by Ryan Ponto | Jan 19, 2017 | UltraSonic Bird Control
Kendrapara : About a hundred pigeons have succumbed to an unknown disease triggering avian flu scare in a far off village in Mahakalapada tehsil of Kendrapara district, sources said.
Some death incidents of fowls were also reported from nearby localities last week. The avian beauties are dying almost on a daily basis, a veterinary official said.
With scares of bird flu gripping the state after such incidents of crow deaths and culling of poultry at Khurda, Keonjhar, Rourkela the deaths of pigeons in Mahakalpada has triggered panic situation of bird flu.
Meanwhile, veterinary experts have visited the area to take stock of the situation and have collected blood samples of the winged species for laboratory examination.
Although the exact reason for the death of the birds is yet to be confirmed experts said there was no reason for panic since the deaths could also be due to ‘Ranikhet’, a virus borne disease or could be due to Vitamin C deficiency or even due to food poisoning, a senior veterinary official 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 | Jan 18, 2017 | Pigeons in the News
As night-time approaches in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey, most of the alleyways of the city’s old bazaar are emptying out, except for one.
The bustle of daytime trading has died down, but on this little street, a stream of men carry cardboard boxes filled with pigeons to a cluster of three teahouses.
Here, they sell the birds at Sanliurfa’s famed auctions to a dedicated band of pigeon keepers and breeders, a pastime that has been thriving for hundreds of years across the region and over the nearby border into war-torn Syria.
In a country where the minimum wage is about 1 400 Liras ($367) a month, enthusiasts regularly easily spend hundreds of dollars for one bird.
“I once sold a pair of pigeons for 35 000 Turkish Lira,” says auctioneer İmam Dildas. “This is a passion, a hobby you cannot quit. I’ve been known to sell the fridge and my wife’s gold bracelets to pay for pigeons.”
Sanliurfa sits just 50km (30 miles) from Syria, in a southeastern region rocked by its own clashes between government troops and Kurdish insurgents. But the trade has taken the turmoil in its stride and carried on.
In the early days of the conflict next door, there was a glut of birds on the market as enthusiasts from northern Syria fled into Turkey with their pigeons.
“Prices fell due to oversupply but as the conflict escalated and there were no more pigeons coming from Syria, prices rose again,” says 23-year-old breeder İsmail Ozbek.
He keeps about 200 pigeons – together worth about 50 000 lira – in lofts fitted with alarms and closed circuit TV cameras.
At the auction, men sip tea and smoke cigarettes as Dildas picks up a bird and shows it to the crowd. He gives a starting bid price and buyers shout out their offers.
Prices vary from 30 to 3 500 Lira. Some birds wear silver adornments on their feathers or feet to boost their value.
At the end of the night, Dildas has sold around 13 000 Lira worth of birds. His commission is 10 percent.
When they are not trading, most of the city’s pigeon fanciers head to the rooftops at sunset and let their birds stretch their wings. Hundreds fill the sky – a familiar sight in the city – before following their training and heading home.
“The birds are my friends. They give me peace,” says 55-year-old enthusiast Resit Guzel.
He gives his 70 birds quality feed and regular vitamins.
“Upkeep … costs 5 Lira a day, which is not much. Even if it cost me more, I wouldn’t mind,” he says.
“They have been my hobby for the last 40 years … You can only understand if you keep pigeons.”
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 | Jan 17, 2017 | Pigeon Spikes
Activists involved in rescuing and providing medical treatment to birds that get injured due to kite strings are a worried lot. According to them this year with the number of kites being seen in the sky being much higher compared to last year, it could mean that the number of mortalities and injuries will only rise in the coming days.
In fact by Saturday evening there were over 150 birds reported to be injured with various organisations working for birds. “We have got around 100 birds from across South Mumbai and Western suburbs mostly pigeons who have been injured and are being treated,” said Harsh Shah of Bird Helpline who along with several volunteers had set up several camps across Mumbai.
