by Pigeon Patrol | Oct 15, 2024 | Animal Deterrent Products, Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Law, Bird Netting, Bird Spikes
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone was unexpectedly “ruffled” on his trip to the US, by protesters opposed to his plan to reduce the number of pigeons in Trafalgar Square.
He was on a fact-finding mission to the US, but had not expected to be doused in water over an issue related to London’s most famous square.Mr Livingstone has been criticised after refusing to renew the licence of the last bird feed vendor in Trafalgar Square. Andrew Butler, a spokesman for the pressure group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) told how activists doused Mr Livingstone with a pitcher of water during a news conference in Washington DC on Thursday.
A protester shouted: “Your plan to poison pigeons is all wet. Mayor Livingstone starves pigeons to death.”
Pigeon on a roof with solar panels with pigeon spikes to repel pigeons, Darmstadt, Germany
Bird feed seller Bernard Rayner has until Friday to give up his job, after which the Greater London Authority will implement a one-month phased withdrawal of feed from the capital’s famous landmark.Mr Rayner had traded on a temporary licence since October after a High Court appeal against an earlier move by Mr Livingstone to target the pigeons.
At that time, Labour MP Tony Banks tabled a Commons’ motion in a bid to save the “gentle London pigeon”. Mr Butler said that people in the UK may be surprised about the trans-Atlantic interest shown in the issue – but the US activists feel strongly about the fate of the birds. He said: “This isn’t Hawaii. It’s freezing-cold concrete-covered London. There are no luscious fruit trees for the birds to flit over to. The baby and elderly pigeons have nowhere else to seek food.
“They’ll starve. What’s he going to introduce next? Bear-baiting? He is waging war against the symbol of peace. Pigeons are rock doves, and Ken needs to extend an olive branch.” The GLA plans to clean up the mess caused by pigeon droppings and pedestrianise the upper part of the square to make way for more cultural pursuits for visitors.
But Dr Jayne Cuthbert, a research fellow at Kingston University who has advised the government on pigeons, confirmed PETA’s fears that withdrawing the food supply will result in the deaths of thousands of the birds.
She said: “The basic law of ecology is that there will only be as many birds in any area as there is enough food to feed them. “The Trafalgar Square pigeons will therefore not be able to fly off elsewhere because there will be no food available.” The number of pigeons in British towns and cities is estimated to have doubled in the past five years.
Mr Livingstone spent the earlier part of the week in New York to find out about its public transport and urban regeneration schemes. He is now spending two days in Washington as a guest at the annual conference of US mayors
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 Deterrent Products, Bird Law, Bird Netting, Bird Spikes, Columbidae
Nearly three-quarters of Big Apple kids may have been exposed to a pigeon-poop fungus that can cause vomiting, fever and other illnesses, a new study revealed yesterday.
According to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in The Bronx, 70 percent of urban kids are exposed to Cryptococcus neoforman fungus, which grows in rotting pigeon roosts and is present in pigeon droppings.
Moment of tenderness between a pair of pigeons
The researchers took blood samples from 185 healthy Bronx children and found that seven out of ten of those over the age of five, and 56 percent younger than five, were infected by the fungus.
Expert say the airborne fungus – which remains until adulthood – may be an underlying cause of many mysterious cases of vomiting, fever and lethargy.
“We were surprised by the number of children exposed to this fungus,” said Dr. David Goldman, and assistant professor of pediatrics at the medical school.
“It’s all over because pigeons are common in cities all over the world,” Goldman said.
The infection, which also can be caused by parrots, canaries and other birds, can be treated with anti-fungal medications.
Cryptococcus neoforman enters the body through the lungs and spreads to other tissues and organs, especially the brain.
It is normally KO’d by the body’s natural defenses, but in people with weakened immune systems, like those with AIDS and cancer, the fungus can cause meningitis, a brain infection that is often fatal.
