by Ryan Ponto | Jul 1, 2017 | Bird Netting
Let’s imagine there were no pigeons: If we could design a drone that would disperse diseases harmful to humans while splattering a corrosive substance onto cars, buildings and monuments… would we?
Well, if we could throw breadcrumbs at it and watch it scuttle toward us, we might.
Now pigeons can live very well on grass seed and insects just as their distant ancestors did in the wild. They can also range up to five kilometres between roosting, nesting and feeding sites.
The birds multiplying in our streets should not be considered as wildlife. It’s beyond me why Birdlife Malta should bother to comment on the culling of these urban pests by local councils.
The first feral pigeons to appear in our public spaces were probably escapees from racing pigeon clubs.
The domestic strain originally came from the wild rock pigeon, fond of nesting in high cliff areas. That’s why their descendents still nest high up with a strong liking for uncovered ventilator openings in our homes.
According to a study by the University of Basel, Switzerland, pigeons are potential carriers of no less than 60 diseases harmful to humans. Nine are bacterial, five are viral and the rest are mostly fungal agents.
Let’s have a coordinated campaign to protect the public from health risks of the pigeon invasion
So why isn’t the Health Department warning us against these dangers?
Actually, unless you are handling pigeons, they generally pose a much lower disease transmission risk than rats or flies.
So it’s not highly likely that you or your child would pick up viral encephalitis or cryptoccocal meningitis from a bird cooing away in your ventilatur.
If you do have direct contact with pigeons then symptoms similar to pneumonia can arise. However, the same is true for anyone keeping parrots, budgies, cockatiels, hens, sparrows or seagulls. (Not to worry – ‘Parrot fever’ is not the same as bird flu.) But normally mild or symptom-free respiratory diseases carried from pigeons to humans can be fatal in vulnerable individuals.
When pigeon poo dries it turns to a powdery dust, kicked up into the air by passing feet. The smaller the child, the higher the exposure.
Demolition of abandoned buildings where pigeons have been roosting can pose a threat to neighbours too, as particles of pigeon debris contaminate the air they breathe.
A pigeon is capable of producing 48 chicks a year. The advice from pest management companies is to tackle the problem while pigeon numbers are still low (one or two).
Peregrine falcons seemed to work for Trafalgar Square. But if natural predators are brought in for the job here they might end up as collectors’ items.
Poison is out, not just because it’s a cruel death for the bird but also a danger to human health.
Traps are unwieldy and egg-destroying ventures may still attract the ire of some animal welfare extremists.
Putting contraceptive chemicals in feed has already been tried by local councils with limited success. Unless people are prevented from feeding the pigeons the birds will spend more time breeding than foraging.
Even culling by shooting will only have a very short-term effect unless a total clampdown on feeding is brought in.
Let’s have a coordinated campaign to protect the public from health risks of the pigeon invasion; not to mention the disfigurement of our beautiful stone buildings.
Everyone must be urged to take action and discourage feeding of the urban pests wherever possible.
Had we enforced by-laws where they exist the problem would not be with us today. Applied piecemeal, the pigeons just move on.
Now a legal notice is needed to ban the feeding of pigeons in public areas, with enforcement and steeper fines for putting public health at risk.
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 30, 2017 | Bird Netting
Lake City Racing held its last two old bird races of the season last weekend
Wayne Langenfeld’s pigeon took first in the 200-mile race from Onawa, Iowa. Don Meyer was second.
Langenfeld’s birds led with 636 points, followed by Meyer’s 517 and John Rittmann’s 292, Rich Anderson 186 and Greg Benthin 122.
The second race was the 410-mile Midwest Classic from Topeka, Kan. More than 1,500 birds took part.
Benthin’s pigeons took first and second with Rittmann third.
In overall points it was Benthin 558, Meyer 237, Rittmann 334 and Langenfeld 224.
The young bird season starts in August.
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 29, 2017 | Bird Netting
Most downtown dwellers and workers in Wichita are keenly aware of the city’s Douglas underpass.
It’s musty, dark and populated primarily by pigeons (and their poop).
However, that stretch of walkway – west of Union Station and east of Naftzger Park – remains one of the primary connectors between Old Town and downtown Wichita.
This Final Friday, a collaborative of Wichita arts groups are teaming up to make walking under the bridge downtown a little less messy.
