by Ryan Ponto | Jun 11, 2017 | Bird Netting
When Ron McBride comes to his usual spot at Clover Point, he’s always in good company.
It’s where the 65-year-old from New York has spent the last five years surrounded by hundreds of his closest friends: pigeons.
“I’m out for two to three hours sometimes,” McBride said. “Sometimes all day if I feel like it.”
It’s a change of pace for McBride.
“I had a very high-pressure job for 30 years and I sort of broke,” McBride said.
He decided to retire and turn to nature for a remedy.
“This is what my psychologist said was giving back to nature and I love it, I’ll tell you that,” McBride said.
“It’s just too relaxing.”
Even when the pigeons fly over and land near McBride, he swears by his practice.
“The pressure you have it’s just gone,” McBride said.
“It’s too hard to explain you have to do it to experience it”
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 Ryan Ponto | Jun 10, 2017 | Bird Netting
WALNUT CREEK (CBS SF) — An outdoor mall in Walnut Creek has brought in a hawk to help with a pigeon problem.
Downtown Walnut Creek’s Broadway Plaza is a lovely place to visit — unless you’re a pigeon.
“They are called the wolves of the air,” explained falconer Bridget Maguire-Colton as her trained hawk Remmy flapped his wings.
Remmy is a Harris hawk usually found in the deserts of Arizona chasing doves. But now this bird of prey is chasing pigeons away from the suburban East Bay mall.
It seems to be working.
“Have you seen any pigeons today?” asked Maguire-Colton with a laugh.
There were none visible. Maguire-Colton patrols the plaza with Remmy keeping a hawk eye out for any intruders.
Every once in a while, she releases Remmy so he can get a better look from above.
Remmy rarely catches a pigeon. The hawk’s shriek alone usually clears the area for blocks around.
Remmy has also become an instant celebrity. Shoppers at Broadway Plaza are shocked to see the hawk.
“I think it genius! It’s a really cool idea,” said one shopper.
While pigeons may get used to the plastic owls sometimes used on buildings to keep the pesky birds away, experts say they never lose respect for sharp claws and scream of a hawk.
Currently, there are about a half dozen malls using hawks to scare off pigeons but the many sun-drenched outdoor malls in California could push that number higher given the success rate.
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 Ryan Ponto | Jun 9, 2017 | Bird Netting
London – He’s a sharp-eyed, no-nonsense killer who rules the roost at Wimbledon and the prestigious tennis championships wouldn’t function without him: meet Rufus, the hawk who makes pigeons’ lives hell.
Up at the crack of dawn throughout the two-week tournament which he has patrolled for 10 years, the sharp-eyed Harris hawk keeps pigeons in their place and makes sure they are not gobbling up the grass seed and fouling the pristine grounds.
Weighing just one pound, six ounces (625g), he has been training at the All England Club in southwest London since he was 16 weeks old.
“You couldn’t do this with just any bird. He’s just so chilled, calm and relaxed,” said his handler Imogen Davis.
“We start at 05:00. We clear the pigeons, if there’s any around, and get ready for the day’s play.
“But we’re here all year round which is when the majority of the work is done.
“The courts are constantly reseeded and the pigeons think it’s a picnic for them. They come in their absolute flocks and eat the grass seed.
“We’re here to ascertain that it’s Rufus’ territory – and it’s not a safe place for them.”
Pigeons would soon wreck the championships for players and spectators alike, Davis insisted.
“As soon as you’ve got a problem, it gets out of hand very quickly,” the 30-year-old said.
“If pigeons cause trouble throughout play, that can make a massive difference to a player, interrupting you when you’re in the zone. And the mess they can cause is pretty outrageous.”
It would be game, set and match to Rufus should any dim-witted pigeon try and take him on.
“If a pigeon wants to fight him, they can hang around and give it a go but ultimately it’s predator versus prey – and they’re going to take off every time,” said Davis.
Technology can be used to deter pigeons but Rufus’ job is safe: the natural terror Rufus instils in the pigeons of southwest London would be difficult to replace with gadgets.