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 | Sep 25, 2024 | Bird Netting, Bird Spikes
How to represent a city as old, sprawling, and populous as London? The London Museum shocked the internet when it debuted its new logo: a humble pigeon who, as the locals might say, has just gone to the loo. Looking a bit less dingy grey than usual, the gleaming white porcelain pigeon is accompanied by a glittering gold splatter of bird droppings.
According to a blog post, the newly rechristened London Museum (formerly the Museum of London) chose this quintessential urban bird as a symbol for the U.K. capital because it has remained “an impartial and humble observer of London life” for nearly 1,000 years.
The controversial logo has been designed by Uncommon Creative Studio, who enlisted the help of 33 Londoners from 32 boroughs, including a chef, a DJ, a children’s TV producer, a boxer, and a tattoo artist. They collaborated on the logo via workshops and focus groups, informed by the input of hundreds more Londoners whose opinions were solicited via survey.
“A good logo gets people talking,” said the museum’s director Sharon Ament. “The pigeon and splat speak to a historic place full of dualities, a place where the grit and the glitter have existed side by side for millennia.”
The pigeon has split opinion online, with some believing it to be a humorous homage to city life while others have found it “baffling,” in the words of Maxwell Blowfield, author of the popular “maxwell museums” newsletter. “No one ever thinks, feels or speaks about pigeons,” he said. “They’re one of the least unique things about London.”
Romantic day out with pigeons in the Amsterdam main square for a diverse tourist couple made up of an alternative brunette female and a curly transgender woman
“London is a remarkable place,” he added. “Yet the London Museum has has managed to avoid representing anything remarkable about it in this rebrand. Which is in itself remarkable.”
So what is the history of pigeons in London? The birds are descended from rock doves and were domesticated in the U.K. at around the time of the Norman Conquest, in 1066, as a food source as well as for long-distance communication. Some managed to escape, becoming the feral pigeons that roam free today.
A white clay Roman figurine of a pigeon from the 1st century C.E. is in the London Museum’s collection, speaking to this origin story.
In more recent centuries, some Londoners have taken kindly to pigeons. In the Victorian era, it became common for people to sell bags of bird seed to visitors to give to the pigeons. This was particularly commonplace in Trafalgar Square, as in one scene by Harold Dearden in the 1950s.
Another “little old bird woman” is described each morning on the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral in “Feed the Birds” from the film Mary Poppins (1964). The practice was banned when, in 2000, the Greater London Authority stopped the square’s resident feed seller Bernie Rayner from supply grain to tourists. Pigeons are often viewed as unwelcome pests, and feeding them would encourage them return to the square as they are able to remember faces and places.
Will museum-goers find this unusual logo memorable, or is it for the birds?
Pigeon Patrol
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal -friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S 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 | Sep 25, 2024 | Bird Netting, Bird Spikes
Killing, by any means, isn’t just cruel; it fails to solve the root cause of the problem, leading to an endless cycle of killing.
Turtle dove walking over the clothes hanging on the balcony cloth dryer. Urban wildlife. Birds in the city. Pigeon on the balcony looking for food. Jeans and t-shirts are hanging on the cloth dryer.
The misleadingly marketed Avitrol brand poison is used to kill pigeons. Promoted as a “flock frightening agent” or “repellent”, it is in fact a nervous system poison. Birds who consume it suffer convulsions and die. It is not only traumatic for the birds to die this way, but also for any people—especially children—who witness or try to help the dying birds.
Users claim that the distressed behavior of poisoned birds frightens other flock members away. Yet any “frightening” effect of Avitrol on surviving birds is very short-lived, because remaining birds return quickly and reproduce. Taking a small subset out of the population really doesn’t accomplish much other than opening up niche space for other birds to fill. The end result of the use of Avitrol or other lethal pigeon control methods is an endless cycle of unnecessary killing.
The HSUS also opposes the common practice of trapping and removing pigeons. Trapped birds are typically killed, and if not killed immediately, may be used in cruel pigeon shoots or live the remainder of their lives in permanent confinement. The removal of birds without getting at the cause of the conflict is a woefully inadequate approach to problem management.