For “Under the Bridge,” those groups – the North End Urban Arts Festival, the Yellowbrick Street Team and the Wichita chapter of the League of Creative Interventionists – are bringing in LED lights, a DJ and a graffiti artist for a pop-up experience at the underpass.
There’s already been some concrete improvements to the space. The city power-washed the pigeon poop off the sidewalk just the other day, according to Thomas Dalton, co-founder of the North End Urban Arts Festival. The festival happens in the NoMar Market area near 21st and Broadway every fall.
But what about the pigeons? Will people really come to an art experience in an area where pigeons fly low overhead and frequently drop droppings?
“We hope to scare them away as we get set up Friday,” Dalton said. “With any luck, there will be minimal pigeon interference.”
The makeshift gallery, funded by an Up the Ambition Grant from the Wichita Community Foundation, will pop up again at Final Fridays in July and August.
Perhaps the idea of art in the underpass is not so foreign, after all: A city of Wichita study in 2012 proposed adding public art to the underpass and significantly upgrading the pedestrian experience. The city released a proposed design for the space in 2014. The project is still in the works; the first phase – which will include lights, color and “pigeon mitigation” – is scheduled to be complete by March, when the NCAA tournament comes to Wichita, according to Downtown Wichita.
Dalton is using the opportunity to promote graffiti artists – this Final Friday, local graffiti artist Sam Agoita will paint a 12-by-18-foot graffiti panel during the exhibition. Graffiti artists are featured in the annual North End Urban Arts Festival, but “Under the Bridge” gives them the opportunity to be seen by the Final Friday masses, Dalton said.
“We’ve always had these great panel of graffiti artists, and we’ve always wanted to show them off, and this was right after the time the (city) did their initial study for the Douglas underpass,” he said. “We thought this would be a great place to show off the panelists and get them more exposed to the downtown crowd.”
“Under the Bridge” will also feature a mural on which attendees can paint and share their vision for the area under the bridge.
Jenny Wiley, a fellow at the Wichita chapter of the League of Creative Interventionists – launched earlier this month – said she hopes people who come to “Under the Bridge” will imagine possibilities for the ugly “but pretty critical gateway in between Old Town and downtown.”
It’s the latest piece of creative placemaking in downtown Wichita – Gallery Alley, which transformed a narrow alley into a community hangout just west of the underpass, just opened last month.
“It’s kind of scary. … It’s just not the most pleasant place to walk through,” Wiley said of the underpass. “We thought (‘Under the Bridge’) would a great space to really illustrate what transformation can happen with just a little bit of elbow grease.”
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 28, 2017 | Bird Netting
What should we talk about today? How about…
- Lakewood City Council’s Rental Inspection Program (RIP)?
- Homing pigeons?
- The size and impact of Joe Boyle’s carbon footprint?
Okay, you pick homing pigeons. Homing pigeons, it is. First, you might wonder how in the world could I write about homing pigeons? Let me explain.
One day I was hanging out at Topside Coffee Cabin (TCC) in Steilacoom (215 Wilkes St, Steilacoom, WA 98388. T: 253-244-7190. 6:00a – 3:00p).
Two of my new TCC friends, Mike and Una’ McLaughlin, were hanging out too, because that is what retired people get to do. We drink coffee and swap stories. Mike and Una’ introduced me to their friend, Jessie Garza. Jessie, a US citizen, is the third generation in his family to have lived in the Yakima Valley. His Hispanic grandparents moved to the Yakima Valley from Mexico during the 1930s. Interestingly, Jessie’s grandparents were two of the first seven Hispanics to settle in the valley. Jessie recently moved to Steilacoom.
When you meet Jessie you think to yourself, “Our world is a better place because Jessie Garza is with us.”
Jessie is interesting in three ways. One of those ways relates to the fact that Jessie Garza is an internationally recognized homing pigeon expert with over 46 years pigeon experience.
The only other guy I knew who possessed an abundance of knowledge about birds was my father-in-law who was a brilliant veterinarian poultry disease research scientist. While dating his daughter during the days of my reckless youth, I lovingly told my friends my future father-in-law was the biggest bird brain in Washington State.
Talking father-in-laws; Jessie’s father-in-law, John Heilman, gave Jessie two young 5-week old pigeons named Man and Woman on Jessie’s wedding day back in 1971. I am confident Jessie never made the mistake of calling his father-in-law a big bird brain.
