by Pigeon Patrol | May 18, 2023 | Bird Spike, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News
In Pittsburgh, Memphis and Los Angeles, massive billboards recently popped up declaring, “Birds Aren’t Real.”
On Instagram and TikTok, Birds Aren’t Real accounts have racked up hundreds of thousands of followers, and YouTube videos about it have gone viral.
Last month, Birds Aren’t Real adherents even protested outside Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco to demand that the company change its bird logo.
The events were all connected by a Gen Z-fueled conspiracy theory, which posits that birds don’t exist and are really drone replicas installed by the U.S. government to spy on Americans. Hundreds of thousands of young people have joined the movement, wearing Birds Aren’t Real T-shirts, swarming rallies and spreading the slogan.
It might smack of QAnon, the conspiracy theory that the world is controlled by an elite cabal of child-trafficking Democrats. Except that the creator of Birds Aren’t Real and the movement’s followers are in on a joke: They know that birds are, in fact, real and that their theory is made up.
What Birds Aren’t Real truly is, they say, is a parody social movement with a purpose. In a post-truth world dominated by online conspiracy theories, young people have coalesced around the effort to thumb their nose at, fight and poke fun at misinformation. It’s Gen Z’s attempt to upend the rabbit hole with absurdism.
“It’s a way to combat troubles in the world that you don’t really have other ways of combating,” said Claire Chronis, 22, a Birds Aren’t Real organizer in Pittsburgh. “My favorite way to describe the organization is fighting lunacy with lunacy.”
At the center of the movement is Peter McIndoe, 23, a floppy-haired college dropout in Memphis who created Birds Aren’t Real on a whim in 2017. For years, he stayed in character as the conspiracy theory’s chief believer, commanding acolytes to rage against those who challenged his dogma. But now, Mr. McIndoe said in an interview, he is ready to reveal the parody lest people think birds really are drones.
“Dealing in the world of misinformation for the past few years, we’ve been really conscious of the line we walk,” he said. “The idea is meant to be so preposterous, but we make sure nothing we’re saying is too realistic. That’s a consideration with coming out of character.”
Most Birds Aren’t Real members, many of whom are part of an on-the-ground activism network called the Bird Brigade, grew up in a world overrun with misinformation. Some have relatives who have fallen victim to conspiracy theories. So for members of Gen Z, the movement has become a way to collectively grapple with those experiences. By cosplaying conspiracy theorists, they have found community and kinship, Mr. McIndoe said.
“Birds Aren’t Real is not a shallow satire of conspiracies from the outside. It is from the deep inside,” he said. “A lot of people in our generation feel the lunacy in all this, and Birds Aren’t Real has been a way for people to process that.”
Cameron Kasky, 21, an activist from Parkland, Fla., who helped organize the March for Our Lives student protest against gun violence in 2018 and is involved in Birds Aren’t Real, said the parody “makes you stop for a second and laugh. In a uniquely bleak time to come of age, it doesn’t hurt to have something to laugh about together.”
Mr. McIndoe, too, marinated in conspiracies. For his first 18 years, he grew up in a deeply conservative and religious community with seven siblings outside Cincinnati, then in rural Arkansas. He was home-schooled, taught that “evolution was a massive brainwashing plan by the Democrats and Obama was the Antichrist,” he said.
He read books like “Remote Control,” about what it said were hidden anti-Christianity messages from Hollywood. In high school, social media offered a gateway to mainstream culture. Mr. McIndoe began watching Philip DeFranco and other popular YouTubers who talked about current events and pop culture, and went on Reddit to find new viewpoints.
“I was raised by the internet, because that’s where I ended up finding a lot of my actual real-world education, through documentaries and YouTube,” Mr. McIndoe said. “My whole understanding of the world was formed by the internet.”
By the time Mr. McIndoe left home for the University of Arkansas in 2016, he said, he realized he wasn’t the only young person forced to straddle multiple realities.
Then in January 2017, Mr. McIndoe traveled to Memphis to visit friends. Donald J. Trump had just been sworn in as president, and there was a women’s march downtown. Pro-Trump counterprotesters were also there. When Mr. McIndoe saw them, he said, he ripped a poster off a wall, flipped it over and wrote three random words: “Birds Aren’t Real.”
“It was a spontaneous joke, but it was a reflection of the absurdity everyone was feeling,” he said.
Mr. McIndoe then walked around and improvised the Birds Aren’t Real conspiracy lore. He said he was part of a greater movement that believed that birds had been replaced with surveillance drones and that the cover up began in the 1970s. Unbeknown to him, he was filmed and the video posted on Facebook. It went viral, especially among teenagers in the South.
In Memphis, “Birds Aren’t Real” graffiti soon showed up. Photos of the phrase’s being scrawled on chalkboards and the walls of local high schools surfaced. People made “Birds Aren’t Real” stickers.
Mr. McIndoe decided to lean into Birds Aren’t Real. “I started embodying the character and building out the world this character belonged to,” he said. He and Connor Gaydos, a friend, wrote a false history of the movement, concocted elaborate theories and produced fake documents and evidence to support his wild claims.
“It basically became an experiment in misinformation,” Mr. McIndoe said. “We were able to construct an entirely fictional world that was reported on as fact by local media and questioned by members of the public.”
Mr. Gaydos added, “If anyone believes birds aren’t real, we’re the last of their concerns, because then there’s probably no conspiracy they don’t believe.”
In 2018, Mr. McIndoe dropped out of college and moved to Memphis. To build Birds Aren’t Real further, he created a flyer that shot to the top of Reddit. He hired an actor to portray a former C.I.A. agent who confessed to working on bird drone surveillance; the video has more than 20 million views on TikTok. He also hired actors to represent adult bird truthers in videos that spread all over Instagram.
That same year, Mr. McIndoe began selling Birds Aren’t Real merchandise. The money, totaling several thousand dollars a month, helps Mr. McIndoe and Mr. Gaydos cover their living expenses.
“All the money from our merch lineup goes into making sure me and Connor can do this full time,” Mr. McIndoe said. “We also put the money into the billboards, flying out members of the Bird Brigade to rallies. None of the proceeds go to anything harmful.”
To adults with concerns about Mr. McIndoe’s tactics, researchers said any harms were most likely minimal.
“You have to weigh the potential negative effects with any of this stuff, but in this case it is so extremely small,” said Joshua Citarella, an independent researcher who studies internet culture and online radicalization in youth. “Allowing people to engage in collaborative world building is therapeutic because it lets them disarm conspiracism and engage in a safe way.”
Mr. McIndoe said he kept the concerns top of mind. “Everything we’ve done with Birds Aren’t Real is made to make sure it doesn’t tip into where it could have a negative end result on the world,” he said. “It’s a safe space for people to come together and process the conspiracy takeover of America. It’s a way to laugh at the madness rather than be overcome by it.”
The effort has been cathartic for young people including Heitho Shipp, 22, a Pittsburgh resident.
“Most conspiracy theories are fueled by hate or distrust or one powerful leader, but this is about finding an outlet for our pain,” she said. She added that the movement was “more about media literacy.”
Birds Aren’t Real members have also become a political force. Many often join up with counterprotesters and actual conspiracy theorists to de-escalate tensions and delegitimize the people they are marching alongside with irreverent chants.
In September, shortly after a restrictive new abortion law went into effect in Texas, Birds Aren’t Real members showed up at a protest held by anti-abortion activists at the University of Cincinnati. Supporters of the new law “had signs with very graphic imagery and were very aggressive in condemning people,” Mr. McIndoe said. “It led to arguments.”
But the Bird Brigade began chanting, “Birds aren’t real.” Their shouts soon overpowered the anti-abortion activists, who left.
Mr. McIndoe now has big plans for 2022. Breaking character is necessary to help Birds Aren’t Real leap to the next level and forswear actual conspiracy theorists, he said. He added that he hoped to collaborate with major content creators and independent media like Channel 5 News, which is aimed at helping people make sense of America’s current state and the internet.
“I have a lot of excitement for what the future of this could be as an actual force for good,” he said. “Yes, we have been intentionally spreading misinformation for the past four years, but it’s with a purpose. It’s about holding up a mirror to America in the internet age.”
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Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | May 18, 2023 | Bird Spike, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control
Spontaneous mirror self-recognition is achieved by only a limited number of species, suggesting a sharp “cognitive Rubicon” that only few can pass. But is the demarcation line that sharp? In studies on monkeys, who do not recognize themselves in a mirror, animals can make a difference between their mirror image and an unknown conspecific. This evidence speaks for a gradualist view of mirror self-recognition. We hypothesize that such a gradual process possibly consists of at least two independent aptitudes, the ability to detect synchronicity between self- and foreign movement and the cognitive understanding that the mirror reflection is oneself. Pigeons are known to achieve the first but fail at the second aptitude. We therefore expected them to treat their mirror image differently from an unknown pigeon, without being able to understand that the mirror reflects their own image. We tested pigeons in a task where they either approached a mirror or a Plexiglas barrier to feed. Behind the Plexiglas an unknown pigeon walked at the same time toward the food bowl. Thus, we pitched a condition with a mirror-self and a foreign bird against each other, with both of them walking close toward the food bowl. By a detailed analysis of a whole suit of behavioral details, our results make it likely that the foreign pigeon was treated as a competitor while the mirror image caused hesitation as if being an uncanny conspecific. Our results are akin to those with monkeys and show that pigeons do not equal their mirror reflection with a conspecific, although being unable to recognize themselves in the mirror.