Pigeon Patrol
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal -friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S 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 | Sep 25, 2024 | Bird Law, Bird Netting, Bird Spikes, Columbidae, Doves
The Pink Pigeon is no longer Endangered. But how did conservationists achieve this, and is it sustainable? Dr Vikash Tatayah, Conservation Director, Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (BirdLife Partner) reports from the field…
Last year, one of Mauritius’ best-loved birds hit a milestone that delighted the conservation world. In the 2018 Red List update, the Pink Pigeon Nesoenas mayeri was downlisted from Endangered to Vulnerable, building upon the success of 2000, when it was downlisted from Critically Endangered to Endangered. But behind the scenes of this happy news lies over 30 years of gruelling devotion, with conservationists tackling the numerous threats to the pigeon from every possible angle in their bid to bring it back from the brink.
Pigeons in the city
For a while, we were worried it might go the same way as its fellow Mauritian endemic, the Dodo Raphus cucullatus. An even closer relative, the Reunion Pigeon Nesoenas duboisi, went extinct on the neighbouring Reunion Island in the late 18th century thanks to introduced cats and rats. The Pink Pigeon now holds the unenviable title of the last native pigeon in the whole Mascarene archipelago.
Predictably, it was the arrival of humans that heralded the Pink Pigeon’s decline. The species was once widely distributed across Mauritius, but by the 19th century its population had become extremely fragmented and confined to the upland forests. Humans had destroyed native vegetation to the extent that only 1.5% of the original, good-quality forest remained. They also hunted the plump bird and introduced a panoply of predators such as Black Rat Rattus rattus, Small Indian Mongoose Herpestes auropunctatus and Crab-eating Macaque Macaca fascicularis.
It wasn’t just animal predators: what little forest remained was soon invaded by non-native plants such as Chinese Guava Psidium cattleianum and the privet species Ligustrum robustum which choke vegetation, preventing the regeneration of native plants. By the mid-1970s, the species had plummeted to a single population of 20 birds in the upland forest of Black River Gorges, an area now known as Pigeon Wood. Just 12 Pink Pigeons remained in 1986, and of the five nesting attempts recorded that year, all were thwarted by rats. The wild population hit an all-time low of nine birds in 1990. The chances for long-term survival of the species looked bleak.
But the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation wasn’t going to let it go without a fight. With help from organisations across the world [see With Thanks, below], we set up an intensive conservation programme starting with captive breeding set up in 1976, followed by the first wild releases in 1987. We now have nine subpopulations centred around our field stations. Six of these are within the Black River Gorges National Park, close to the original Pigeon Wood. A sub-population can be found on the predator-free nature reserve island Ile aux Aigrettes, and two additional subpopulations are being created on private land at Ferney on the east of Mauritius and in Chamarel Ebony Forest in the south west. The purpose of these captive-reared birds is to bolster wild populations, and we encourage the dispersal of birds between the different areas in order to maintain genetic diversity. In total we now have 470 wild Pink Pigeons at these sites, a dramatic improvement compared to the species’ darkest hour.
Captive-bred chicks like these are released to bolster wild populations © MWF
But captive-breeding won’t help unless the wild habitat is made safe for these newcomers. That’s why wild populations are carefully managed using a three-pronged technique. Firstly, every Pink Pigeon is ringed with its own metal ID band and unique plastic colour combination. Each bird can therefore be identified and followed individually. All nests are checked regularly and the results documented. A large dataset has now been collected and continues to grow. This precise information helps us to understand in more depth the factors affecting the survival of the Pink Pigeon, and how to shape our management strategies accordingly.
Another priority is food. The Pink Pigeon is herbivorous, feeding mainly on fruit, leaves and flowers. But its natural habitat is so degraded that the birds are often unable to find enough food to support themselves. In order to supplement their diet, whole wheat and cracked maize is provided at each of the field sites. The food is placed on specially-designed platforms to prevent other species from obtaining it.