The wedding pigeon gift makes it easy for Jessie to remember his wedding anniversary. Let’s do the right thing, shall we? Don’t tell Jessie’s wife his pigeon gift-day is the only way he is able to remember their wedding anniversary.
When young pigeons are about 6 – 7 days old, each bird gets an I.D. band on their left ankle.
Eventually, Jessie’s wife built their new dream home in Zillah, Washington on a 2-acre parcel. Jessie built his dream pigeon loft.
When the birds were about 5 weeks old, Jessie started to HOME the pigeons, which is a process used to teach the pigeons to acclimate to their new home. The pigeon home is called a pigeon loft or pigeon roost. The pigeons learn how to enter and exit their home through special pigeon doorways. They learn where home is so they do not get lost.
At around 8 weeks, Jessie started ROUTING training. The pigeons fly around the loft. The birds take off on exploration trips for maybe a half an hour and then return home.
Once the ROUTING is complete, the birds are ready to train for long distance. Jessie would take his birds out about 5 miles to where the birds would have a direct line back to the loft. The first training toss normally would include 25 – 50 birds.
If Jesse beat the pigeons home, another training toss was needed. When the birds beat Jessie home, he doubled the distance from 5 to 10 miles and then from 10 to 20 miles. The longest training toss was 55 miles. Once the birds are comfortable with 55 miles, they are ready for an 110 – 120-mile race.
Jessie’s first race was from Shaniko, Oregon to Toppenish, Washington for 115 miles on April 21, 1973.
Down through the years there were many races following that first race. Jessie and his pigeons won a garage full of plaques and trophies along with some cash prizes. Just like horse racing, there is a million dollar pigeon race in Africa.
As the years passed, Jessie’s entire family became involved with homing pigeons. which included Jessie’s wife, Kathy, three children and six grandchildren, right down to a 4-year-old grandson who learned many things while handling pigeons, such as how to be loving, caring, and gentle.
Jessie has flown 300 or more pigeons over the years. That is a lot of pigeons. This does not count all the birds Jessie has bred* and sold or given to others. Jessie’s birds are now all over the world in places such as Mexico, Alaska, and Australia. Jessie just received a Facebook message which said, “Jessie, I just want to let you know you are becoming famous in Mexico. Your pigeons are winning like crazy.
When competing in a homing pigeon race, all the birds registered to compete are driven to the toss location by a hired driver. The driver is instructed to check the weather before making a final decision to release the birds. All the birds are fed, watered and then released at the same time. The birds will circle the toss location two or three times and then after getting their bearings, the pigeons will race back to their roost. A high tech electronic computer band helps determine the finish time for each pigeon.
If there is heavy wind or rain, the release is canceled to avoid putting the birds in danger. Heavy rain can push the birds to the ground which can cause them to lose their way or to be targeted by hawks. For Jessie, typically, 99% of the birds return to their loft roosts safely.
The birds are able to race until they reach 6 – 7 years old. After retiring, the pigeons can live to age 21.
I have a question for you. Do you know the name of the most famous homing pigeon of all time? The bird’s name was G.I. Joe, a pigeon hero from World War II. G.I. Joe carried paper messages back on their ankle. The name was later transferred to the G.I. Joe doll. The pigeon had the G.I. Joe name first.
My next Jessie Garza article will describe how Jessie helped kids with his pigeon plan including preventing a teenage suicide.
My third Jessie Garza article will describe how Jessie’s career activities for making our world a better place are still relevant today.
Jessie is new to Steilacoom and we are lucky to have him. Welcome to Steilacoom, Jessie Garza.
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 27, 2017 | Bird Netting
SHOCKING footage shows a ruthless raven eating a pigeon ALIVE before ripping out its beating heart from the tragic creature’s chest.
The viral clip was filmed in broad daylight at a subway station on the mean streets of New York.
The cameraman gives a running commentary throughout the savage killing and at one point says: “Only in New York City. It’s either eat or get eaten.”
During much of the horrifying video, the pigeon is clearly still alive and can be seen flapping its wings while its guts are splashed all over the concrete ground.
The thuggish raven continually picks different protein-rich organs out of the prey’s split-open stomach.
The fearsome feathered beast eventually ends the pigeon’s life by ripping its heart from its chest and smashing it on the cold hard platform.
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)
