It was a quiet morning. I was sitting at the table, eating my mandatory bowl of gruel — I mean, my delicious, fiber-filled, multigrain, plant-protein, good-for-me bowl of cereal — when I glanced out the window and saw that a half-dozen or so pigeons had descended on the backyard to peck away at whatever morsels had fallen out of the bird feeder.
“Oh, I love pigeons more than anything in this world,” I said out of reflex, “except oatmeal.”
I allowed myself a small chuckle at pulling out a “Sesame Street” line that seemed appropriate, when my moment of Zen ended with the pouring of reality’s cold water.
“Those aren’t pigeons,” my breakfast companion said. “They’re doves.”
Tomayto, tomahto … doves are just pigeons from a gentrified neighborhood, I decided. For that matter, I wasn’t eating oatmeal, either.
By then, though, my consciousness had floated downstream and I found myself contemplating the lover of pigeons and oatmeal.
I thought about Bert.
And, consequently, of Ernie.
The BFFs have been living together for nearly 50 years now — not that there’s anything wrong with that — and lately have suffered another oh-so-2018 kerfuffle that has upset their domestic tranquility.
Yep, their sexuality is being called into question.
Again.
This time, it was a former “Sesame Street” writer … who joined the show 15 years after Bert and Ernie appeared on the scene … who admitted that whenever he wrote for the pair, he did so from the perspective of them being a gay couple.
This, of course, brought the usual denial from the folks behind “Sesame Street.” Media members chimed in on various aspects of the long-running controversy — as sincere pleas for inclusivity rang out, conservatives blasted progressives for usurping the identity of a couple of Muppets, and soapbox pronouncements abounded about why it was important for children to see a loving LGBTQ2+ couple on their TV screens.
This bonfire quickly became a conflagration (Too soon? Sorry) when Frank Oz, who created Bert, was asked about the current flare-up and said that the pair were not gay … or straight, for that matter.
“They’re not, of course. But why that question? Does it really matter?” Oz asked. “Why the need to define people as only gay? There’s much more to a human being than just straightness or gayness.”
And, because this is how the world works these days, a full-fledged Twitterstorm broke out — with some of those who found they could identify with B&E as they were discovering their own identity said sure, Oz might have created Bert, but being the creator doesn’t stop the creation from becoming whom it will be.
After all, God created Elton John.
It was back in 1976 that The Artist Formerly Known As Reggie Dwight came out, announcing in that far-from-progressive time that he was bisexual.
“Saturday Night Live,” never one to miss an opportunity for drive-by social commentary, made note of Sir Elton’s less-than-surprising declaration on Weekend Update, following up with the related story that “Speedy Alka Seltzer came out of the medicine cabinet and admitted he was bicarbonate.”
Of course, Speedy Alka Seltzer wasn’t a real person … as opposed to, say, Bert and Ernie.
Earlier this year, the Tony-winning musical “Avenue Q” — a puppet-filled show that offers a somewhat darker take on a “Sesame Street” universe — ran at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre.
Through the puppets Rod and Nicky, it offers its own take on the sexuality question of BFFs who live together forever — only with such a heavy-handed dose of what can only be called in-your-face-ism that by the time Rod announces that he’s gay, it’s not only no surprise, but on the night I attended it drew almost no reaction from the audience.
The puppeteer-actor pulling Rod’s strings, so to speak, milked the audience repeatedly until a mediocre round of applause was deemed sufficient enough to allow the show to continue.
It was an odd moment of live theater; then again “Avenue Q” is an odd show — knowing that it’s shoving homilies down the throats of the dinner theater audience, while simultaneously serving up a self-conscious heaping helping of social manipulation for us to chew on.
“Avenue Q” twisted this concept even further with a throw-away one-liner about the LGBTQ2+ production of “Oklahoma!” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival — which took audience members further out of their comfort zone as to what they were supposed to think about the performance, and the play, they were watching.
Eating my cereal, watching the high-rent pigeons, my mind wandered without necessarily getting lost until I landed upon a question: If we go to a cultural event to be entertained, do we feel intruded upon if served a side dish of political or cultural point of view?
In a landscape where Sofia Vergara can be in love with The Artist Formerly Known As Al Bundy, Joanie can love Chachi, and a Betazoid can love a Klingon — if “Sesame Street” went counter to the original concept of Frank Oz and Jim Henson and said that — yes — Bert and Ernie are more than BFFs, would it be greeted graciously as overdue affirmation, or would it open the door to another avenue for cultural tub-thumpers intent on putting their words into our mouths?
The word from “Sesame Street” is that Bert and Ernie, officially, “remain puppets.”
As do we all.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
NEW ULM — Pigeon and poultry enthusiasts from near and far participated in the New Ulm Poultry and Pigeon Association show at the Brown County Fairgrounds Saturday.
For most veteran enthusiasts, it’s a time to renew old friendships and take their favorite birds to a show of about 900 birds, have them judged and visit in a place they’ve been coming to for many decades.
“I remember coming to a national show at George’s Ballroom in 1965. They put cages on top of the ballroom booths,” said Mark Peterson of Amboy. “(George’s Ballroom owner) George Neuwirth was a big pigeon guy. A band would play and he had a big crystal fountain shaped like a pigeon. George didn’t do anything small. He was a showman.”
