadie Canal,” said Wattie. “Birds are literally roosting and their feces is entering the water.”

“There are hundreds of pigeons roosting underneath there,” said Jim Hunter, an environmental risk and compliance specialist with the municipality.

“It’s not only an environmental issue with the lake, it’s a problem for the paddlers as well going underneath the bridge.”

The municipality plans to force the pigeons out by installing environmentally friendly bird netting.

“It’s a nylon mesh, very fine mesh, that’ll keep any birds of any size in this area out and that way they won’t be able to roost any longer in that location,” said Hunter.

The project is expected to cost about $175,000 and will take four-to-six weeks to complete. The first step is for crews to clean and disinfect the entire underside of the bridge.

“The ultimate goal is that we have the pigeons roosting somewhere else — not under the bridge,” said Sam Austin, the area councillor.

“You think about that bridge, it’s not a natural environment, I mean a pigeon would maybe (roost) on a cliff, in a tree, something like this, normally, but under that bridge is pretty much a direct path from bird to lake.”

Vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the area will be unaffected while crews install the netting.

“For the people who paddle, or boat, on the lake, I would just urge you to be very cautious when you’re going through there, because one side is going to be closed and then they’ll flip to the other side and then the other side will close, so for the duration of construction, one of the lanes under the bridge is closed to boating,” said Austin.

It’s hoped less pigeons and what they leave behind will lead to fewer beach closures in the summer.

Take a closer look at that pigeon

Take a closer look at that pigeon

That pigeon in your neighborhood may not be your typical bird. Seattle Animal Control Officer Kevin Mack reports several “banded” pigeons found in the city recently.

“We’ve received at least two banded racing pigeons in the last couple weeks,” said Mack. “And I’ve had at least three sightings of banded birds that were moving through the city.

“These birds are essentially identical to local feral pigeons you see in the city, Rock Pigeons. But they really are domesticated birds and they usually have owners that want them back.”

People who race pigeons usually have a coop at their residence. They raise the birds, register them with their organization of choice, and then race them.

The race consists of driving the pigeon a pre-determined distance from their coop, setting them loose, and then seeing how long it takes them to return. Some pigeons are better at homing than others so sometimes they get lost on their way back. Other times they get injured or just plain tired.

The American Racing Pigeon Union is one of the most popular pigeon racing groups. You can tell the pigeons belong to someone who belongs to the group because they have bands on their legs with the letters “AU” on them.

The site also has good information about how to read the information on the band and some links to other organizations for birds with other types of bands.

The pigeon that is being sheltered at the Seattle Animal Shelter is from Jeanerett, Louisiana because its band includes the local club code. “2022” is the bird’s hatch year and the long number found on the other side of the band is the bird’s unique identifier.

Source

Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today. 

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row. 

Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca

Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard

Someone glued a tiny sombrero on a pigeon in Reno

Someone glued a tiny sombrero on a pigeon in Reno

RENO, Nev. – Last month, a couple of pigeons strutting through Las Vegas wearing cowboy hats captured the attention of the nation. They also apparently captured the attention of some Reno copy cats.

In a tweet posted Wednesday morning, Reno City Manager Sabra Newby reported finding a pigeon in northeast Reno wearing a tiny sombrero.

“I look out the window and there’s a bunch of pigeons and one of them has a hat on,” Newby said. “Who knew. In Reno now we have pigeons with hats.”

Newby had been on a ride-along with the city’s parking enforcement team checking on abandoned vehicles when she saw the poor bird.

A photo taken by Sabra Newby, City Manager of Reno, Nevada shows a pigeon with a sombrero on its head.

The Las Vegas pigeons became famous last month after a Facebook video went viral. Two of the birds earned the nicknames Coolamity Jane and Cluck Norris, inspiring a parody country song and entertaining social media commentary, as well as national media attention.

But Newby said she was dismayed that someone in Reno would harm pigeons here. One of the behatted pigeons in Las Vegas recently died.

“It’s not really that funny,” Newby said. “Because somebody captured the pigeon and ostensibly glued it on. We don’t support that kind of activity.”

Newby said she reported the pigeon to Washoe County Regional Animal Control Services.

“Reno cares about our animals,” she said in a written statement. “They need protection and don’t need to become a punchline.”

While Washoe County Regional Animal Control has no jurisdiction over wild animals, the director urged people not to glue things to pigeons.

“Washoe County Regional Animal Services finds this practice of affixing any objects on wild birds disturbing, inhumane and strongly discourages this type of behavior,” agency director Shyanne Schull said in a statement.

 Source

Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today. 

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row. 

Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca

Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard

 

Pigeon’s crow?

Pigeon’s crow?

Greg Pigeon called a television station and told them: “That’s my crow.”

And a peculiar story in the British Columbia news got even more peculiar.