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | May 18, 2023 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Law, Bird Netting, Bird Spikes
What words come to mind when you think about pigeons? Nasty, dirty, gross — maybe just plain “ew“? Pigeons are ubiquitous to urban life, but humans are not generally fond of them. And while they may have a reputation for being the rats of the sky, author Rosemary Mosco is here to change that.
In her new book, “A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World’s Most Misunderstood Bird,” Mosco, a bird-watcher and science communicator, argues that our ignorant assumptions about pigeons are all wrong. They are not the “rats of birds,” as some say. Rather, they are unique and intelligent dinosaur descendants that have been abandoned by today’s humans. Despite their tendencies to use their sharp beaks and claws to tear their way through human trash, the societal hatred toward pigeons is unwarranted. In fact, if only people really understood how special these birds are, perhaps we’d treat them better — or at the very least, give them the respect they deserve.
But Mosco isn’t painting these urban cooers as saviors to whom we should build shrines, either. Rather, she argues that we should seek to enjoy them instead of hating them. For instance, pigeon-watching could be a relaxing and entertaining activity for city dwellers, if not for our stigmas towards pigeons. Though it may sound like the realm of bird nerds, Mosco makes the case that pigeon-watching can be just as thrilling as traveling to your nearest national park to watch hawks.
Salon chatted with Mosco to learn more about why pigeons are so misunderstood, how to see beauty in them, and how people can enjoy the presence of pigeons instead of loathing them. This interview has been condensed and edited for print.
I’m curious about why you decided to write a book about pigeons, of all birds.
Well, I’ve been a bird watcher for most of my life. I really like how birds are pretty much everywhere. That means that anytime you’re bored, you just look around, and you’re going to be amused and pulled into [bird] drama — you’re going to see beautiful things.
I’ve also lived in all sorts of different cities, my whole life. So, pigeons are kind of a natural thing to start watching when you live in cities — and then the more you look at them, the more amazing they get.
Part of the book is about how pigeons are misunderstood. And I’m curious if you’ve come across someone in public who perhaps saw a pigeon and was like, “Ew, I hate pigeons.” What might you tell this person?
That did actually happen to me once. And it sort of triggered the idea for the book, or at least got the idea cooking.
I was waiting to catch the subway, and there was a woman waiting. She looked about my age, she was sort of frustrated and she took, like, a kick at a pigeon. She didn’t kick it, but did kind of threaten it. I was really shocked, and I said “Oh, don’t kick them,” and she just turned on me and said, “You know, they’re garbage, they’re trash, they shouldn’t be alive.”
Wow, that’s intense.
Yeah. And I thought, “what is it about pigeons that engenders that kind of intensity?” I’m really hoping that this book will help people understand why they’re here, and why they like to hang out on roofs, and maybe why we should be a little more understanding.
Can you summarize why people should be more understanding and kinder towards pigeons?
The wildest thing to me about pigeons, at least the city pigeons around us — there are different kinds of pigeons — that they are feral domesticated animals. They’re just like a dog, a cat, or a feral horse or a feral goat. They were domesticated by humans a really long time ago, thousands of years ago. But the difference with pigeons is that we’ve sort of forgotten that we domesticated them.
So we brought them from their homes in parts of Europe, Asia and North Africa, and then forgot why we did it. And now we’re sort of angry that these animals are in our space. And I think that that’s kind of a real shame, because you learn more about nature when you understand the history and the context of why they’re here.
When you put it into perspective like that, it’s really a sad story about humans abandoning these birds.
Right? And they were really bred to be good at living near us. And then, we forgot, and now they keep hanging around us. And we’re like, “why are they here?” Well, that’s why.
In the book you compare pigeons to dinosaurs and puppies, which I thought was really clever. Could you explain to our readers that connection?
A few different things happened. Probably the first is that they went feral, which would have happened pretty much around when we domesticated them; some of them would have gotten out. And then all of the reasons that we domesticated them became obsolete. So, I think of them as kind of like a fax machine. It used to be really useful to use pigeons for meat, and later they were useful for carrying messages, and to use them for their poop — which is an excellent fertilizer — and a whole bunch of other reasons, all of which have been replaced by technology, pretty much. Or in the case of meat, you know, we have factory farms with chickens now.
So they became obsolete. And then in New York in the 1960s, we started to blame them for a bunch of illnesses, in particular a meningitis outbreak. So then people started to think, ew, not only are they these sort of useless stray things, but also they’re getting sick. And up until then, for the most part people had pretty much held them in either neutral or really high esteem.
I was really surprised to hear the super-rich, back in the day, really valued pigeons. Or, how you said that pigeons were like, the original internet. Is there a way to reintegrate these uses back into our society?
Well, there are definitely places in the world where people still eat them, or still breed fancy pigeons So partly what’s going on is just that, where we live, people sort of got less into pigeons for this part. And there are even pigeon clubs in America — there are pigeon shows, like dog shows. I’ve never been to one, because I wrote this book mostly during the pandemic, but I really want to go to one.
But people are definitely being innovative with pigeons. There’s an artist who was attaching LED lights to pigeons and having them fly around, doing an organic drone show. And more and more, people are keeping them as pets, which I think is really interesting. You can carry them around on your shoulder and have them run around your house and you buy pigeon pants for them, which are basically diapers. There is this huge community of people online who have pet pigeons, they share cute photos . . . they definitely have a role to play.
I’m curious what surprised you the most about pigeons while you were reporting on this subject?
I think the most surprising fact about pigeons might be that they feed their babies milk. Both male and female pigeons are able to produce milk in this area of the digestive system called their crop. It’s really amazing. It’s stimulated by prolactin, which is the same hormone that stimulates breast milk in human women. It’s got proteins and fats and it helps boost the immune system. It’s so wild to me that they’ve independently evolved this way to support their babies, and it’s really interesting that both the males and the females can do it.
So that’s why it’s hard to raise pigeons in a factory farm setting, because they have to feed their children milk for the first few days, which is wild to me.
Then some of the wilder notes from history, like Nikola Tesla falling in love with a pigeon. She was the only love of his life; that blew me away.
For people who don’t really live near nature, do you think that pigeon watching can provide readers with a nature fix?
Yeah, for sure. There’s so much nature in our cities, and so much of it is connected with human culture and human history. And I feel like for a long time, people have written off urban nature, because they see it as not, like, “real” nature. But there’s so much cool stuff that you can see in cities, and you can really just immerse yourself in nature, even in the depths of the city. And pigeons can be a gateway for that.
Do you have any tips for people who are interested in getting into pigeon watching?
Yes, keep your eyes open and when you see some pigeons, give them a second look. Start to notice the different colors and patterns. If you see pigeons, maybe two pigeons near each other, ask yourself: “Are they a romantic mating-for-life pigeon pair?” They might very well be. Then look at their behavior. If they suddenly take off in the air, look for a falcon.
That’s kind of how you pigeon-watch, it’s pretty easy. You can do it when you’re commuting or when you’re grabbing lunch. Just give them a second look.
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | May 9, 2023 | history of pigeons, MBCA, pet bird, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services
“Everybody has a hobby, right? Some have cats, some have dogs. I have pigeons.”
Kulwant Dulay says he’s lived in the District of North Vancouver for 25 years and, for most of them, he’s kept homing pigeons on his property in a coop in the backyard, without ruffling any feathers.
But that changed three years ago when he bought a new house in Lynn Valley. Within a few weeks, his next door neighbour began complaining about the birds.
“In my other house in North Vancouver, everyone loved pigeons. They were flying around no problem. My second, third week I moved in, she started complaining,” he said.
On Monday evening, North Vancouver District council formally approved a new bylaw that would make it illegal to own pigeons, repealing a 1971 law allowing them.
The discussion was brief, but council discussed the motion in detail the week before.
There, staff told them they could only find one person in the district who had pigeons and only one person who had recently filed a complaint. It was proposed the new law wouldn’t come into effect until May 2020 to allow a transition period.
The vote both weeks passed 4-2. Councillor Betty Forbes recused herself.
“I have been involved in a situation like this,” she told council before one of the discussions.
That wasn’t exactly accurate. Because, while it was never said in that meeting, Forbes was the next door neighbour who complained.
“I’ve spent lots of money fixing my backyard. I try and keep it as prim and proper as I can. I invest in it every year. And now I get to sit on the back deck and entertain and look at a pigeon coop.”
In May 2017, the district held a public hearing for a proposed bylaw allowing backyard chicken coops. Betty Forbes, then just a member of the public, made her first appearance in front of council.
She wanted to talk about “a situation” that had arisen.
“A new neighbour moved in,” said Forbes. The coop was “ramshackle” and “an eyesore.” And, she warned, it would harm the value of her property.
