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.
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
If you do a Google search for “Darwin bird” you will find endless references to the finches of the Galápagos Islands. But it took a long time for Charles Darwin to recognize their significance. When he collected them he did not even realize that they were related, considering some to be “grosbeaks,” others true finches, and others blackbirds. He even considered one warblerlike finch to be a kind of wren.
In fact, during and soon after the historic around-the-world voyage of the HMS Beagle, from 1831 to 1836, Darwin had not yet come to the idea that different islands might be inhabited by different species. As his biographer Janet Browne put it, “He experienced no legendary moment of inspiration.” He was more interested in butterflies. When he returned to London, Darwin dispersed his enormous collection of specimens to the specialists at the Royal Zoological Society. It was only then that ornithologist John Gould told him that the Galápagos birds he had thought were a mixture of blackbirds, grosbeaks, and finches were actually 12 species of finches.
A better case might be made that the most important bird in Darwin’s studies was the humble domestic pigeon. In fact, one of the first readers of the manuscript that would become On the Origin of Species, in 1859, disliked most of the book intensely. Whitwell Elwrin wrote to the publisher, John Murray, and called the text “a wild & foolish piece of imagination . . . for an outline it is too much & for a thorough discussion of the question it is not near enough.” Rather than tell the publisher to reject the manuscript, he consulted Darwin’s friend, geologist Charles Lyell, who had already suggested that the book should focus on Darwin’s observations on pigeons. Elwrin recommended that Darwin write a short book on pigeons. “Everybody is interested in pigeons,” he told him, and a book like this would “be reviewed in every journal in the kingdom and soon be on every table.”
The Origin of Pigeons? Although it sounds funny today, the breeding of fancy pigeons and other pedigreed animals was something of a craze in Victorian England, one that crossed class lines, attracting enthusiasts ranging from miners and weavers to Queen Victoria. When Darwin began studying and breeding pigeons in 1856, he soon became as enthusiastic about the wonderfully varied breeds as any working-class fancier. As Janet Browne says, “Darwin loved his pigeons . . . he spent hours reading self-help manuals and books by breeders to make sure he was doing the right thing and visiting shows and exhibitions to see what was available. He found it very entertaining hobnobbing with breeding experts and trying to exude an air of practical knowledge as he leaned over cages of absurdly ruffled feathers. The esoteric world of pigeon fanciers seemed to him delightfully fresh and curious.”
At first he was not without a little upper-class condescension. He wrote to Huxley, “I sat one evening in a gin palace in the Borrough amongst a set of pigeon fanciers, when it was hinted that Mr. Bolt had crossed his Pouters with Runts to gain size: and if you had seen the solemn, the mysterious, and awful shakes of the head, which all the fanciers gave at this scandalous proceeding, you would have recognized how little crossing has had to do with improving breeds, and how dangerous for endless generations the process was. All this was brought home far more vividly than by pages of mere statements & c.”
Soon, however, he met more scholarly and “respectable” fanciers. His most important friend in the pigeon world became the journalist and editor William Tegetmeier. Their association lasted for more than 10 years and was mutually beneficial. Tegetmeier provided Darwin with specimens, information, and contacts. Tegetmeier, who seems to have been a bit of a social climber, loved to brag about his intimacy with Darwin.
Darwin’s family fell in love with pigeons as well. His daughter Henrietta later wrote, “I can still recall their different characteristics: a cross old fantail when taking food from my hand liked to take a good peck & hurt me if he could. The Pouter pigeon was good-natured but not clever, and I remember a hen Jacobin which I considered rather feeble-minded.” Darwin wanted all of his friends to be as delighted with his pigeons as he was. He wrote Lyell, “I hope Lady Lyell & yourself will remember whenever you want a little rest & have time how very glad we should be to see you here. I will show you my pigeons! Which is the greatest treat, in my opinion, which can be offered to human beings.”
Although his study of pigeons informed The Origin of Species, Darwin’s real “pigeon book,” The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, did not come out until 1868. Its long and beautifully illustrated section on pigeons is still readable and relevant to both naturalists and pigeon fanciers today.