Introduced predators are, without a doubt, a major limiting factor to the survival of this species. Much energy is devoted to removing or controlling them from around the field sites. We are also researching and tackling diseases, in particular trichomonosis, an illness introduced by alien pigeons that can be especially fatal to Pink Pigeon chicks.
In the long term, large areas of forest will need to be restored so that the Pink Pigeon can spread into the uplands and breed in safe nesting sites with fewer predators. But for now, we are working on reinforcing numbers at the recently-created release sites. In order to increase genetic diversity, birds from captive populations in Europe will be repatriated to Mauritius. Research has shown that these birds have genetic variations no longer found in the wild population.
We are constantly seeking to improve our knowledge of the Pink Pigeon’s biology and behaviour, conducting studies into factors limiting the recovery of this species. We have examined the fruiting and flowering of plants that the pigeons feed on which, combined with feeding observations, will enable us to tailor our supplementary feeding more precisely. Ultimately, we have high hopes that all of these measures should enable us to meet our target of 600 wild Pink Pigeons in the next decade.
The future looks bright for other species, too. When working out how to save the Pink Pigeon, some techniques were inspired by previous pigeon rearing projects, but others have been perfected or developed on Mauritius. We can now pass these new techniques on to the rest of the world to help others restore threatened pigeons worldwide. Hundreds of field biologists trained in our methods have gone on to work in important conservation positions elsewhere. They now have the ability to disseminate what they learned globally, ensuring the Pink Pigeon’s success can spread beyond Mauritius’ borders.
Pigeon Patrol
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal -friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S 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 | Sep 25, 2024 | Bird Deterrent Products, Bird Netting, Bird Spike, Bird Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News
In a messy but unsuccessful war against pigeons on city buildings, Denver has tried highfrequency sirens, electrified toe strips and an anti-perching product called Hot Foot. But now city officials think they finally have found a weapon that works: hallucinogenic chemicals.
For the past year, the city has been feeding pigeons corn laced with a substance called Avitrol, which sends birds into convulsions, sometimes fatal, that scare away the rest of the flock.
With so many pigeons on bad trips, city workers say it’s the first time in memory that people can walk without fear of plops from the ledges, windowsills and outcroppings of the ornate City and County Building and Greek Theater.
Hand-drawn funny cute illustration – Curious pigeons.
The acidity in pigeon droppings had become such a potent problem that the city is spending $100,000 this summer to power-wash bird scat from buildings around Civic Center.
“It got to the point where you felt like you needed ski goggles to look up at the City and County Building,” said John Hall, manager of public office buildings for Denver. “Pigeons are urban vermin.”
Though the same Avitrol chemical also is being used against pigeons at Coors Field, St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral and Rose Medical Center, not everyone is convinced it’s the No. 1 solution to the No. 2 problem.
Just a few blocks across Civic Center, state maintenance workers worry that Denver Mayor Wellington Webb merely is scattering pigeons from his building to do their business on the state Capitol.
And animal-rights activists are aghast.
“It takes 40 pigeons pooping all day in one place to equal what a dog leaves on my lawn in one drop,” said Catherine Hurlbutt, 87, who has rescued and nurtured hundreds of injured birds at her south Denver home. “You’re not supposed to say a bad word about dogs, but people think it’s OK to poison pigeons.”
When New York City residents started using Avitrol on pigeons, Grace Slick, the famed Jefferson Airplane singer of the ’60s drug anthem “White Rabbit,” protested to Mayor Rudy Giuliani in a letter.
“I have considerable experience on the subject of mind-altering drugs, and I can tell you that Avitrol is not your run-of-the-mill hallucinogen,” Slick wrote. “It causes violent shaking, trembling, thirst, nausea, convulsions, disorientation and a slow death. Wow, talk about a bad trip!”
Last year, the New York State Assembly passed a bill allowing cities to ban Avitrol, but Gov. George Pataki, heeding a request from Giuliani, vetoed the bill.
All the flap is over a 1-pound bird that was native to Europe but brought to North America in the 1600s.