“I know it sounds pretty cold,” she told council, “but there is an impact to having coops in backyards to properties next door to that. I’ve spoken with a couple of real estate agents, and they’ve told me it will definitely have an effect.”
Council passed the chicken coop bylaw.
Over the next year, Forbes sent a number of letters and phone calls to district staff about Dulay’s pigeons. She also sent a letter to then-mayor Richard Walton, saying that Dulay “allows his pigeons to fly and perch on neighbours properties without any control or supervision.”
In the summer of 2018, staff investigated and took away six of Dulay’s pigeons. A total of 15 remain, trained to fly back and forth from their large coop in Dulay’s backyard, a few feet from the fence surrounding his and Forbes’ homes.
Dulay says he applied for a permit from the district but never got one. He also claims he’s worked to be a good neighbour after Forbes’ complaint, but Forbes hasn’t spoken to him since.
“My neighbourhood is nice … only one person complains,” he said.
Meanwhile, Forbes started attending council more often, ran for office herself and was elected on Oct. 20 last year.
That’s the point where her situation with Dulay and his pigeons goes from a feud between neighbours to the political arena — and puts Forbes’ communications with district staff and councillors under the microscope.
Conflict of interest rules
In July 2019, Coun. Lisa Muri brought forward a motion that asked staff to explore changing the district’s decade-old pigeon bylaw, beginning the process that ended on Monday evening.
“This is a very old archaic bylaw,” she said.
“Why do we need to allow homing pigeons to be released? I am not allowed to release my dogs. They have to be leashed … so, I would ask why would we allow pigeons?”
Forbes also recused herself from that discussion, as mandated under the conflict of interest section in B.C.’s Community Charter.
It states that a councillor with a “direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a matter” must not “attempt in any way, whether before, during or after such a meeting, to influence the voting on any question,” and that they must not “attempt to influence in any way a decision, recommendation or other action to be made or taken … by an officer or an employee of the municipality.”
FOI documents show communication
According to Freedom of Information documents provided to CBC News, after Forbes was elected — but before she was officially sworn in — she sent an email to the city’s chief planning and permitting officer, complaining about the situation and asking for action.
“The discussion and explanations for how this situation has been handled in the last 1 1/2 years were not reasonable nor acceptable,” she wrote.
And from April to June, Muri and Forbes had three email discussions where the subject line read “Pigeons,” “Repeal of the pigeon bylaw” and “Keeping of Pigeons Bylaw.”
CBC News asked Forbes questions about her letter to staff after the election, and her emails with Coun. Muri, but she did not respond. CBC News also asked Muri about the bylaw and her emails to Forbes, and she declined comment.
Mathew Bond was one of two councillors who voted against the initial motion last week. He says the bylaw isn’t an appropriate use of the district’s time.
“We’re in the middle of a regional housing crisis and I’m not sure how the pigeon bylaw got to the top of the agenda,” he said.
“Generally, if there’s one complaint, that’s what our bylaws are for and that’s why we have bylaw enforcement.”
Dulay is still hopeful he’ll be able to keep his pigeons. And wonders why things went so wrong between him and the councillor.
“She has two dogs, I never complain,” he said.
“Even though they’re always barking.”
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | May 9, 2023 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Law, Bird Netting, Bird Spikes
A star racing pigeon named Armando has fetched a record 1.25 million euros in an online auction, Belgian media reported Sunday.
The prized bird—Belgian’s best long-distance racer of all time according to those in the know—was snapped up by a Chinese buyer for a princely sum that caused a flutter of excitement among fanciers.
Armando had been expected to break the previous record of 376,000 euros ($425,000) paid for a pigeon called Nadine—but not by such a wide margin.
“Earlier this week it became clear that Armando would be the most expensive pigeon ever sold in an online auction,” wrote the specialist website Pigeon Paradise (Pipa.be).
“However, no one expected that the magical cap of a million euros would be pulverised,” it added. The final amount was 1,252,000 euros.
Pigeon Paradise did not say who had bought the pigeon, but according to the Belgian news agency Belga it was a Chinese buyer who will no doubt use his new acquisition to breed other champions.
Armando was just one of more than a hundred birds sold by respected Belgian breeder Joel Verschoot.
Verschoot’s stable of pigeons is based in Ingelmunster, in the west of Belgium, and his online auction of his pigeons has been open for several weeks.
By Sunday, the family had sold 178 pigeons for around two million euros.
Homing pigeons are raced by releasing them sometimes hundreds of kilometres from home, with the first back home winning.
Racing them is a tradition in Belgium, Britain, northern France and the Netherlands, although it has been going into decline.
But interest from Asian buyers in recent years has given the practice a new lease of life.
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Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | May 9, 2023 | history of pigeons, MBCA, pet bird, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes
For a month the researchers had traversed slender mountain ridges, crossed and re-crossed rivers that roared through canyons cloaked in tropical forest, and endured bloodthirsty mosquitoes and leeches, all in search of something that probably didn’t exist. They had just hours left for searching before they had to leave Fergusson Island, off the east coast of Papua New Guinea. Expedition co-leader Jordan Boersma reckoned their chance of success was less than 1 percent.
Winded from a climb, he plopped down on a lush hillside to catch his breath and began looking through images on the camera traps he’d just collected, not expecting to find anything. “Suddenly I was confronted with this image of what at that time felt like a mythical creature,” says Boersma, a postdoctoral researcher at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “It was, without exaggeration, the most surreal moment of my life.”
The camera’s display was tiny, but there was no mistaking the creature it showed: the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon, a species that hasn’t been documented by scientists since it was first described in 1882.
“To find something that’s been gone for that long, that you’re thinking is almost extinct, and then to figure out that it’s not extinct, it feels like finding a unicorn or a Bigfoot,” says John C. Mittermeier, director of the lost birds program at American Bird Conservancy and a co-leader of the eight-member expedition. “It’s extraordinarily unusual.”
The stunning late-September rediscovery could not have happened without guidance from local hunters with intimate knowledge of the island’s forests, the researchers say, demonstrating the invaluable role of Indigenous communities in ongoing efforts to relocate species lost to Western science. With its existence confirmed, the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon is almost certainly the most endangered bird in New Guinea, which underscores the urgent need to protect its habitat on Fergusson, a rugged, 555-square-mile island that, while largely undeveloped, faces pressure from logging companies.
“This is a huge discovery,” says Bulisa Iova, an expedition member and acting chief curator of the National Museum and Art Gallery in Papua New Guinea. “I have studied birds for many years, and to be part of this team to discover this lost species is a highlight for me.”
The expedition was part of The Search for Lost Birds, a collaboration between BirdLife International, Re:wild, and American Bird Conservancy, which funded the trip. The initiative aims to rediscover more than 150 avian species that haven’t been declared extinct but also have not been seen for at least a decade.
A chicken-size, ground-dwelling pigeon, the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon was among around 20 “lost” birds that have not been documented for more than a century. It’s one of four pheasant-pigeon species found around New Guinea, and lives only on Fergusson Island. (Some authorities consider the four varieties to be subspecies.)
Boersma previously searched for the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon in 2019 with Jason Gregg, a conservation biologist and Audubon magazine contributor, and local biologist Doka Nason. While the trio did not find the bird on that trip, they did turn up five bird species not previously known to live on Fergusson, which suggested there were significant gaps in what ornithologists knew about the island’s birdlife. And when they spoke with hunters, they heard reports of a bird whose description could only belong to the pheasant-pigeon.
The researchers returned to Fergusson with a larger team in early September, determined to establish trust and work closely with the island’s Indigenous inhabitants to find the species. Day after day they hiked the steep terrain, stopping to interview locals and sleeping in villages or camping in the forest. Hunters in the first few communities were unfamiliar with the large bird the researchers described. But when the team reached the remote western slope of Mt. Kilkerran, they began to meet villagers who recognized the species and referred to it by the name Auwo.
Finally, in the village of Duda Ununa, a hunter named Augustin Gregory told the researchers where he had seen the bird. He described a call that matched those of New Guinea’s other pheasant-pigeon species, which don’t live on Fergusson. And he showed the team an area, on a ridge 3,200 feet above sea level and covered in thick vegetation, where their motion-triggered camera traps were likely to snap the elusive bird. Nason, who grew up in Papua New Guinea near Fergusson, and who Boersma describes as “the most impressive field biologist I’ve worked with anywhere,” selected a spot and set up the camera.
With its vantage limited by dense understory, the site wasn’t a typical one for a camera trap, the scientists say, but the images proved it was the right one. “Unmistakable,” Gregg, an expedition co-leader, says of first seeing the photos. “Tons of mixed emotions. Everything from solemn relief of burden to fist-pumping and screaming.”
Only days later, with time to scroll through everything the traps had captured, did the team realize that another camera had recorded video of a pheasant-pigeon. Given that the images were taken several kilometers apart, they almost certainly show two individuals.