The interesting tale involves a Cariboo resident, a young guy on a bike and a crow “attack” in Vancouver, a video on the Internet, multiple news reports about that video, and now, contradictory stories about where this simultaneously pesky and charming bird named, Crow, with no fear of people and an orange zip tie around its foot, really came from.

According to reports, East Vancouver locals say the crow in question fell from its nest as a baby and people there nursed it back to health.

The crow stuck around and now it’s like their friendly neighbourhood crow, a sort of precocious feathered mascot of the community, hanging out at racetracks and soccer fields, entertaining children, flying around and brazenly pecking items from people’s pockets.

The bird apparently goes by many names down in the Lower Mainland: Crackers, Mr. Jack, Canuck and Jerome.

An East Vancouver resident who was featured in the reports calls him Crow. This is what Pigeon, a 108 Mile Ranch resident, calls him, too.

But Crow was raised in the Cariboo, Pigeon claims, not in Vancouver.

The way Pigeon tells it, he found Crow in the spring at his parent’s farm near Clinton. The baby bird fell from its nest and Pigeon’s son, Steven, took care of it when the family brought it home to 108 Mile Ranch, and raised it like a pet.

“It learned how to fly eventually,” says Pigeon. “It flew around our house and visited our neighbours and they got to know him.

“He just kept coming back. Eventually, he disappeared.”

Before the bird went missing around August, Pigeon tied an orange zip tie around its left foot to distinguish it from other crows in his yard.

Pigeon says there’s no doubt the crow on the news is the same crow. After all, he asks, what are the chances there are two strikingly social, heart-winning crows flying around B.C. – with the same colour zip tie on the same foot?

Reached via e-mail and asked about the likelihood of Pigeon’s crow being the same crow in the Vancouver news reports, Tom Dickinson, Dean of Science at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, says the orange strap on the bird’s leg is “a perfect match” and he suspects it is the same bird and Pigeon’s story is true.

“Only two ways to get there: fly or hitch hike,” explains Dickinson, whose research includes bird communities in high elevation forests.

“It isn’t that far to go, especially if there is favourable wind and weather. But given how tame this [crow] looks, it is at least equally likely he was foraging inside a truck bed (or the like) and maybe didn’t get out before the door slammed and found himself in Kerrisdale.”

Pigeon shares a similar theory. But no matter how the bird made its way south, he just hopes Crow eventually makes his way back up to the Cariboo, and hopes no one hurts him in the meantime.

“If he seems to be a pain the butt, the main thing is ignore him and he’ll find someone else. If you feed him, he’s going to continue staying around.

“If he’s in 100 Mile, let me know,” Pigeon adds.

“He’s more than welcome around our house. We enjoyed having him around.”

 

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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca

Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosting / Vancouver Pigeon Control /Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / Pigeon Deterrent?  Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest /Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons/ What to do about pigeons/ sparrows , Damage by Sparrows, How To Keep Raccoons Away,  Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests/ De-fence / Pigeon Nesting/ Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping/ woodpecker control/ Professional Bird Control Company/ Keep The Birds Away/ Birds/rats/ seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/ dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/ pidgeon control/flying rats/ pigeon Problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/ bird guard

Vancouver Island woman reunited with pet pigeon

Vancouver Island woman reunited with pet pigeon

Today, a Vancouver Island woman got the feathered reunion she’s been waiting six weeks for.

Sandy Bird lost her pet pigeon, Tweetie, in October, when the bird flew away, as it does, and landed on the wrong truck. The truck drove away and Bird was left without her pigeon.

To Bird’s distress, her bird wound up in a wildlife centre. The centre’s rules prohibited staff from releasing the pigeon back into Bird’s care. She tried to get her pigeon back, but instead it was released into the wild. The centre couldn’t tell Bird where or when Tweetie was being released.

This morning, Tweetie was spotted in a mall parking lot.

Bird said she looked for hours since the break of dawn for the bird in shopping centres and parks throughout Nanaimo.

Staff at a Chemainus office were keeping an eye out for the bird. Office worker Anita Morrill saw Tweetie through the window.

“He jumped down as soon as I saw him,” she said.

Staff called Sandy and told her to come collect her pet pigeon.

Bird said the pigeon is like a son to her.

“I am the happiest woman in the world. If I won the lotto I couldn’t be happier,” she said.

Bird said she would like to thank the viewers and listeners of CHEK TV and CBC radio.

“They’re the reason and you’re the reason he’s back,” said Bird.

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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.

Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.

Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca

Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosting / Vancouver Pigeon Control /Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / Pigeon Deterrent?  Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest /Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons/ What to do about pigeons/ sparrows , Damage by Sparrows, How To Keep Raccoons Away,  Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests/ De-fence / Pigeon Nesting/ Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping/ woodpecker control/ Professional Bird Control Company/ Keep The Birds Away/ Birds/rats/ seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/ dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/ pidgeon control/flying rats/ pigeon Problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/ bird guard