Shah voicing his concern said that this year since the Kite Festival fell on a weekend there were more people seen flying kites. “Our observation across the city suggests that this year there were more kites, which means that more chances of the manjha being left on branches, walls and other places where birds might get stuck. Normally the cases of bird injuries begin flooding a day after the festival,” he said.
Bharat Amin a Ville Parle resident who found a kite hanging and struggling to free itself from the manjha said that it took four hours to free the bird. “The birds feet got stuck in manjha that was left on a tree at Irla and we spotted it at around 1pm and despite trying call almost everyone for help it was only at 4pm that it could be freed,” he said adding that the fire brigade did not come on time.
Sunish Subramanian Secretary, PAWS- Mumbai said that while they rescued six pigeons one crow and a kite on Saturday they were left stunned while trying to rescue a crow from a tree at Borivali. “As our volunteers saw a crow hanging stuck in manjha, a monkey was spotted making several attempts to free the crow by pulling the branches and even the manjha but without any success it left soon and our volunteers managed to free the bird,” he said.
Mumbai Fire Brigade too was busy as its control room kept buzzing with bird rescue calls. “On an average we receive two calls a day informing about bird stuck in majha but on Saturday we received around 25 phone calls from across Mumbai related,” said a fire brigade official.
By Saturday evening, there were over 150 birds reported to be injured with various organisations working for birds. “We have got around 100 injured birds from across South Mumbai and Western suburbs, mostly pigeons, in need of treatment” said Harsh Shah of Bird Helpline.
Shah said since this year the festival fell on a weekend there were more people seen flying kites.
Mumbai Fire Brigade too was busy as its control room kept buzzing with bird rescue calls. “On an average we receive two calls a day informing about bird stuck in majha but on Saturday we received around 25 phone calls from across Mumbai related,” said a fire brigade official.
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 | Jan 16, 2017 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
As the new year starts, it is truly a renewal for us birders who keep a year list. On Jan. 1, common birds like house sparrows, starlings and pigeons are noticed again, if only for a moment, to check them off for the new year. It gives us fresh eyes and a renewed interest in observing even the most common birds.
Margo and I planned to start the year birding with our young friend Sam. Before we headed north to Georgetown to pick him up, we decided to start at the Victory Garden area of the Fenway in Boston to see the white-winged doves that had been visiting a feeder in one of the gardens. It was one of our last rare birds for 2016 and it should be a quick addition to our 2017 list if they were still around.
As we left the house in Cambridge, house sparrows predictably became our first bird of the year. Along the way we added starlings, herring gulls and rock dove (aka pigeon) to our year list.
When we arrived at the Fenway just after sunrise, we were surprised that there were no other birders there to look for the rare doves. There were many house sparrows and morning doves feeding at the feeder inside the gated garden. Margo first spotted a white-winged dove feeding among the other doves. We finally found the second white-winged dove feeding nearby.
We tallied song and white-throated sparrows, chickadees, titmice, white-breasted nuthatch, cardinals and robins in the immediate area. Also at the feeders were a couple of red-winged blackbirds and a grackle, nice birds to see in January. The local red-tailed hawk also made an appearance overhead.
With about 20 birds logged, we headed north to pick up Sam. As we were loading up the car at his apartment complex, we heard the “caw” of crows and then a “croak” of a raven! The raven flew out from the nearby woods, closely chased by a few crows. A nice start for Sam, and first of the year raven for all of us!
We decided to head to Salisbury first to try to find the elusive red crossbills that had been hanging out there. Along the way, we stopped briefly for the local Newburyport screech owl that was obligingly sunning itself in its tree hole. When we arrived at the entrance to the Salisbury campground, we immediately saw parked cars and a small crowd with binoculars and camera lenses pointed up at the pine trees — definitely a good sign. There in the pines were the red crossbill, the males with their brick-red color and dark wings and along with the yellow mustard-colored females. Great looks at these elusive birds!
Several of our birding friends were there, and as we socialized, tree sparrows and a downy woodpecker appeared for our list. We then drove around the reservation, spotting a flock of horned larks, and adding ring-billed and great black-backed gulls to our tally. A harrier hunted the marsh, and we added a few waterbirds to our year list including black ducks and mallards, common loon, red-breasted merganser, long-tailed duck, common goldeneye, common eider, and white-winged scoter.