Now that scientists know the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon still exists, the focus becomes keeping the critically endangered species from going extinct. As with other once-lost birds, its population is likely very small and seriously imperiled. Logging by international corporations appears to be a growing threat, and introduced predators such as feral cats could take a toll on the pheasant-pigeon as they have on other endemic island birds, according to Gregg. Sustaining the long-lost species will require learning more about its behavior and population status and launching conservation projects to protect its habitat, all with Fergusson Island residents in a leading role.
“Knowing what we know about bird extinction and conservation on islands around the world, we can expect that the combination of logging and introduced species, especially introduced mammals, is going to have an impact,” Gregg says. “This land and the fate of any conservation work that happens on this land is completely up to the communities that live there and own the land.”
Beyond Fergusson Island’s luxuriant forests, the rediscovery of the Black-naped Pheasant-Pigeon raises hopes that future expeditions will turn up other species lost to science but known all along to local experts. “The way this was always going to work is that we just really lean into local knowledge and put our faith in our local partners,” Boersma says. “That’s what delivered this incredible moment for us.”
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Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | May 9, 2023 | Bird Spike, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control
Two patients have died at a hospital after contracting a fungal infection linked to pigeon droppings.
The individuals are thought have caught the airborne disease at the Queen Elizabeth University hospital in Glasgow after inhaling the fungus cryptococcus, typically found in soil and pigeon droppings.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), which runs the hospital, has launched an investigation into the outbreak. It said the likely source of the pigeon droppings was a non-public room, thought to contain machinery, which has now been cleaned.
NHSGGC said “control measures” had been introduced, which is understood to mean equipment to filter the air in some parts of the hospital, and that some patients, including children, who may be vulnerable to the disease have received medication, which was proving effective.
The health board said that the second patient who died was elderly and the death was due to an unrelated matter. It said it could not share further details of the case because of patient confidentiality.
Teresa Inkster, NHSGGC lead consultant for infection control, said: “Cryptococcus lives in the environment throughout the world. It rarely causes infection in humans. People can become infected with it after breathing in the microscopic fungi, although most people who are exposed to it never get sick from it.”
She said there had been no further cases since control measures were put in place. “We are continuing to monitor the air quality and these results are being analysed. It remains our priority to ensure a safe environment for patients and staff,” she added.
Portable air filters have been installed to help reassure “vulnerable patients”, NHSGGC said, adding that the organism is “harmless to the vast majority of people and rarely causes disease in humans”. A group of hospital patients are being moved within the hospital “due to their clinical diagnosis and ongoing treatment”.
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Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | May 9, 2023 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Law, Bird Netting, Bird Spikes
For 53 years, large flocks of pigeons have called the Sid Buckwold Bridge home.
And for 53 years, they’ve also used it as a washroom.
The City of Saskatoon is embarking on a dirty mission to rid the bridge of 348 metric tonnes of pigeon poop over the next several months.
Angela Gardiner, the city’s general manager of transportation and construction, told Saskatchewan Afternoon that the collective weight of the droppings is equivalent to 232 mid-sized vehicles being parked on the bridge at all times.
She said the pigeons have been holing up inside utility cavities in the bridge and those provide a cozier home than other crossings in Saskatoon.
“Once we actually got in there over the last couple of years … the extent of the pigeon droppings was quite a bit more than we had anticipated,” Gardiner said.
She emphasized there hasn’t been any structural damage to the Sid Buckwold Bridge from the pigeon poop, but if it were left to stay, it could start wearing it out.
The pigeon droppings contain uric acid, which has the potential to eat away at the concrete used to build the crossing.
“There is a potential with any dead load like this that it could impact the structural integrity,” she said.
Specialized crews have been hired by the city to remove the droppings at the same time as rehabilitation work is done on the overall structure of the bridge.
In addition to the bridge cleanup, workers will install barriers to make it harder for birds to nest on the structure in the future.
However, the pigeons that have been displaced from the bridge will keep coming back — so Gardiner said the city plans to euthanize all 1,500 of them “humanely.”
“Part of the problem with pigeons is they’re homing birds, so if you just relocate them elsewhere, they’ll come back very quickly,” Gardiner said.
“If we fenced it off or prevented them from getting back there, they’ll just find a nearby location. I don’t think anyone wants 1,500 pigeons on their property.”
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | May 2, 2023 | history of pigeons, MBCA, pet bird, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators
Kristyn Wong-Tam doesn’t hate pigeons.
But the councillor for Toronto Centre (Ward 13) has watched constituents fight pigeons for long enough, having fielded numerous complaints over the years from people and businesses forced to buy netting to keep the birds off balconies and window ledges and anything else that can act as a perch or nesting area.
“I do think we’ve reached a tipping point in Toronto,” says the councillor, who has often spotted people feeding pigeons random food in places where people and birds congregate, like Yonge-Dundas Square.
“I’ve seen people take out a loaf of bread and throw it on Bay Street.”
Wong-Tam believes that people are acting out of genuine concern for the birds, or to ensure food doesn’t go to waste. In fact, the discarded food also attracts vermin.
When Toronto council meets this week, Wong-Tam intends to introduce a member’s motion asking that the city examine the possibility of banning feeding pigeons anywhere in the city, in public and private spaces, in order to control the pigeon population.
Currently, the city of Toronto parks bylaw prohibits feeding wildlife or depositing food for wildlife in parks, but there is no such restriction elsewhere. As a result, pigeons crowd public spaces like sidewalks, plazas, boulevards and laneways where they can find discarded food and are also fed by people.
In fact, the lack of enforcement of the bylaw in parks has even rendered some green space unusable, according to Wong-Tam’s motion.
Only two tickets for feeding wildlife in parks were issued in 2020, according to the city.
The lack of control means business is booming for David Szabo, owner of Pigeon Tom, a firm specializing in bird control. Cleaning up after pigeons, and protecting balconies and buildings from pigeons is most of his business.
Nesting pigeons love concrete balconies, and they can quickly coat patio furniture, barbecues and stored bicycles in droppings that are difficult and sometimes impossible to clean effectively.
“It literally drives people crazy because they’re so loud,” says Szabo. “They’re always cooing, especially early in the morning at 6 or 7 a.m.”
Because the birds return to nest in the place where they were born, the situation can quickly spiral out of control, Szabo says. Then there are the people who never go out on their balconies at all.
“In some cases, the person just never went out on the balcony for like five or six years, and it’s so bad you can’t open the door.”
Pigeon experts agree that feeding pigeons people-food, or large quantities of birdseed, isn’t good for the birds or the people who have to live with them. It leads to overpopulation and a buildup of unsightly and corrosive droppings, among other problems.
“People think that they’re feeding the birds, oftentimes they’re feeding the rats,” says pigeon expert Elizabeth Carlen, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis.
Carlen has studied pigeon populations from Boston to Washington, D.C.
“I have seen many places where people have dropped birdseed, thinking they are feeding the birds, and right behind it will be a rat burrow.”
Cities, with their proliferation of concrete balconies and windowsills and ledges, are just like the rock cliffs pigeons populate in nature, says Andrew Blechman, author of “Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird.”
“They like our cities because pigeons don’t do trees, they do cliffs. It’s a concrete jungle and that’s how they like it.”
Pigeons and people have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship since at least Mesopotamia, says Blechman. Pigeons have been a source of food, kept as pets, flown for sport and trained to assist in warfare — including a Canadian pigeon named Beachcomber, who won a medal for flying across the foggy English Channel to Britain to deliver news of the landing at Dieppe.
Colin Jerolmack, author of “The Global Pigeon,” has observed people feeding pigeons in parks for hours at a time.
“Many socially marginalized people — people who are homeless or elderly — fed the pigeons and out of it developed pet-like relationships that were very meaningful to them,” says Jerolmack.
“It may sound crazy, but pigeons do have different personalities and they would recognize the feeders and sit on their shoulders and wrists and show them affection.”
Also kids love pigeons and it is often their first close encounter with wildlife if they live in the city, Jerolmack says.
Jerolmack, Carlen and Blechman agree the solution is not to ban feeding pigeons, mostly because a ban is unlikely to work.
Blechman says that the people most likely to be feeding pigeons the most know it’s wrong, but they can’t help themselves. They’re obsessed. They’re up at 4 a.m., dumping an entire bag of birdfeed for the pigeons. They’re hard to catch.
“If you’re going to feed a pigeon, feed responsibly — a teaspoon or a tablespoon of bird-feed, that’s it,” says Blechman, who favours public education campaigns.
Keeping a pigeon as a pet is allowed in Toronto, as long as it is kept exclusively on private property, but Wong-Tam says people feeding wild pigeons from their homes can also create a problem for the neighbourhood if it draws flocks of birds.
The city receives about 60 complaints a year related to pigeons, including pet pigeons, wild pigeons and pigeon droppings, under various bylaws, according to data supplied by the city.
Other forms of population control are more likely to work better than a poorly enforced ban, say experts.
Blechman says some cities control their pigeon populations by building coops on top of buildings, feeding the birds where they roost. The eggs laid there are not allowed to hatch.
He finds it hard not to respect pigeons. They are gentle, monogamous and they raise their offspring together. They like humans. They can fly 900 kilometres at a stretch, at an average speed of 95 km/h, from a place they’ve never been to their home, like laser missiles.