Wimbledon is known for strawberries and cream but Rufus the Hawk prefers a protein-rich diet of chicken, quail, rabbit and pigeon.
Besides the All England Club, Rufus has also been known to do a job at Westminster Abbey, Northampton Saints rugby club and the occasional landfill site.
Rufus was mysteriously stolen back in 2012 but the culprit, who was never caught, had a change of heart and freed him two days later.
Now he is never out of his handler’s sight during the championships and even stays in Davis’s house.
Around 40 000 people a day pour through the gates during the tournament, but Rufus is unruffled by the commotion.
“These two weeks of the year are absolutely crazy. The rest of the year it’s just me and Rufus on the roof,” said Davis.
“He loves to fly and be out. His thing is to be out hunting. It’s all he knows. He’s not a show bird.
“He likes to keep me on my toes. He disappears down the golf club (across the road from the tennis site) and makes me go into the lake after him. But if I don’t go in after him he’ll make himself comfortable and I won’t be able to get him back.”
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 Ryan Ponto | Jun 8, 2017 | Bird Netting
A downtown park yesterday shut down its pigeon area after visitors complained about its poor environment and that the owner was secretly “killing and selling” pigeons on the site.
Yangpu Park on Kongjiang Road suspended all the activities involved in its “pigeon court” in the west section of the park from yesterday.
Previously, visitors could pay to feed the pigeons or pose in front of the pigeon houses. Over 100 pigeons were kept in a row of wooden houses near the park’s children playground.
Visitors told the Shanghai Daily that the owner of the pigeon court sold “wild and old” pigeons to regular park users, with prices ranging up to 100 yuan (US$14.70) for a fully developed pigeon.
Customers can point to the pigeon they wanted, and the owner will catch it with a webbed pouch, kill it and remove its feathers on site, visitors said.
Many old customers come to the park to buy pigeons as they believed the birds were fresher and more nutritious than those sold in the wet markets, an operator of the court said.
“The park decided to close the court and relocate the pigeons, because many visitors complained about the environmental problems of the pigeon courts recently,” the management of the park said.
In a statement posted at the site, the park management said environmental issues were the major concern. The site lies beside a large public plaza where many children play on skateboards or ride bicycles.
Most of the pigeons had been moved to inside the wooden houses yesterday, though some still sunbathed on the rooftops.
“It’s a pity that the pigeons have to be relocated,” the owner said yesterday. He declined to speak further on the matter.
Another operator of the pigeon court said live pigeons could still be sold. “You can take it to the wet market to ask for the killing and cleaning services,” he admitted. “But killing on site must be forbidden.”
The park management initially rented the area to the pigeon owner. However, the pigeon watching and feeding services were later upgraded to killing and selling, a regular visitor to the park said yesterday. Dust, feathers and smells marked the pigeon court, he 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 Ryan Ponto | Jun 7, 2017 | Bird Netting
A CONSISTENT and team approach saw Wangaratta fall to Yarrawonga by just seven goals on Saturday.
The home side stepped up their intensity, pressed the issue when they had the advantage and showed signs of their ability to handle Yarrawonga’s fierce pressure but ultimately the Magpies couldn’t match the Pigeons’ superior scoring.
Yarrawonga led all game; a three-goal margin, 15-12 at quarter time was increased to a nine-goal buffer at half time, but the Magpies clawed their way back closing to six goals down at three quarter time, and within four goals late in the fourth and final term, but the Pigeons lifted and pushed the final margin out to 57-50.
Amanda Umanski lifted her game while opposed to reigning Toni Wilson medallist Hannah Symes scoring 33 goals at 79 per cent, while coach Kellie Keen was also accurate with 11 goals from 13 attempts.
Keen was her side’s best player through the attacking half, setting up high percentage shots for her shooters and then finishing off the midcourt’s hard work when it was her time to shoot.
Keen was backed up by wing attack Chaye Crimmins who set up a number of strong looks for her shooters with accurate passes.
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)
