by Pigeon Patrol | Oct 15, 2024 | Bird Netting, Bird Spikes, Columbidae, Doves
A woman has expressed her disgust at the amount of ‘dead pigeons, droppings and shed feathers’ scattered across a railway bridge not far from Reading Station.
The railway line goes directly over Caversham Road taking trains to and from Reading along the Great Western Railway, with two lanes, traffic going in two directions and walkways on either side.
The bridge has become a popular roost for pigeons. This had led the regular user of this walkway to complain that it is ‘constantly covered in pigeon poo and corpses’.
Photos show a deceased bird on the concrete, the walkways covered in a mix of feathers and bird mess, and pigeons roosting despite netting being placed under the bridge in an attempt to ward them off. The woman, who lives nearby, said: “I’ve lived in Swansea Road for six and a bit years, and it’s got worse for three to four years.
“The netting under the bridge is torn and fallen down.
“The bridge should be chicken-wired. “There’s pigeon faeces running down the walls, and dead and dying birds on the pavement and the road.
“There’s often baby birds sitting on the pavement dying, it’s just really disgusting.
“When it rains the water mixes with the droppings, so you have liquid faeces dropping on people under the bridge. You have to use an umbrella.
“There are some pigeon spikes there but they’re not effective. “It’s just really grim.”

Mature gay couple feeding pigeons during a travel in Colombia
A dead pigeon seen at the Caversham Road railway underpass. She added she has reported the situation to the council’s Love Clean Reading app. However, she said just cleaning the footpath is not a solution. The woman continued: “Because it’s not blocked off, the pigeons can make nesting sites there.
“Although it’s an ideal habitat for them, this is not a healthy place for them to live, and it’s not healthy for us either. “I helped a woman who fell and tore her hand recently, I just hope she doesn’t get a nasty infection, because it’s filthy down there.” She then called for the bridge to be more thoroughly secured to dissuade the pigeons from nesting there.
The nets have not prevented pigeons roosting under the bridge over Caversham Road in Reading. When asked what could be done to rectify the issue, councillor Tony Page (Labour, Abbey) lead for transport, said: “The bridge structure and the pigeon netting above falls under the responsibility of Network Rail.
“The council’s street cleansing team regularly clean the footway below. “We understand that Network Rail has funding for an alternate solution to the netting and a scheme is currently being designed with a view to deliver this financial year. “We will support by providing the traffic management and lane closures to facilitate their works.
“The new solution should resolve issue on the footpath on both sides.” The concrete is caked in pigeon droppings and feathers as people walk through the Caversham Road Underpass. Credit: UGC
A spokesperson for Network Rail confirmed that netting under the bridge will be replaced. The spokesperson said: “We take our impact on the environment and our local communities seriously.
“We regularly inspect the condition of our infrastructure including deterrent measures such as the pigeon netting underneath Caversham Road bridge.
“We have agreed with Reading Borough Council that we will replace the existing netting with a new, more effective system and are working with our contractors to design this new system and agree a programme timeline for its installation.”
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal -friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Canada’s top wholesaler for bird deterrent products for twelve consecutive years.
Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at https://www.pigeonpatrol.ca/
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by Pigeon Patrol | Oct 15, 2024 | Bird Netting, Bird Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons
Fresh debate has been sparked over a controversial Oxford statue after onlookers noted it had been pelted with “pigeon droppings”.
The Cecil Rhodes statue on the grounds of Oriel College at University of Oxford was covered in protective black netting after protesters in 2020 demanded it be taken down.
Before then, it had been a free for all zone for pigeons in Oxford.
“Earlier in my life I lived in Zambia, which used to be known as Northern Rhodesia, after Rhodes.
“As soon as they won their independence they changed the name of the country, because Rhodes prevented Africans from voting and stole their valuable resources.
“I agree with those who say that statues of people like him belong in a museum, not on a pedestal. People need to be able to read about the good and the bad things he did when he was alive.”
The statue of Rhodes, a 19th century imperialist linked to the slave trade, has been shrouded in controversy for years.
It gained renewed attention in June 2020 after a statue of the 17th century slave trader Edward Colston, was thrown in a dock in Bristol by Black Lives Matter protesters.
The Cecil Rhodes statue was set to be removed by summer 2021 and placed in a museum after governors of Oriel College voted to take it down – reversing a decision they made in 2016.
The Cecil Rhodes statue in High Street.
This was eventually prevented by “regulatory and financial challenges” but an explanatory plaque “contextualising” the statue was placed next to gating at the building.
Green city councillor Emily Kerr said: “I’ve long been disappointed that Oriel College hasn’t been able to come to a suitable compromise on the statue of Rhodes.
“It seems that it should be possible to have a pragmatic compromise, such as turning the statue around to face the wall and clearly highlighting the colonial history should be possible. I hope this is a step towards some action being taken.”

Thousands of people signed a petition against removal of the statue when it was due to be taken down in 2021.
Greg Everest, who started the petition, said at the time: “Cecil Rhodes is an historical figure with world wide significance. We must keep our history, British history, in order to learn from it regardless of political feelings and persuasions.
“If we continue down the road of removing statues of people who we feel no longer fit today’s morality we will have to remove 90 per cent of British monuments along with our kings and queens.”
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal -friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Bird Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Canada’s top wholesaler for bird deterrent products for twelve consecutive years.
Contact us at 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD, (604) 585-9279 or visit our website at https://www.pigeonpatrol.ca/
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