“Pigeons have been beloved all through human history. It’s only the last 60 years that people have been nagging on them,” Blechman says.
“Cities can be awfully concrete, it’s awfully nice to see something that we’re not in control of, that’s a piece of nature, like a squirrel, like a bird, like a pigeon,” Blechman adds. “They animate our lives and that’s why people like to sit on a bench and feed them a piece of crust.”
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Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | May 2, 2023 | Bird Spike, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control
Pigeon pirates are illegally catching the birds on the streets of Manhattan to sell them out of state gun clubs to be killed for sport, animal rights activists claim after two incidents were reported this month.
On the morning of January 16, Hell’s Kitchen residents Susan Tang and her husband, Nicholas, witnessed two men in a Dodge Caravan bearing New York plates as they tossed seeds along 10th Avenue between 58th and 59th streets, according to the New York Post.
The poachers ended up capturing about 50 pigeons with nets before throwing them into the van and fleeing the scene.
‘We followed the van as much as we could to try to focus on the license plate, which was obscured by a plastic cover of some sort,’ Susan Tang told the Post.
‘The driver was aware he was being followed and was blowing red lights and almost struck a group of pedestrians.’
While it has been illegal to capture and sell pigeons for years in New York City, punishment for the crime was not streamlined until 2019, when a new bill made it a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1000 fine.
A permit is required in order to trap pigeons citywide.
The couple, who took a photo of the van prior to losing sight of it, filed a complaint with both 311 and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, as well as notified the NYPD.
‘It was over and done with from start to finish in 20 seconds,’ Tang recalled.
‘It was deeply disturbing. I’m a born and raised New Yorker. I love everything about this city. The pigeons are as New York City as you can possibly get.’
According to Tang, investigators with the Department of Environmental Conservation already ‘know the suspect’s name and address and located the van complete with tons of feathers and pigeon poop inside.’
‘I have told him that my husband and I will testify if the case progresses,’ she added.
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | May 2, 2023 | Bird Spike, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | May 2, 2023 | Bird Spike, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control
Last summer, Lana Nechayev’s friend told her about a pigeon she had seen struggling in a trap at TransLink’s Stadium SkyTrain station in Vancouver. Nechayev wanted to see it for herself, so with the help of a selfie stick attached to a broomstick, Nechayev says she photographed the pigeon later that day.
But she says it was already dead.
“It really broke my heart,” she said. “They die, slowly. Like, they starve to death. It’s a horrible, painful death.”
Nechayev is one of about 1,700 people who have signed an online petition calling on TransLink to stop the practice of trapping pigeons at its stations.
“It’s barbaric. It’s not civilized,” she said on Monday.
Nechayev and others reported the issue to the B.C. SPCA, which sent officers repeatedly to check the traps over several weeks. But according to Shawn Eccles, senior manager of cruelty investigations with the B.C. SPCA, the officers never saw a pigeon suffering in the traps during their visits.
Eccles said as long as traps are checked regularly by the pest management contractor, it’s legal to trap the birds and humanely kill them. He suggested daily checks may be required to ensure the animals aren’t suffering.
Pigeons aren’t protected by the B.C. Wildlife Act, the federal migratory bird act, or the province’s cruelty to animals laws — unless, Eccles explained, they’re captive in a trap, then animal cruelty laws apply. He said the animals need to be provided with enough food and water.
“You don’t starve to death an animal. That’s not acceptable,” said Eccles.
Droppings and interrupted service
TransLink began its trapping program about five years ago, according to spokesperson Thor Diakow.
“Pigeons are a bit of a problem when it comes to droppings,” said Diakow. “Pigeons and other wildlife — I’m talking crows, gulls, rats, raccoons, you name it — they can trigger highly sensitive intrusion alarms on the SkyTrain station.”
He said last year there were 544 wildlife-triggered intrusion alarms, amounting to 20 to 30 hours of lost service combined, though it’s impossible to say how many of the alarms were triggered by pigeons.
Diakow said TransLink was aware of complaints about the handling of the trapped birds last summer — around the time the company was switching between pest control contractors.
“Unfortunately there may have been a couple of instances where there were birds that perished in the cages, and that could have been where these photos and this petition stems from,” he said, adding that the contract requires the pest management company, Atlas, to check the traps weekly.
TransLink also uses spikes, netting, and low-voltage shocks to deter pigeons from parts of the SkyTrain system. But, Diakow said, the trap-and-kill program is “an important measure” the company uses to control the pigeon population.
“We do our best to be transparent about it,” he said.
Diakow declined to share information from Atlas’s weekly reports, which include how many pigeons have been trapped and killed, how many are found to have died in the cages, and which stations have traps. The B.C. SPCA also has access to the weekly reports, but declined to share information due to a confidentiality agreement.
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | May 2, 2023 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Law, Bird Netting, Bird Spikes
A Toronto resident recorded a video of a man snatching pigeons in the city’s east end and when she tried to report it to officials, she said no one wanted to investigate.
On Sunday morning, Bruna Doberstein was on her way home when she witnessed a man and a child capturing the birds with a net and placing them inside a crowded cage in a parking lot at Lawrence Avenue East and Markham Road. That’s when she decided to take out her phone and start recording.
“I expected he would stop doing it after he saw that I was recording. But he didn’t. He seemed pretty comfortable doing it,” Doberstein told CityNews.
In the video, you can hear Doberstein asking the man why he was trapping the pigeons and that he “can’t do this,” in which he responds “Yes I can. I take them to my farm and I raise them.”
Doberstein said she didn’t buy it.
“He wasn’t being gentle. He was holding the birds by their wings. A person who would raise the birds would be at least careful and keep them safe” she said. “I don’t know the story but I know it’s not good.”
At that moment, Doberstein decided to call the police. She said that while the officer was courteous, she was told that it wasn’t their jurisdiction and they wouldn’t be sending an officer.
Instead they told her to call 311. But she said from past experience, Doberstein didn’t think they would be of any help in this matter.
This wasn’t the first time she witnessed the man capturing a cage full of birds and it also wasn’t the first time she tried reporting on what she witnessed.
“It was the second time I saw this guy. I recognized the truck from almost a year ago in August in the same parking lot.”
She told CityNews that last year she contacted a variety of different municipal and provincial departments with no luck, “I called PAWS (Provincial Animal Welfares services) and The Ministry of Nature and Forestry too and I never heard back.”
This kind of response isn’t unusual, according to Camille Labchuck, animal rights lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice.
“In my experience this is not uncommon when it comes to animal issues and law enforcement agencies,” said Labchuck. “Because a lot of people have authority also means that nobody does, leading to nobody wanting to pick it up and run with it.”
While Labchuck and her team are disappointed that Toronto Animal Services and police didn’t do more, they ultimately had more success with reporting the incident to Provincial Animal Welfare Services and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
bird netting vancouver
“PAWS is the agency that took over enforcement from the OSPCA two years back. They are tasked with investigating any animal cruelty problems.” Labchuck explained. Something many people may not be aware of.
Since the OSPCA announced in 2019 it will no longer enforce animal cruelty laws, there has been no clear guidance of who one should contact to report, investigate and enforce animal cruelty laws.
“You got a man roughly handling birds by the wings which is not permitted,” Labchuck said. “To say nothing of the fact that he shouldn’t be interacting with pigeons anyways. They are protected species under the federal Migratory Bird Convention Act”.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry are in charge of enforcing the wildlife act. Labchuck said there could be a clear violation here as residents can’t interact with native wildlife without a permit.
However, while both departments took down information, neither would accept the video at this stage.
“They both advised that providing the video would be a next step if an enforcement officer requires it. Kind of bizarre as it’s relevant evidence at the outset,” Labchuck said.
In 2015, the illegal trapping of pigeons became a widespread issue in the city of New York after hundreds were believed to be stolen for live pigeon shoots in neighbouring states.
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | Apr 26, 2023 | history of pigeons, MBCA, pet bird, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators
Pigeons like to land, roost, nest, and make a mess of your roof and they’re not easy to get rid of. Persistence, bird deterrents, and bird exclusion is the key.
Get rid of pigeons on the roof by removing food and water
Remove all food and water sources and never feed the pigeons! In addition, don’t let your neighbors feed the pigeons. The pigeons can eat at your neighbors and nest on your roof!
Pigeons mainly like to eat seeds and grains such as oats, wheat, corn, cereal, sorghum, rice, beans, barley, millet, peas, and sunflower. They also like to eat food scraps left behind by people, including bread crumbs and popcorn. Birdseed is their favorite because it contains a variety of seeds and grains.
When grains or seeds aren’t available pigeons will eat fruit, greens, and occasionally insects, earthworms, and snails. They especially like apples, grapes, berries, lettuce, spinach, and sprouted seeds.
Pigeons need a constant water source. If water isn’t readily available they will leave to find a more suitable place to live. They can find water in birdbaths, gutters, pools, decorative water fountains, puddles, ponds, streams, and even leaves after a rain storm.