He begins, “I have been led to study domestic pigeons with particular care because the evidence that all the domestic races are descended from one known source is far clearer than with any other anciently domesticated animal. Secondly, because many treatises in several languages, some of them old, have been written on the pigeon, so that we are enabled to trace the history of several breeds. And lastly, because, the amount of variation has been extraordinarily great. . . . I have kept alive all the most distinct breeds, which I could procure in England or from the Continent; and have prepared skeletons of all. I received skins from Persia, and a large number from India and other quarters of the world. Since my admission to two of the London pigeon-clubs I have received the kindest assistance from some of the most eminent amateurs. . . . I do not hesitate to affirm that some domestic races of the rock-pigeon differ fully as much from each other in external characters as do the most distinct natural genera.”
Every one of the illustrated breeds in Variation exists and is shown today. Some, such as the English pouter and the African owl, have not visibly changed in the last 150 years. Others, such as the carrier, barb, and fantail, have become even more exaggerated and differentiated from the ancestral Rock Pigeon by the strange and unnatural selection of shows, just as dogs and other domestic animals have. The carriers’ already exaggerated beak wattle has grown larger than a walnut; such birds are prone to colds and eye diseases—so much so that in Germany legislation was passed limiting the size of the wattle in the breed! The barb, in Darwin’s day a short-billed bird with large circular eye ceres, now has such a short bill that it is unable to feed its own young (foster parents are required) and has a carrier-like wattle cramped between the short bill and its forehead. The engraving of the fantail in Variation shows a bird with a turkeylike fan that today’s birds possess, but Darwin’s bird has a graceful, erect, swan-like neck. Today’s birds carry their heads so far back against their tails that from the front their heads are invisible. From that vantage point they look like a headless ball in front of a circular tail.
Such changes would probably have fascinated Darwin, who wrote, “There is hardly any exception to the rule that those characters vary most which are now most valued and attended to by fanciers, and which consequently are now being improved by continued selection.” Whether such exaggeration is good for the individual birds is another question. The breeding of domestic show animals is a biological art but can be warped by too much passion for the extreme and strange. One need not go to the lengths of the Germans. A pigeon fancier all my life, I gave up breeding modern carriers because curing their constant colds became depressing. Darwin himself showed that crossing the extreme varieties produced something very much like the ancestral Rock Pigeon. Most show pigeons would not survive long in the wild, but their descendents, common “street pigeons,” inhabit cities and cliffs everywhere in the world. Except for their variable colors and slightly larger size, they resemble the wild Rock Pigeon, which they have displaced in all but the most remote places. Some scientists consider them to be a “superdove,” a bird stronger and more adaptable than even its wild ancestors. Evolution, of course, is never stasis. I have seen wild Rock Pigeons only on remote cliffs on the Euphrates, but “superdoves” thrive in environments ranging from the sweltering streets of Houston to the 30-below-zero squares of Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia, in winter.
But the domestic pigeon still holds a unique charm for both fanciers and naturalists. The genetics of its colors alone support a quarterly newsletter for scientists and enthusiasts. Some show people, like dog breeders fixated on Westminster, pursue ever-more-exaggerated standards. Others prefer less “improved” birds. I started out with modern racing homers, a breed developed in Belgium and England in the early 1800s, originally a carrier of messages but also a racing competitor. It is a stout, athletic bird. Most non-fanciers see little difference between it and a common pigeon, though it is larger and more muscular, and has a larger head and wattles than the Rock Pigeon. Such a bird can survive very well in the wild. The genes of lost racers probably contribute to the continuing evolution of the “superdove.”
Over the past 20 or 30 years, naturalist and breeder friends of mine have become fascinated by the ancient, “unimproved” pigeon breeds of the Silk Road and the Mediterranean. Such breeds may have existed for thousands of years. They have enough diversity to satisfy Charles Darwin; in fact, many—such as the English barb—are exactly as Darwin, or Shakespeare (who wrote about them), saw them. I have Catalonian tumblers—small pigeons in a dazzling variety of colors—that are agile enough to evade marauding Cooper’s Hawks; Syrian owls that are short-beaked, similarly agile, and, unlike modern show owls, can feed their own young; and English barbs, which are virtual duplicates of the illustrations of them in Darwin’s Variation. I have Spanish pouters that inflate their globes just as much as do modern show pouters. But they must remain athletic, because they are used in the remarkable Spanish sport of “thieving” in which the males compete to seduce marked females to their home lofts. All of these breeds remain functional but retain enough diversity and beauty to satisfy the most aesthetically-minded fancier. And, unlike the often-inbred champions of pigeon and dog shows, they retain, as Darwin noted, enough genetic variation to make each new clutch a suspenseful delight. Show pigeons often resemble clones.