Supporters call them rock doves, which mate for life and feed milk to their young, and note that their homing ancestors helped in World War II by transporting spy messages. Detractors liken them to rats and cockroaches that carry diseases and dive-bomb passers-by with fecal glop.
Denver has struggled for decades to keep Downtown pigeons under control. When workers put spikes on building ledges to keep pigeons from roosting, the birds simply built nests atop them and enjoyed air-cooled nests in the summer. When workers tried a chemical spread called Hot Foot, birds built new nests and enjoyed warmer roosts for the winter.
When world leaders visited Denver for the Summit of the Eight in 1997, city workers installed electrified wires atop ledges favored by pigeons at Civic Center’s outdoor Greek Theater. The wires suffered from frequent short-circuits.
High-frequency radio speakers were supposed to drive the pigeons batty, but the birds ended up perching atop them anyway.
City officials said their war against pigeons seemed lost – until Denver hired the Pigeon Man.
The latest owner of a 47-year-old family business called Bird Control, Doug Stewart said Avitrol is one of his most effective tools against pigeons. When he started working for Denver a year ago, the City and County Building was home to hundreds of pigeons.
But with a $250-a-month city contract, Stewart started sprinkling Avitrol-laced corn on the roof of city hall. Recently, Stewart scrambled across the roof of the four-story building with his monthly dosage of bait in his backpack.
While the rooftop view of the Rocky Mountains to the west and the state Capitol to the east was magnificent, Stewart was most proud of something he didn’t see.
There were few birds, or fresh droppings, anywhere.
So he laid down a few small piles of Avitrol-laced corn, which costs him $50 a pound, and talked about a job that has taken him across the rooftops of the city, from Lakeside Mall to the steeple at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral – and some truly disgusting abandoned apartment buildings in-between.
“I get asked all the time: Am I killing pigeons?” Stewart said. “There’s no way in the world I want any dead pigeons. I want to keep them fat, happy and on the move. It’s good for my business.” According to the government-approved warning label, Avitrol is a “poison with flock-alarming properties, used for the control of feral pigeons in, on, or in the area of structures, feeding, nesting, loafing and roosting sites, in such a way that a part of the flock may react and frighten the rest away. Birds that react and alarm a flock usually die.”
Scientific studies show the chemical temporarily alters brain waves and throws the bird into spasms and convulsions. When an Ontario, Canada, environmental official banned the use of non-humane vertebrate pesticides in 1975, a team of University of Ottawa researchers concluded that Avitrol “appears to be humane based on scientific evidence.”
“Upon eating the active ingredient of Avitrol in a corncob base, the birds begin to flap wings, vocalize and convulse,” said the study led by pathologist Henry Roswell.
“Other birds seeing this activity in their colleagues become alarmed and fly away to another area.” Critics of the use of bird repellants such as Avitrol claim that their use merely shifts birds from one area to another.
“Avitrol is not intended to kill birds. However, some do die, although the numbers are minimal in comparison to the hundreds that make up the flock,” Roswell said.
Death-rate estimates range from 1 percent to 20 percent of pigeons consuming Avitrol.
Meanwhile, workers at the Colorado Capitol wonder whether the city is dropping its pigeon problem on the state. In the past year, state workers have installed five special anti-pigeon Plexiglas barriers – at a cost of $300 each – on ledges above the Capitol’s west steps. When told Denver has been using a chemical that may be moving city birds to the state Capitol, state central services director Rick Malinowski said, “Thanks a lot! We may have to retaliate.”
City workers fear the consequences. At the city’s Greek Theater, maintenance worker Ray Martinez set down his coffee cup one morning on an outdoor step before walking inside an office.
When he returned to his coffee cup a few minutes later, he saw something that jolted him awake.
“I was ready to take a sip and I looked down and thought, “Hey, what’s going on here? I take my coffee black!’
” Martinez said. “I was so mad I threw my cup at that bird.”
Pigeon Patrol
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal -friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S 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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