by Ryan Ponto | Feb 18, 2017 | Pigeon Spikes
High above Cambridge’s Trinity College, a hawk has swooped on the hapless bird as it perches on the college clock.
But the bird of prey got stuck behind the giant minute hand as it ticked towards 4.30pm – halting the century-old timepiece for more than three minutes.
Cambridge University engineering expert Dr Hugh Hunt, a fellow at Trinity, spotted the attack and posted pictures of it on Facebook.
He said: “Hawk eating pigeon on my clock dial, oblivious of looming minute hand. Will probably stop the clock.”
It did. College members who look after the pendulum-driven machinery later said on the Trinity website: “Quinn the Harris Hawk ate a pigeon and got stuck behind the minute hand, causing a 186-second stoppage.”
Several members were deployed to reset the clock and do “a top-up wind.”
Later Dr Hunt posted a diagram showing how the clock’s pendulum was affected, captioning it: “The amplitude of swing of the pendulum from yesterday afternoon. Definitely disturbed by the carnage.”
The clock is housed in one of the oldest buildings in Trinity, King Edward’s Gate, originally the entrance to King’s Hall, which joined with Michaelhouse in the 16th century to become Trinity, then called the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity.
The current clock was installed in 1910, and is unusual in that it chimes the hour twice.
The first chime is a low note, and is called the Trinity Chime, and the second is a higher one, the St John’s Chime. William Wordsworth, a St John’s alumnus, mentioned it in his 1850 poem The Prelude:
“Near me hung Trinity’s loquacious clock,
Who never let the quarters, night or day,
Slip by him unproclaimed, and told the hours
Twice over with a male and female voice.”
Birds of prey have been visiting Cambridge’s high towers and spires regularly. In the past few years, peregrine falcons have been seen nesting on top of the University Library and other tall 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 Ryan Ponto | Feb 17, 2017 | Pigeons in the News
VISITORS to Paignton saw nature red in tooth and claw when a magnificent sparrowhawk swooped down to feast on a pigeon lunch.
The bird of prey enjoyed its kill on the pavement in full view of busy shoppers on Hyde Road.
These images of the hungry raptor were captured by David Knowles, a member of Newton Abbot Photo Club, who was visiting the town on Wednesday.
He said: “It was amazing. There were a few people looking through a window and a scattering of feathers.
“She was clearly hungry as she allowed me and a number of other members of the public to get quite close and was totally unperturbed by us.
“It is a bit bloody but this is nature in the raw. It is why animals come in all shapes and sizes and why they all have a place on the planet.”
This particular spciment is a female sparrowhawk which is up to 25 per cent larger than males. The Latin name is accipiter nisus.
PC Josh Marshall, Totnes-based wildlife crime officer, said: “Whilst it could be considered a gruesome picture this is also a fantastic spectacle of nature. Sparrowhawks when found like the one pictured can be unusually accepting of human presence for such a wary bird. This is a sight often seen by persons who feed birds in their back gardens as sparrowhawks often hunt in these areas as a number of songbirds are attracted to food sources placed out by homeowners.
SPARROWHAWK FACTS:
Diet consists of primarily of birds.
Sparrowhawks regularly hunt in back gardens where they use their fast and agile flight to ambush songbirds taking them with their feet.
Female birds can take prey items up to the size of a woodpigeon. They will pluck the prey (as in this photo) prior to eating it.
Male birds show a rufous colour to the breast and have blue/grey upperparts.
They nest in May in coniferous/deciduous plantations where they lay 4-5 eggs, incubation lasting 33 days. The young are fed on small birds brought by both male and female birds and remain in the nest for around 30 days.
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 | Feb 16, 2017 | UltraSonic Bird Control
London boroughs spend the most to rid their streets of pigeons and gulls of anywhere in the country, it has been revealed.
Council spending on bird control across England has almost doubled over the last three years, new research shows.
The Borough of Southwark spent by far the most on bird control compared to other English councils, forking out £393,000 since 2013.
The next biggest spender was the Borough of Hackney which spent £162,000.
The third was the Greater London Authority which spent £137,000 on pigeon-proofing.
Analysis of data provided by the two thirds of English councils which responded to the BBC’s Freedom of Information (FOI) request, found that overall spending rose from £452,000 in 2013-14 to £830,000 in 2015-16.
Most councils said they used spikes on buildings to deter pigeons and gulls from landing, others said they used hawks or trained marksman to control bird numbers.
The British Pest Control Association told the BBC they thought the increase in spending might be due to the greater understanding of the diseases carried by the birds.
Experts warn that while pigeon-proofing may be the most humane way to control bird populations it may just move the problem elsewhere, as they simply move to an adjacent building or street.
But the Royal Society of the Protection of Birds said it “would always advocate non-lethal measures in the first instance.”