Easy to use deterrents to get rid of pigeons on the roof
Aluminum foil, bird deterrent tape, shiny Mylar balloons, wind propelled shiny spinning objects, and plastic decoy scare owls are scary objects to pigeons. Place scary objects on the roof, under the eves, or on the patio. Pigeons don’t like or feel comfortable with scary objects next to their nesting area. They would rather live in a more peaceful environment. One thing to remember, when installing scary objects, is to move them around on a regular basis. Objects that stay in one position don’t scare pigeons.
Wind chimes may deter pigeons. You can give it a try. Pigeons have sensitive hearing and the noise from wind chimes can actually hurt their ears. Pigeons don’t particularly like to nest where loud noises come and go.
Sticky bird gel can also deter pigeons. Apply the sticky gel to your roof where the pigeons are landing and roosting. The gel will make the area uncomfortable for the pigeons to roost.
Metal bird spikes to get rid of pigeons on the roof
Metal anti bird perching spikes can be effective in the right circumstance. They can work pretty well depending on the location you put them. Install them on rooftop edges, ledges, chimneys, and anywhere you see the pigeons land, roost, or nest. Metal bird spikes are mostly maintenance free and can be a permanent solution to deter pigeons from your roof.
Metal anti-perching spikes are harder to install and are not aesthetically appealing.
Wire screens or mesh to get rid of pigeons on the roof
Exclusion is the best solution to pigeon problems in alcoves, around chimneys, under solar panels, on vents, and many other places on the roof. Exclusion with wire bird screen and mesh do offer a permanent solution to pigeon nesting problems.
Solar panels are generally raised 5-12 inches above shingled or tiled roofs, thus creating a void between the panel and the roof. Pigeons can easily go underneath the panel to nest, poop, and make a noticeable and destructive mess. Most, if not all, rooftops that have solar panels need to have pigeons excluded from getting under the solar panels.
Installing wire bird screens or mesh can be difficult and hazardous. It requires being on the roof with tools, a lot of bending over (which is physically demanding), cutting the wire to the proper dimensions, and stapling or screwing on the wire. It is not advised for a home or business owner to install wire screens or mesh because it isn’t safe. You can fall off the roof and get seriously injured or die. To use this method, please hire a professional bird control company.
Bird netting to get rid of pigeons on the roof
If your roof is large and flat, bird netting is an excellent method to use to keep pigeons off your roof. It physically blocks the birds from the roof. If the birds can’t get on the roof, they can’t roost or nest. Bird netting is an exclusion method primarily used for large commercial bird and pigeon control.
A professional bird control operator should install bird netting. If not installed correctly the pigeons can still land on the area and get trapped, as well as other birds. This is cruel. Please hire a professional bird control company for bird netting. It will cost money but it is the safest and most humane way to have bird netting installed.
Remove bird nesting materials and droppings
It is important to remove all pigeon nesting and feces prior to excluding pigeons. Nesting materials and droppings left on the roof will continue to cause damage.
If the roof has a pitch, using a power washer is generally the best way to get rid of pigeon waste. Put a tarp on the ground next to the roof to catch the debris as it is rinsed off the roof. It will be much easier to clean up the pigeon feces on the ground if it is contained on a tarp. Wear a mask to prevent inhaling fumes from pigeon feces and wet the feces down before rinsing off. Histoplasmosis is zoonotic disease that can be found in pigeon feces. Zoonotic diseases are caused by harmful germs like viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi that are spread between animals and people.
If the roof is flat, you will have to wet the roof down (to prevent spreading contaminants and disease through the air), then rake and sweep up the pigeon waste prior to rinsing. Again, wear a mask to prevent inhaling fumes from pigeon feces.
Please be careful or better yet, call a professional. Using a power washer on the roof can be slippery and dangerous. Inhaling noxious pigeon feces can cause disease – it is a biohazard.
Importance of discouraging pigeons from nesting on your roof
Pigeons spread disease. There are over 60 diseases birds and their droppings can carry. Some of the diseases from pigeon droppings include salmonella, toxoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, St Louis encephalitis, E.coli, and more. In addition, fungus can grow in pigeon droppings which can cause histoplasmosis. Histoplasmosis is a respiratory disease that may be fatal. Pigeons are also carriers of pests including fleas, mites, ticks, and lice as well as West Nile virus. All of these diseases can pose a serious threat to human health.
Property damage is a big concern with pigeon nesting and droppings. Nests can clog gutters, ventilation pipes, chimneys, and damage electrical equipment. Damaged electrical wires from pigeon nests can even lead to fires. Pigeon droppings are very acidic. The droppings can actually eat away at the roof structure and cause roof leakage.
Pigeon droppings are unsightly. Nobody likes to see or walk on pigeon droppings.
People can slip and fall where pigeon droppings accumulate. When pigeon feces are fresh or rained on it is slippery.
Call a professional
Installing wire bird spikes, wire screens, wire mesh, or bird netting is difficult and hazardous. People can, and do, fall off roofs. People who fall off roofs get seriously injured and even die. It is best to call a professional bird control company when using these methods. Companies that specialize in removing and excluding bird pests (like pigeons) have the know how and safety equipment to get rid of pigeons in a safe and efficient manner from rooftops, alcoves, solar panels, chimneys, window sills, and other areas.
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | Apr 26, 2023 | Bird Spike, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control
Pigeons are usually classified as a pest species because they are filthy gutter birds that inhabit cities, roost everywhere, and crap all over everything. The most common repellents include the following:
- Fake Plastic Owls
- Flashing Mylar Owls
- Flashy Spinning Tops
- Fluttering Tinsel Strands
Pigeons don’t care about these repellents. Go ahead and try them for yourself. The birds need a place to roost and nest, and they aren’t at all discouraged by these festive decorations.
Birds can sometimes be an irritation if they frequent your porch and leave their nasty bird poo in there. Pigeons in particular can always be seen roosted anywhere from your roof, to your chimneys and even in ledges in condominium units or apartments in most urban areas. Tendencies of them making it inside to take a peek on any inviting food source would not a good sign because this might be a start of more frequent visits and more company flying in your unit or house. Read more about How Can Pigeons Enter Your House? or read about How to Find Pigeon Entry Holes In Your House.
Before engaging in any complex pigeon repellent method, you should first try to observe to know which attracts them in your property. Being aware of the things that bring them in your area would definitely help you in trying to take them away or to eliminate them giving no reasons for these pigeons to constantly keep coming back to your place.
But if it does not work, you can always try to look into a more effective method of getting rid of these birds. Some people would recommend scaring them away by using some devices that would make these pigeons feel too uncomfortable to still continue to stay in your place. Perhaps the most widely used is the plastic owl which was thought by many people as an effective tool of shooing them away but unfortunately pigeons are much more wiser not to know the difference between the live one and the one that you are hanging in your house even in the middle of the day. Read more about Do plastic owls scare pigeons. Some thought that they can scare off the pigeons by the use of objects that are usually hung and reflects light. But the truth of the matter is neither method is effective in eradicating your pigeon problem according to the experts.
One thing that might work though is trying to scare them with a flock or starlings or perhaps a single woodpecker that would emphasize the ownership of the territory as belonging to that specie and an unwelcome trespasser is not welcome. But if you can’t do with the real thing try to create an environment with their replicas and sounds that might scare away other birds. But you must remember to try to imitate their real behavior and not leave them stationary for a long time that might lead to another failed attempt because pigeons have already deciphered and gotten accustomed to the sight and sounds.
If this won’t work, you can try to enhance your own homes perhaps by doing some roost modification techniques. These methods would try to lure them away by not giving them a space or an area to land. One of the most recommended is the use of pigeon control spikes. You can use them in strategic areas where you normally see these pigeons land and stay. With the use of these almost invisible spikes, they might learn their lesson the hard way but of course without killing them.
If you have pigeons roosting inside a building, you’ll want to get them out and do building repairs to close up the openings that they use to enter the building. This is crucial in cases of pigeons in the attic, because if you don’t seal the holes, new birds will continue to enter.
One more thing that you might be able to do is to cover the area with nylon nets so as not to allow them the space that they need for landing. This is most recommended for wide open areas such as garages and courtyards. But other than this, you can also try to change the angle of elevation of some of the areas that these pigeons frequent. You can create an almost slanting angle of 45 degrees in ledges so that they cannot surely establish a strong foothold especially in slopes where they are easily pulled down by gravity. Doing it this way would surely show them how futile it is to try and land on your property. Not giving them a chance to roost is better than trying to scare them away. As most people say it would be better to take on the prevention method than to wait for the problem and do the treatment. Read the guides Can You Use Mothballs to Help Repel Pigeons? and Needle Pigeon Strip.
About Pigeon Repellents: Gel, Spray, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Amazon, Walmart. Pigeons for all their peacefulness and intelligence, can become a great inconvenience when they decide to come to roost at your home – you wake up to their cooing sounds and then you see your roof, windows or balcony get stained with bird droppings and what not. They just act like they own the space! If you have had your fill of them or perhaps, just finished getting rid of them, there are ways to discourage them from coming back. Read more about using rice or alka seltzer to repel pigeons.
