Scottish Parliament bosses look set to carry on flying hawks at Holyrood to scare away pigeons despite saying the number has come down as much as it is ever likely to.
Birds of prey were brought in eight years ago as a deterrent after other measures such as bird wire, netting and anti-roosting spikes all failed.
A year ago, the parliament said the £16,000 a year contract was due to be reviewed and Holyrood bosses were considering ending it.
Monthly monitoring had shown there were between 11 and 18 pigeons regularly on the Holyrood campus and officials felt it may not be possible to reduce it any further.
But no review has yet taken place and now the parliament says the future of the contract with NBC Bird and Pest Solutions will only be looked at when the bigger high-level maintenance contract comes up for renewal in October 2017.
And despite the previous suggestion that the use of birds of prey would probably come to an end, parliament officials now say it is likely to continue.
But MSPs questioned why Holyrood should carry on paying out money if the hawks have now done their work.
The pigeon problem plagued the Holyrood building right from the start with its many nooks and crannies proving attractive perches.
Pigeon poo and feathers were blown through vents on to researchers’ desks and some birds even got into MSPs’ offices.
Monthly monitoring reports for the past year, released under freedom of information, no longer give average totals for the number of pigeons counted at the Holyrood campus but do highlight hotspots, particularly the MSP block.
Some of the politicians working there urged a review.
Lothian Tory MSP Jeremy Balfour said: “If the contract runs out this year, it is a good time to review the whole situation. Just to renew it automatically would be a mistake.
“It’s quite a lot of money and if we have reached the optimum number [of pigeons] and the situation cannot be made any better, it is not the best use of public money.
“I will write to the chief executive and seek clarification of the position and ask if we have now got as much as we can out of it.”
And Lothian Green MSP Alison Johnstone also urged a review.
She said: “It’s important we know how effective this spending is. We should not continue with a contract that costs £16,000 a year unless we are clear it is proving effective.
“The evidence base must be available and I would welcome site of it to help parliament come to a decision as to whether or not this ongoing expenditure should be continued.”
A parliament spokeswoman said there were no plans to end the NBC contract early.
She added: “Like many buildings in Edinburgh, a small number of pigeons visit regularly.
“We are aware the problem can never be fully eradicated and it is likely we will continue with the current approach.”
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.
Fire crews from Sunderland and North Moor were called at 3.31am to the fire at a cree within an allotment in Hollycarrside Road, in Sunderland. Eight fire fighters used three jets and one hose reel to extinguish the flames, but 100 pigeons perished in the blaze. The cree was also 100% destroyed. Crews left the scene at 5.30am and say the cause of the fire is unknown but they are treating it as suspicious.
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.
The threat to cyber security is a problem the world is facing right now, and it appears Donald Trump may have come up with a solution: courier deliveries.
The president-elect expressed his doubts about the security of online communications his administration is likely to use for everything from day-to-day planning to international relations, saying “no computer is safe” when it comes to keeping information private.
He told reporters during his annual New Year’s party that he believes in writing out important messages and having it delivered the old-fashioned way.
He said: “You want something to really go without detection, write it out and have it sent by courier.”
And of course, the internet had only one thing in mind: Make carrier pigeon great again!
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.
Chennai: Being a resident of Chennai, one knows very well about the thousands of pigeons that are being fed every day at the Marina beach.
It is a humane initiative by a Rajasthani family that shows its benevolence towards every living being on the planet. Standing there amid the thousands of birds is surreal. It is a photographer’s paradise and a magical experience for every child.
But you don’t have to trek all the way to Marina for this experience. On the small terrace on top of a serene apartment at Ramasamy Salai, K K Nagar, Ashok nagar, Chennai, K Harish Kumar feeds hundreds of wild pigeons every morning. The reason, he says, is that it simply makes him happy and the rest of his day is made.
Harish has been a resident of K K Nagar for the past 40 years. As a landscape consultant by profession, he is an admirer of nature and every living being on earth. His ideas, such as the ‘Birthday Trees’, wherein a person would plant a tree every birthday, was a way to help and care for nature.
While commuting to places, he always carries a packet of biscuits for his four-legged ‘friends’ on the streets. “There isn’t a street that is without dogs that come to play with me and expect the biscuits I have in the bike,” smiles Harish.
What started as a handful of wheat for a couple of pigeons, which sat on his balcony, has now became several kilograms of wheat for almost 500 pigeons every day. During his childhood days, Harish raised pigeons, which made him very fond of them.
Even though he is unable to create a loft and have homing pigeons on his own, he is more than happy just to feed feral pigeons (Columba livia) that come to his terrace. “It gives me peace when I see about 500 pigeons fly around the terrace and have their fill,” he reminisced.
He has been observing their flying pattern and behaviour even as he feeds them. On the day Cyclone Vardah hit Chennai, the pigeons cramped together in any crevice they could find. And when the rain and wind stopped for a while, the birds flew haphazardly, unlike the synchronised flying formation they indulge in on normal days. This, he says, is because of the tremendous stress the birds underwent during the storm.
Almost 10 kg of wheat is used on a single day. Harish, who gets the grains by spending from his own pocket, says that he has been buying around 300 kg of wheat every month. “Nothing goes waste. Every grain is polished off by the pigeons,” laughs Harish.
A pitcher of water is regularly filled several times in a day, which is actually a birdbath.
Along with his spouse, Harish hopes to never let any animal, bird or plant go without proper love and care. Any injured or sick animal is given asylum in his house and he takes care till they are cured.
He jests, “The only drawback of 500 pigeons eating 10 kg of wheat every day is the menace they are to the neighbour’s cars!”
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.
Police do not actively pursue them despite complaints
A rash of racing pigeon thefts across the city have left many breeders high and dry. Having lost their expensive birds to theft, many say that police seldom pay attention to their ‘pigeon theft’ complaints.
For years now breeding of exotic birds has been lucrative business for professional breeders. However, of late, protecting these birds from thieves has become a difficult task.
Many instances over the last few weeks had shown that there was very little help from police in rescuing the birds, breeders said. According to them, police authorities have their hands full with law and order cases and seldom show any interest in recovering the stolen birds.
R.T. Venkatesh, a resident of Marai Malai Nagar, has been a bird enthusiast and a breeder for several years. Recently, he had been shocked to find over 20 of his pigeons — many of which were prized one — missing. He said that although the police took his complaint, he was unable to get much help from them as they had other ‘pressing’ matters to attend to.
R. Murugan, another pigeon breeder residing in Perungalathur, had a similar experience. Over 100 of his racing pigeons had been stolen and when he had approached the police, they had asked him for photos of his pigeons and also sought information about persons he had his suspicions on.
M. Karunanidhi, a retired Superintendent of Police, said such kind of thefts would be registered under cattle and poultry theft. But cases where the stolen birds were in large numbers, it is considered a serious crime.
He said even if the police were able to apprehend the thieves the victim’s task of proving that the robbed birds belonged to him/her is onerous.
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.