To a naturalist and biophiliac, the humble domestic pigeon can come to occupy a necessary place in one’s life, as it did in Darwin’s. Beautiful and ever-changing, they are a backyard microcosm that embodies Darwin’s most fundamental quote: “There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.”
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
If you’re heading to catch a bus at the Osborne station rapid transit stop, you might want to watch where you step.
Everywhere you look, every surface is covered in pigeon poop.
“It’s terrible,” said one bus rider. The man also told Global News, it’s been an ongoing issue he’s noticed for months. He said in September, the issue was worse.
Transit riders contacted Global News about the state of the station and health concerns.
“They need some time to clean it up. You can see it all over windows. Someone needs to take a mop to this place,” the rider said.
Pigeon poop can be hazardous to humans, and the build-up of pigeon feces on buildings and other structures is not only visually unappealing and but pigeon droppings are acidic and erode metal and stonework, according to Health Canada.
Pigeons have been associated with a variety of diseases, including histoplasmosis and cryptococcosis.
Histoplasmosis is a disease caused by a fungus that grows in pigeon droppings. The fungus can also be found in bat droppings or in the soil, and is carried by the wind. When removing droppings, people may breathe in some of the fungus. When exposure is high, the fungus can cause infection.
Cryptococcosis is another fungal disease related to pigeon droppings and grows in soils throughout the world. It is very unlikely that healthy people will become infected even at high levels of exposure. A major risk factor for infection is a compromised immune system.
The union representing transit workers also said it would be looking into the situation.
“We want to thank transit riders for bringing these concerns forward, which we certainly take seriously,” Everett Rudolph, Executive Vice President for the ATU said in an email statement.
The City of Winnipeg said the station is cleaned twice a week.
“Orkin Canada was contracted by Winnipeg Transit in the beginning of November to assess and provide recommendations based on industry best practices,” said a city spokesperson.
“They immediately performed an evaluation of the site, and recommended installing feeder units in the vicinity of Osborne Station containing ‘OvoControl P’ which controls the reproduction of pigeons.”
Two feeder units installed in late November are being filled with bait daily, said the city.
“The program will run for a trial period of six months, during which time we will evaluate the effectiveness of the program.”
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
John Mittermeier could barely believe his eyes when he saw the footage of a little black and orange bird strutting its tail feathers in front of the camera.
He and his team have captured video of a black-naped pheasant-pigeon on an island in Papua New Guinea. It was the first time the bird had been documented since 1882.
“This is just a story of excitement and hope,” Mittermeier told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. “I mean, how incredible is it that this species was missing to scientists for 140 years and we were able to find it?”
Mittermeier was the co-leader of a 30-day expedition to search the island of Fergusson for signs of the elusive creature. They had just about lost all hope when one pranced right past one of their motion sensor cameras on Day 28.
“We had been working incredibly, incredibly hard to try to find this bird. We had tons of doubts going through our mind at that point, thinking that we might not be able to find it, wondering if it even existed,” Mittermeier said.
“It’s kind of like all our dreams coming true and just this incredible, incredible relief.”
The expedition was a joint venture by the American Bird Conservancy, the Papua New Guinea National Museum and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Mittermeier is the director of the lost birds program at the American Bird Conservancy. In partnership with Re:wild and BirdLife International, his organization is trying to find and document the more than 140 “lost” birds around the world.
And by lost, he means birds that have no confirmed documentation — in the form of photographs, audio recordings or genetic samples — for 10 or more years.
By that definition, you can’t get much more lost than the black-naped pheasant-pigeon, or Otidiphaps insularis, which was first described by scientists in 1882, then never again.