Pigeon repellents are materials, objects or substances that can repel or deter pigeons from your property. Repellents can either be home-sourced or store-bought. Examples of pigeon repellents are electronic sound emitters, pigeon spikes, scare owls, repellent gel etc.
Use Fake Owls (scare owls)
Scare owls are not real owls but they are designed to look like real owls, which are the natural predators of the pigeon. Just place them at the spot where your nuisance pigeons roost and the birds will move away. You may have to reposition the fake owls from time to time so they look mobile and real, or else pigeons will detect that they are not real faster (because they will eventually, anyway) and persist in frequenting your space. Some fake owls are capable of turning their heads on their own, this would definitely be a plus. Also available for the same purpose, are fake snakes and fake hawks.
Repel them with sound
There are two ways to do this; by using recorded predator sounds or store-bought electronic sound emitters. You can record sounds of predators (hawks or owls) by yourself and play it from a strategic position to make it look like the predator is lurking around. Electronic sound emitters can be purchased from local pets stores. Sound emitters, like the Bird-X emitter, produce sounds that may not be picked by human ears, but can be heard by pigeons. This sound may keep them at bay for some time at least, though they will eventually find a way to live with it.
Pigeon spikes
Pigeon spikes are needle-like structure that prick a pigeon as soon as it tries to settle down on the spiked surface. These spikes are not lethal and are almost invisible, so they will not cause any structural changes to your house. Glue the spikes to roofs, ledges, rafters etc. with adhesive and it will be there permanently, to be cleaned every now and then.
Scare them with spices
Sprinkle spices like cinnamon and cayenne pepper on the surfaces that the birds perch on whenever they come visiting. Pigeons do not like spices and this is meant to discourage them from settling down. They have been known to kick the spices aside unperturbed though.
Balloons
Brightly colored balloons with predator eyes drawn on them can scare pigeons for a limited period only. You may use them to hold the birds at bay while you find a lasting solution.
Gel Repellents
Store-bought pigeon gel repellents may be manually applied to the surfaces on which the pigeons roost. These gels are sticky and slippery, making it hard for pigeons to stay on. Repeated application is necessary as the gel stops being sticky or slippery after some time.
Methyanthranilate
This is a chemical substance that can be sprayed on soil and plants to give them an unpleasant taste when consumed. Methyanthranilate works best for farmyards or gardens that are being frequented by pigeons. It has no harmful effect on the soil or plants.
Spray pigeon with water
Yes, you read it right – just spray them with water. Get a water hose and spray water directly on the pigeons while they are perched on their favorite spot on your property. It will scare them away for some hours or maybe even days. An alternative is to use a small water pistol loaded with ice cold water. Ice-cold water works even better and will not harm the pigeons.
Note: While all of these repellent solutions have the potential to keep pigeons away, their success rate leaves much to be desired. This is so because pigeons are highly intelligent birds and are able to quickly get acquainted with or work their way around the repellent. For example, pigeons will detect fake owls as being fake in few hours or days, they will also get acquainted with balloons and may even find a way to push spices aside to find a way for them to roost there. So overall, repellents are not dependable way of getting rid of pigeons.
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | Apr 26, 2023 | Bird Spike, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control
LONDON, ONT. — Startling video provided to CTV News shows a pigeon shaking violently before its death. And a warning that some viewers may find the video disturbing.
“We just found one that is literally shaking to death,” explains Bonnie Siegfried.
Siegfried says she found the dying bird near the Northview Apartment REIT complex on Mornington Avenue over the weekend.
She comforted the distressed pigeon in its final moments before posting the video to Facebook.
“We found it upside down shaking and vibrating outside…it was hard to watch,” says Siegfried.
A spokesperson from Northview Apartment REIT confirmed to CTV News that this year and in previous years, management has hired licensed pest control professionals to deal with tenants’ concerns about pigeons at 520 and 560 Mornington Ave. – with the most recent services provided last week.
CTV News has confirmed that Husky Pest Control was the company recently hired to deal with excessive pigeon droppings on balconies.
A spokesperson for Husky says, “Pigeon poop droppings is a health hazard that can cause diseases called histoplasmosis…fungus grows on pigeon droppings which is a health hazard.”
The company says they used a pest control product according to the label, which was made specifically for pigeon control. They also say they cleaned and sanitized the balconies.
A spokesperson from Northview told CTV News in a statement, “We understand that the efforts used by the pest control professionals to mitigate the pigeon situation at the building are now the subject of an investigation by the Ministry of Natural Resources, and we have pledged to cooperate fully with that investigation.”
The Northview spokesperson adds that services have immediately been ceased and all treatments have been discontinued.
Full Statement from Northview:
“As responsible property managers, we have been working- for more than a year- to address the concerns of residents at 520 and 560 Mornington struggling with the effects of a pigeon situation at the building. Tenants came to management concerned about the number of birds assembled on the property, the nuisance they were causing, the property damage sustained as a result, and the potential negative health implications of the birds’ presence.
“Through this period we have retained pest control professionals to address the matter. These professionals were fully licensed, and assured management that their efforts were permitted and humane. Last week efforts made by the pest control professionals attending to the building resulted in a situation that management believed was untenable, and the services were immediately ceased and all treatments were discontinued.
“We understand, that the efforts used by the pest control professionals to mitigate the pigeon situation at the building are now the subject of an investigation by the Ministry of Natural Resources, and we have pledged to cooperate fully with that investigation. As this process is now ongoing, we will not be making further public comment at this time.”
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | Apr 26, 2023 | Bird Spike, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control
One of the most common questions that people with pigeon problems ask is how to get rid of the birds from roofs, balconies, and industrial facilities. The pigeons are causing at best an inconvenience and at worst a health hazard. Irrespective of the mess, pigeon feces are corrosive and can etch through steel or even concrete.
In this article, we will discuss how to get rid of pigeons using different methods, so that you can easily find the best solution for your scenario.
How to Get Rid of Pigeons?
1.
CULLING PIGEONS
– this method includes shooting, poisoning, using traps and even raptors
2. REDUCING PIGEON REPRODUCTION – this method includes using pigeon birth control, nest destruction and dovecotes combined with egg removal or replacement
3. PHYSICALLY EXCLUDING PIGEONS – this method includes using spikes, wires, slides and shock tracks to keep pigeons away
4. USING DETERRENTS -this method includes sonic and ultrasonic emitters, effigies, reflected and direct light sources, propane cannons and trained raptors to deter pigeons
5. USING REPELLENTS- this method includes using gels and pastes, optical gels, fogs and vapors to deter pigeons
How to Get Rid of Pigeons from a Balcony
Getting rid of pigeons from small areas like balconies can be resolved with relatively simple common-sense solutions.
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Wires. You can use a wire coil or stainless-steel wire to deter pigeons perching on rails.
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Shock Track. Several suppliers offer a “shock track” system to keep birds off balconies. The shock track does not hurt the bird but provides enough stimulation to make the targeted perching area unattractive.
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Netting. Consider using a netting system to physically exclude the birds from balconies. This is the costliest alternative, although if installed properly it’s 100% effective. Newer versions of netting are virtually invisible.
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Sound or reflected light. The easiest way to deter pigeons from your patio, deck, or balcony, is with sound or reflected light. You can achieve this with a wind chime, Mylar balloon, aluminum foil pans or even hanging CD’s. The reflected light disorients the birds.
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Plastic owl or rubber snake. Consider using scarecrows (“effigies”). The most common example is a plastic owl or rubber snake. Unfortunately, the effects will most likely be short-lived. The pigeons come to recognize the scarecrow as something that is not a threat.
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Spikes. Consider using anti-perching spikes that you can attach anywhere the birds like to perch. Spikes are best advised for limited areas where the goal is to move the birds someplace else. They are available in different materials from plastic to stainless steel.
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Gel Repellants. You can use gel repellants to ledges where pigeons perch. The gel makes the surface sticky and the birds will try to avoid it. Unfortunately, dust and debris take their toll and reapplication is often necessary. The application of gel repellants is not recommended where there are smaller birds. They can permanently get stuck in the goo
How to Get Rid of Pigeons on Roofs
If you have a pigeon problem on your roof, there are a few things you can do to get rid of them. First, try to figure out how they are getting onto your roof in the first place. If you have any holes or cracks that they can use as an entry point, seal them up with some wire mesh or caulking. You can also try installing a physical barrier like a wire fence around the perimeter of your roof.
Keeping pigeons off a roof can be far more challenging. Here are some popular methods you might consider if you wonder how to get rid of pigeons on roofs:
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Consider using a wire coil or stainless-steel wire to deter pigeons from perching on the ridge(s).
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A “shock track” system might keep birds off rooftops
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Using wire or netting is appropriate for a roof design that incorporates nooks. You can also apply nets where the pigeons can construct a nest.
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Solar panels provide excellent harborage for pigeons. Metal grid netting is the most effective method to limit access to the birds.
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Flat commercial roof styles have their own set of challenges. The first option is to electrify the parapet perching areas. The second option is to install simple spikes. Be aware that pigeons enjoy the comfort of HVAC installations. As a solution, consider netting these units.