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 | Feb 15, 2017 | Animal Deterrent Products
Memes are a curious thing. They seemingly spring out of nowhere, dominant social media and often just as quickly and without warning, go away.
However, the latest meme to dominant Facebook is truly baffling. At least with past memes like Rick Roll’d, Pepe the Frog, Crying Jordan, or Super Bowl riffs, it’s pretty easy to figure out their origin stories.
So, what exactly is that head-banging bird you’ve probably been seeing all over your favorite Facebook pages?
World, meet Trash Dove.
The animated GIF was created by artist Syd Weiler and offered as a digital sticker pack. The Daily Dot reports that it really first took off as a meme in Thailand, though it’s unclear exactly why. In an interview, Weiler didn’t exactly clear things up, saying:
“Pigeons are such strange birds, they have very beautiful mottled, shimmery feathers, but they waddle around and bob their heads and beg for crumbs. They’re like beautiful doves, except they eat trash.”
Um, ok?
One Reddit user offered a theory:
“As for how it is popular, it is because some people somehow found the sticker (this one in particular) very annoying (well including me). Many other people think the sticker is cool and/or it’s funny how someone got annoyed over this and began spamming with it in comments section. This went viral when popular Facebook pages joined the spamming festival and soon enough it’s all over Facebook.”
And there’s no denying the Trash Dove has become near omnipresent and therefore quite annoying to lots and lots of people. So annoying that someone named Adam Lockwood started a Change.org petition to have it banned from Facebook – one that already has more than 10,000 digital signatures. As the petition language explains:
Remove the purple bird from Facebook, it’s constantly spammed in the comments and must be stopped, if you only sign one petition today, make it this one! #MakeFacebookGreatAgain !
Until then, you might have to start getting used to the annoying little purple bird head banging through the comments section of all your favorite sites and message boards.
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 | Feb 14, 2017 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
The amount spent on ridding streets of pigeons and gulls has almost doubled in the past three years, it has emerged.
About two-thirds of England’s councils responded to a BBC information request on bird control.
Their responses reveal the amount spent rose from £452,000 in 2013-2014 to £830,000 in 2015-2016.
The British Pest Control Association said the increase in spending might reflect a growing awareness of public health risks posed by some birds.
The figures come about two years after then Prime Minister David Cameron called for a “big conversation” about gulls in the wake of attacks on a dog and a tortoise in Cornwall.
Of the 103 authorities that specified the types of control methods used, 12 said they employed marksmen to shoot pigeons, 12 used hawks and 46 used spikes to discourage pigeons landing.
Scottish councils spent £950,000 over the past three years compared with £43,000 in Wales and £9,519 in Northern Ireland.
The biggest spender on bird control is the London Borough of Southwark, which has shelled out £393,000 since 2013.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council had the biggest spend outside of London, with £75,000 since 2013, followed by West Sussex County Council which spent £65,000 and Portsmouth, which spent £63,000.
Money spent by councils on bird control ranges from approaches such as pigeon-proofing buildings to clearing up pigeon guano and removing dead pigeons.
But some types of bird control – such as pigeon-proofing – simply move “problems on” to another building or area, said Dee Ward-Thompson, technical manager at the British Pest Control Association.
“If you totally exclude them rather than control the population, they sometimes just move to an adjacent building.
“What we are seeing more often now is landowners coming together to deal with issues collectively.
“In London, they are trying to exclude gulls from all of the buildings because otherwise they will just be moving the issue on.”
Common control methods used in England
- Netting, which prevents birds getting on to buildings
- Spikes to deter birds
- Bird wire
- Hawking
- Decoy birds of prey
- Electric shock systems
- Shooting
- Trapping
- Egg removal and egg pricking or egg oiling (to prevent hatching)
Pigeon control was usually carried out on public health grounds, she said, while gulls were targeted by some authorities because they can be aggressive.
Ms Ward-Thompson, who said bird control activities must be carried out by professionals because of the various laws involved in protecting animals, said she was unaware of a growing issue with birds that could explain the doubling in spending over three years.
Falconer Mark White, of East Anglia-based Step Pest Control, said councils were increasingly using non-lethal methods of bird control.
He uses a combination of methods ranging from netting and spikes to special gels which look like fire, hawks and even a high-powered laser beam.
“A lot of people think we in pest control use hawks for killing. It is in fact the complete opposite – we use the birds for disruption and discourage killing as much as possible.”
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said it “would always advocate non-lethal measures in the first instance”.
The RSPCA said: “The most humane way of deterring birds is to remove what attracts them to urban areas – mainly food or shelter.
“Means of doing this can include reducing food availability, or preventing them from accessing roofs or other areas where they could cause disturbance.
“If deterrence methods and all alternatives fail, and there is a proven case for control methods, we urge people to use only humane methods and trained, experienced professionals.”
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)