We next headed to Plum Island where our highlights were two hooded mergansers in the Salt Pannes, and our first razorbills, gannets and dunlin of the year off Lot 7. From there we headed to Ipswich where there was a report of the rare Ross’s goose. Along the way, we stopped at Todd Farm in Rowley to look for three white-fronted geese that were reported there. We missed them on the first pass, but we turned around to re-check and Sam’s sharp eyes spotted the three geese hunkered down in a gully.
Sam’s sharp eyes also picked out a distant bald eagle soaring high in Ipswich while we were checking a tree for another screech owl. We eventually pinned down the Ross’s goose among hundreds of Canada geese in the fields off Route 133, a life bird for Sam! We finished up the day visiting several other spots in Ipswich and adding a wintering great blue heron and a common merganser to our Jan. 1 list. We ended the day with nearly 50 birds to start off 2017.
If you would like to enjoy an afternoon of birding to start, or to add to, your new year’s list, please join me for a free bird walk this afternoon, Saturday the 14th, to try to find eagles, owls and other wintering birds along the Merrimack River. We will meet at Bird Watcher’s Supply & Gift at the Route 1 Traffic Circle in Newburyport at 1 p.m. to carpool and we will spend about three hours searching areas in Newburyport, Salisbury and/or Plum Island for birds. Dress warm and bring binoculars if you have them. Beginners are welcome and no registration necessary — just show up! Hope to see you then.
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 | Jan 15, 2017 | Bird Netting
SANLIURFA, Turkey: As nighttime approaches in Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey, most of the alleyways of the city’s old bazaar are emptying out, except for one. The bustle of daytime trading has died down, but on this little street, a stream of men carry cardboard boxes filled with pigeons to a cluster of three teahouses.
Here, they sell the birds at Sanliurfa’s famed auctions to a dedicated band of pigeon keepers and breeders, a pastime that has been thriving for hundreds of years across the region and over the nearby border into war-torn Syria.
In a country where the minimum wage is about 1,400 liras ($367) a month, enthusiasts regularly easily spend hundreds of dollars for one bird. “I once sold a pair of pigeons for 35,000 Turkish lira,” auctioneer Imam Dildas says.
“This is a passion, a hobby you cannot quit. I’ve been known to sell the fridge and my wife’s gold bracelets to pay for pigeons.”
Sanliurfa is just 50 kilometers from Syria, in a southeastern region rocked by its own clashes between government troops and Kurdish insurgents.
But the trade has taken the turmoil in its stride and carried on.
In the early days of the conflict next door, there was a glut of birds on the market as enthusiasts from northern Syria fled into Turkey with their pigeons.
“Prices fell due to oversupply but as the conflict escalated and there were no more pigeons coming from Syria, prices rose again,” 23-year-old breeder Ismail Ozbek says.
He keeps about 200 pigeons – together worth about 50,000 lira – in lofts fitted with alarms and closed-circuit TV cameras.
At the auction, men sip tea and smoke cigarettes as Dildas picks up a bird and shows it to the crowd. He gives a starting bid price and buyers shout out their offers.
Prices vary from 30 to 3,500 lira. Some birds wear silver adornments on their feathers or feet to boost their value.
At the end of the night, Dildas has sold around 13,000 lira worth of birds. His commission is 10 percent.
When they are not trading, most of the city’s pigeon fanciers head to the rooftops at sunset and let their birds stretch their wings. Hundreds fill the sky – a familiar sight in the city – before following their training and heading home.
“The birds are my friends. They give me peace,” 55-year-old enthusiast Resit Guzel says.
He gives his 70 birds quality feed and regular vitamins.
“Upkeep … costs 5 lira a day, which is not much. Even if it cost me more, I wouldn’t mind,” he says.
“They have been my hobby for the last 40 years … You can only understand if you keep pigeons.”
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)