How to Get Rid of Pigeons at Industrial Facilities
The basic nature and scope of modern industrial facilities make them highly attractive to pigeons. The design of these facilities is most often open which allows the birds ready ingress and egress. More importantly, pipes, beams, poles, and catwalks offer a wide range of harborage and nesting options. Food sources are typically located nearby and as mobile pests, pigeons can move around freely from one area of the plant to the next.
Pigeons can represent a costly nuisance for plants, and in many cases have been at the facility ever since it was built. Over time, the nests, feces, and debris can cause considerable damage to a plant’s mechanical and electrical components. Furthermore, the birds’ droppings and other debris add additional health hazards to an already hazardous area.
Most conventional methods of pigeon mitigation offer little comfort to an industrial facility and decision makers often select culling solutions since everything else is either prohibitively costly or impractical. Methods such as trapping and poisoning the birds may help alleviate the problem temporarily, however, due to their rapid breeding, pigeons always return and repopulate the very attractive site in a few weeks or months.
While highly effective at smaller sites, physical exclusion is typically not an option at a larger plant. It is simply impossible to cover an oil refinery or power plant with a net.
The more common solutions for smaller scale facilities are only appropriate for the resolution of isolated problems at a larger plant. An area where there is zero tolerance for birds mandates physical exclusion to keep them out, while the overall control strategy needs to focus on abatement.
The following graphic provides an outline of the various options for bird abatement. There are just two alternatives:
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Increase mortality with the common culling methods, trap, shoot or poison
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Reduce reproduction with a contraceptive.
NO SINGLE METHOD OR SOLUTION WILL SOLVE ALL PIGEON PROBLEMS
Short of exterminating the birds, there is no foolproof way to get rid of all of them. Pigeons have accompanied mankind for thousands of years and, like rats, are not leaving anytime soon. Unfortunately, even the effects of lethal methods are only effective in the short-term as the remaining flock rapidly breeds back the ones that are missing. Lethal solutions often represent a “harvest” of pigeons as opposed to an actual control program. Both larger and smaller problems can be solved with the techniques outlined above although all but the simplest sites require some observation and planning to develop a safe and effective strategy for success.
WHY NOT JUST KILL THE BIRDS?
Irrespective of any humane considerations, the casual observer often asks, “why not just kill the birds” for a prompt and effective resolution to a pigeon problem? While culling options provide an immediate and tangible solution to an acute pigeon problem, the effects are fleeting. More often than not, the population will simply “backfill” the void created by culling with increased reproduction and even more birds. Unfortunately, just killing the birds just provides the illusion of control. Only by limiting reproduction can you effectively manage the population in a manner to provide long-term control. Over time, killing pigeons more closely resembles a harvest as opposed to an actual control program.
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | Apr 26, 2023 | 4-S Gel Bird repellent, Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Law, Bird Netting, Bird Spikes
Outdoor space is a premium asset (perhaps now more than ever before). When my wife and I moved into a new apartment with not one but two decks, I excitedly had visions of barbecues, alfresco dinners, and relaxing afternoons of intermittent reading and napping. Shortly after we moved in, however, we realized we weren’t the only ones with grand plans for our decks: Several families of pigeons had claimed them as their own, and it seemed like the only only meals that would happen on them would be feasts of regurgitated worms that the mother pigeons fed to their squabs. As we continued to awake to mournful coos and find more eggs in planters, we got the sense that our presence — no matter how loud or imposing it was — would not be enough to shoo the avian invaders away for good.
This was before the pandemic, so I hired an exterminator (shout out to Stan) to come over and help me with our feathered frenemies. Stan told me that pigeons are far smarter than we give them credit for and that fully ridding them from any areas they like often requires a multipronged solution. An opportunity to implement such a solution presented itself when I noticed that the group of baby pigeons living on our deck had all grown up and seemingly flown away. So, armed with Stan’s hard-won wisdom, I did some research and ultimately bought a few products that, when used together, rendered our decks completely free of wildlife. Read on for everything I used — along with a few other things I didn’t use but came highly recommended — to solve our pigeon problem.
Stan the exterminator may have said pigeons are smart, but they’re not that smart. He told me that even the appearance of a pigeon’s natural predators (like a hawk or an owl) is enough to keep the birds moving and indicate that your porch is not a safe space to raise a family. Another tip he shared: Move the fake bird twice a day (in the beginning) to maintain the illusion of sentience for the pigeons’ sake.
At first I bought just one fake hawk, but a gang of pigeons angrily attacked it. So I bought two more, and found that three of them placed at different points around my decks were sufficient to scare them off.
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | Apr 18, 2023 | Bird Spike, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control
This article examines a group of working-class men who breed and fly pigeons from their rooftops in New York City. It explores how the flyers experience their neighborhoods through their animal practices and shows how ethnic whites transmitted this practice to non-whites. It also documents their gatherings at a pet shop, where the flyers campaign for status based on their birds’ performance. These men form a distinct collective that is strongly rooted in their solitary animal practices but is given meaning largely through social interactions. Most community studies find conflict among different working-class racial-ethnic groups who share urban neighborhoods, but pigeon flying fosters solidarity among Italian, Hispanic, and African American New Yorkers of varying ages. The study highlights how animal practices can organize social relationships and connections to the environment and demonstrates that shared everyday activities can be as vital as ethnicity or class in primary group formation.
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
by Pigeon Patrol | Apr 18, 2023 | Bird Spike, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control
Broadband is the most modern of communication means, while carrier pigeons date back to Roman times.
But on Thursday, a race between the two highlighted the low speeds of rural broadband in the UK; the pigeon won.
Ten USB key-laden pigeons were released from a Yorkshire farm at the same time a five-minute video upload was begun.
An hour and a quarter later, the pigeons had reached their destination in Skegness 120km away, while only 24% of a 300MB file had uploaded.
Campaigners say the stunt was being carried out to illustrate that broadband in some parts of the UK is still “not fit for purpose”.
It is not the first time that such a race has taken place. Last year a similar experiment in Durban, South Africa saw Winston the pigeon take two hours to finish a 96km journey. In the same time just 4% of a 4GB file had downloaded.
The pigeons are expected to complete a 120km journey to Skegness in around two hours, but Tref Davies, who is organising the stunt to give publicity to the campaign for better rural broadband, said the broadband connection will take significantly longer to transfer the 300MB file.
“The farm we are using has a connection of around 100 to 200 Kbps (kilobits per second),” Tref Davies, the stunt’s organiser, told BBC News on Thursday morning.
“The kids need to do school work and the farmer has to submit online forms but the connection is not fit for purpose.”
Mr Davies, who is co-founder of business ISP Timico and serves on the board of ISPA (Internet Service Providers’ Association), believes the issue is one that industry and government needs to address.
“This is the UK. It should be well-connected but around a third of homes still can’t get broadband,” he said.
However, BT disputes his figures. A spokesperson said that 99% of homes could now get broadband, leaving an estimated 160,000 lines “where excessive line length means broadband won’t work”.
Even among those who can get broadband, rural areas are fighting to get reasonable speeds.
Research commissioned by the BBC last year found that around three million homes in the UK had internet connections of below 2Mbps (megabits per second).
The government has committed to delivering a minimum of 2Mbps to every home by 2015.
However, a recent report by communications watchdog Ofcom found that while these “headline speeds” were on the rise, they are not the relevant measure for broadband customers.
According to the report, “although headline speeds increased by nearly 50% between April 2009 and May 2010, actual speeds delivered increased by just 27%, and averaged just 46% of headline speeds”.
Lloyd Felton, founder of the Rural Broadband Partnership, said the effort to draw attention to rural broadband deprivation and low speeds was laudable.
“It’s true that there are particular areas of the country that suffer much more than others,” Mr Felton told BBC News.
“You’ve got massive deprivation – this long-quoted ‘digital divide’. As we all get more dependent on the internet, that divide gets wider.
“In the end it’s who takes ownership and responsibility for co-ordinating how a parish is going to handle it – what we say is that ‘communities need to help themselves to broadband’.”
Source
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor or 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 Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products ten years in a row.
Contact us at 1 877-4-NO-BIRD,(604) 585-9279 or visit our website at www.pigeonpatrol.ca
Pigeon/Pigeon Patrol / Pigeons Roosing / Vancouver Pigeon Control / Bird Spikes / Bird Control / Bird Deterrent / PIgeon Deterrent / Surrey Pigeon Control / Pest / Seagull deterrent / Vancouver Pigeon Blog / Birds Inside Home / Pigeons in the cities / Ice Pigeons / What to do about pigeons / sparrows, Damage by Sparrows, How to Keep Raccoons Away, Why Are Raccoons Considered Pests / De-fence / Pigeon Nesting / Bird Droppings / Pigeon Dropping / woodpecker control / Professional Bird Control Company / Keep The Birds Away / Birds/rats/seagull/pigeon/woodpecker/dove/sparrow/pidgeon control/pidgeon problem/pidgeon control/flying rats/pigeon problems/ bird netting/bird gel/bird spray/bird nails/bird guard