“The pheasant pigeon really stood out because it’s one of the birds that’s been lost for the longest period of time,” Mittermeier said. “Or I should say it was one of the birds that had been lost for the longest periods of time.”
Local knowledge was key
All the scientists really knew about the bird was that it was first spotted on Fergusson, an island in the D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago off eastern Papua New Guinea. Even that wasn’t much to go on, given that the island spans 1,500 square kilometres.
So the team relied on local knowledge, and began by interviewing residents.
At first, most of the people they spoke to said they’d never heard of the bird — until they reached the villages on the western Mt. Kilkerran. The hunters were familiar with the bird, which is known locally as an auwo.
It was a local hunter named Augustin Gregory in the village of Duda Ununa who give them their big break. He told the scientists he’d seen the auwo on multiple occasions. He described how it looked, moved and sounded in great detail.
He took the scientists to the places where he’d spotted the creature. They didn’t see any up close in person but they planted cameras in those locations. It was at one of those sites that the bird finally appeared.
“The game-changer in terms of finding it was really some leads we got from some local people there — particularly this one man,” Mittermeier said. “A huge component of this story is the incredible local knowledge.”
Serena Ketaloya, a conservationist from Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, says the discovery is a welcome one.
“The communities were very excited when they saw the survey results, because many people hadn’t seen or heard of the bird until we began our project and got the camera trap photos,”
“They are now looking forward to working with us to try to protect the pheasant-pigeon.”
What do we know about the auwo?
At this point, scientists don’t know much about the auwo. They have two sets of photographs and video of at least two birds.
They suspect — for obvious reasons — that it’s very rare and geographically limited.
“My first hope is really that we’re going to have an opportunity to learn more about this bird, get a better sense of where exactly it occurs on the island, what its population size might be, and what potential threats it could be facing,” Mittermeier said.
“And then the next hope is really that we’re going to be able to turn that information into a great collaboration with some of the local communities there and find a way to protect this bird, perhaps develop some eco-tourism so that people can go and see it personally. I know I’d love to actually see it.”
It’s just one thing about the future that has him excited.
“I’m really optimistic that some of the other birds around the world might be able to be found as well. And I’m hoping we can do that and get some more good news in the near future.”
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
Pigeons are found in most large metropolitan areas, and Quebec cities are no exception. These invasive birds have adapted to humans and are largely unbothered by our presence.
Unfortunately, they are not exactly man’s best friend. Pigeons carry a number of diseases that are dangerous for humans. It’s important to know what diseases they carry and can spread to humans so that we can better protect ourselves.
The professional exterminators of E.Exterminator explain which diseases pigeons can transmit to humans.
Pigeon diseases
These flying rats have the annoying habit of hanging around just about anywhere, making them notorious disease-spreaders. While some diseases, like coryza or trichomonosis, are not transmissible to humans, there are 5 main diseases that we can catch from pigeons.
That’s why proper pigeon pest control is so important to stop the spread of these diseases.
Paratyphoid
Paratyphoid is caused by Salmonella bacteria, an infection that’s found in many species. The illness can affect your joints, intestines, or genitals.
The bacteria are transmitted via direct contact with an infected pigeon, contact with pigeon droppings or through contaminated food and water.
SYMPTOMS
Nausea
Vomiting
Headache
In humans, the paratyphoid symptoms are similar to stomach virus symptoms. You should see a doctor if you think you may be infected.
Histoplasmosis
Histoplasmosis is a dangerous respiratory infection that’s spread by bats as well as pigeons. It is caused by the Histoplasma capsulatum fungus and by inhaling pigeon droppings. More precisely, the fungal spores are to blame.
These spores are dangerous because they travel through the air and are easily inhaled.
SYMPTOMS
Fever
Fatigue
Chest pain
Despite these scary symptoms, don’t panic. Most cases of histoplasmosis are asymptomatic. If you do have symptoms, see a doctor ASAP.
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
With less than six months before the District of North Vancouver’s pigeon prohibition takes effect, bird buffs and transparency watchdogs beseeched council on Monday to take a second look at the bylaw.
Council’s recent decision to bar residents from owning or harbouring pigeons anywhere in the district was a misuse of power, according to Guy Trotter, who previously served as a volunteer on the district’s official community plan monitoring committee.
The bylaw hurts one pigeon-keeping resident, Kulwant Dulay, and helps one pigeon-opposed resident, Coun. Betty Forbes, according to Trotter. The councillor was the only district resident to file a recent complaint about pigeons, Trotter added.
“I don’t care about pigeons one way or the other,” Trotter told council. “I do, however, care about good governance.”
The pigeon issue was first broached in a district public hearing on backyard chickens in May 2017 when Forbes, prior to winning a seat on council, asked council to re-examine their 1971-era pigeon bylaw.
“We have a pigeon bylaw?” responded a surprised then-mayor Richard Walton.
Allowing it might sound cold, Forbes suggested banning pigeons due to the possibility the birds would depress real estate values. Forbes explained she’d spent a lot of money to keep her backyard “prim and proper,” but her attempts to entertain outdoors were marred by the sight of her neighbour’s “ramshackle” pigeon coop.
Forbes also sent the district a 1,400-word missive outlining her concerns about the keeping of backyard chickens and pigeons.
Forbes was elected to council in 2018. But before being sworn in, Forbes sent an email complaining about the pigeons to district staff and requesting a remedy, according to Freedom of Information documents provided to CBC News. From April to June of 2019, Forbes and Coun. Lisa Muri had three email exchanges in which the subject line referred to pigeons.
In an April 24, 2019 email, Muri wrote to Forbes: “It will be fine, we can wave (sic) the hearing . . . if we need one.”
Council voted 4-2 to ban pigeons, with Couns. Mathew Bond and Jordan Back opposed. Forbes recused herself from council discussions and votes on the subject.
However, her emails were the subject of scrutiny for lawyer and district resident Vincent Santacroce.
“She and Coun. Muri exchanged cryptic emails about the matter,” he told council on Monday.
“I don’t believe ‘cryptic’ is appropriate,” Muri responded.
“I’ll give you a dictionary,” Santacroce replied.
The bylaw was both rushed and sloppy, according to Santacroce.
“Why was there the need for such an overhaul?” he asked. “Was there a pigeon scourge on the district worthy of an Alfred Hitchcock movie?”
Addressing criticism at the end of Monday’s meeting, Forbes offered a two-minute statement in which she mentioned the word “pigeon” once.
“If I have erred in any way I assure council and the community that it was done inadvertently and in good faith with my understanding, as a new councillor, of the conflict of interest rules,” Forbes said.
Forbes requested “additional training” for herself and her council colleagues on the issues of conflict of interest and freedom of information.
Following the meeting, Kulwant Dulay seemed distressed at what might happen to his pigeons but said he’ll try to persuade council at future meetings.
“If nothing happens . . . I’ll hire a lawyer,” he said.
Forbes received strong support from frequent council watcher Corrie Kost as well as 2018 council candidate Peter Teevan.
After explaining that a Google search revealed pigeons are classified as pests due to their ability to spread disease, Teevan defended Forbes’ actions.
“As a matter of happenstance, Ms. Forbes became Coun. Forbes and she did the proper thing according to conflict of interest regulations,” he said.
The bylaw will benefit district residents, according to Kost.
“Any one of us could have been negatively impacted then, and in the future,” he said.
Council should re-examine their decision, countered Andy Hansen, who said he has raised pigeons for most of his life.
“We get a lot of peace and love out of [keeping pigeons],” he told council.
Council failed to distinguish between feral pigeons, which might perch on a neighbour’s roof, and homing pigeons, which are trained to return to their coop, Hansen explained.
“They’re pets,” he said. “We have feral cats everywhere too. Do we ban all cats?”
Dulay’s coop is clean and tidy, according to Lynn Valley resident Krista Page.
Page spoke at council in support of her neighbour Dulay. In the spirit of community, it’s vital to try to “work things out as neighbours,” she told council.
Forbes’ comments on the issue were both vague and disappointing, according to Vancouver Poultry and Fancy Pigeon Association director Givo Hassko.
“I’m glad that I don’t live next door to a council member,” he said.
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