Don Roscoe of Kasota recalled showing poultry and pigeons at the New Ulm Armory more than 50 years ago.
“I used to hunt in the fall besides go ot shows, but then decided poultry shows, most of which usually happen in the fall, were more fun than hunting,” said Roscoe, who taught geography at Mankato State University.
Staff photo by Fritz Busch Show-goers take a good look at chickens displayed among hundreds at the Brown County Poultry & Pigeon Association show at the Brown County Fairgrounds Saturday.
Art Rieber of Neola, Iowa, said he doesn’t mind driving four and one-half hours from his home, 30 miles northeast of Omaha, to New Ulm. Sometimes, he’ll drive even farther to pigeon and poultry shows, which are also held at the McLeod County Fairgrounds in Hutchinson.
“I can see the Woodman Tower (in Omaha) from my kitchen window,” Rieber said. “It’s about seeing the exhibitors. I’ve known these people forever.”
Doug Grams of New Ulm said he enjoys coming to shows and that his seven grandchildren are also interested in the poultry and pigeons.
Robert Kosek of New Ulm said he remembers selling a case of eggs each week from this chickens.
“They give me eggs year around and I enjoy meeting a lot of interesting people at shows and maintain friendships with them,” Kosek said. “I’ve got pigeon and poultry pen-pals from all over the United States.”
New Ulm Pigeon and Poultry Association Secretary Aaron Dittbenner of Morgan was busy at the show, keeping records of everything that goes on. He admitted he is busy preparing for the show about a week before it begins.
Some poultry breeders enjoy traveling to national shows during the winter months in places like San Diego, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Salt Lake City, Florida, Texas and Vancouver, Wa. Breeders who travel far to shows often use special mailing boxes ship their birds to distant places.
Dominique chickens, also known as Pilgrim Fowl or Dominickers, were transported across the country by early settlers. They were valued for their meat and brown eggs.
Years ago, their feathers were very sought after for pillow and mattress stuffing. In addition, they tend to be calm, personable birds, making them more successful as show birds or family pets.
Also known for their close feathering, the breed survived the Great Depression due to it’s hardiness and ease of up-keep, according to The Livestock Conservancy.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Avid young pigeon enthusiast Abigail Mona Redelinghuys (12) is a gr 6 pupil at Southcity Christian School. Her interest in pigeon racing was sparked by stepdad Hannes Nortjé when she was eight years old. After curiously studying Hannes’s interaction with his birds in his loft in 2015, she was given a pair of breeding pigeons by Frikkie Muller while on holiday in Western Cape.
This chain of events soon turned a hobby into a lifestyle. Abigail is currently the youngest member of the NPS Racing Pigeon Club on Lower South Coast. After racing pigeons competitively for almost two consecutive years, Abigail and her ‘blue bar pigeon’ (ring number NPS 2107) took first place at the recent KZN Combined Racing event.
Chairman of the NPS Racing Pigeon Club Deon Kapp visited Abigail Redelinghuys at the loft in Ramsgate to congratulate her on behalf of the club.
This is a phenomenal achievement as the bird had to travel 1 588m per minute (95 28km/h) over a distance of 557km from Boshoff, Free State, to Ramsgate against 1 197 other birds.
Abigail attributes her success to her passion for her pigeons and the support she receives from her family. The club looks forward to watching this young, enthusiastic member’s future progress.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – A serious pigeon problem is popping up in at least one Las Vegas neighborhood forcing a family to declare an all-out war.
Sandy Love said the problem began a few years ago but now the pigeon population has ballooned in her neighborhood near Ann Road and U.S. 95.
“Just the pigeons, it’s crazy,” said Love.
“I mean, they are out of control now,” she added.
Love and her neighbors suspect someone is feeding the flying vermin nearby causing them to roost and poop — everywhere.
“This is my pigeon stick and it’s to get rid of all of the pigeons under my solar panels,” explained Love while holding a stick made of bamboo.
Love says aside from from the pigeon poop and feathers, she’s worried about her mother Liz Watson, 84, who suffers from Lupus.
“I do not have an immune system,” explained Liz Watson.
“I have SLE lupus and I’ve had it for 30 years so I have to be super careful,” added Watson.
The Southern Nevada Health District said pigeons can pose a danger to people.
A well-fed pigeon can produce up to 25 pounds of poop every year, according to the Southern Nevada Health District.
The city of Las Vegas introduced an ordinance against feeding pigeonsearlier this month, however a formal vote to enact the ordinance may not take place until October.
A Las Vegas spokesperson said if passed, it would bring the city of Las Vegas in line with similar ordinances on the books in Clark County and Henderson.
In the meantime, Love says she has fortified her home using pigeon spikes, gorilla glue, and a decoy owl.
Authorities recommend consulting with a pest control specialist to tackle additional pigeon problems.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
A pair of falcons perched high above the Melbourne CBD skyline have gotten birdwatchers excited for an impending hatch after laying four fresh eggs – with the action all happening via webcam.
Viewers tuning into the livestream have been given renewed hope after the webcam was taken down last year after two chicks were witnessed dying after a suspected poisoning.
Watchers have been sitting nervously, keeping track of the falcons who are trying their best to incubate the eggs on top of the 33-storey 367 Collins St skyscraper.
Talking to ABC News, Birdlife Australia volunteer Dr Victor Hurley discussed why he believes the dead chicks didn’t get past the point of infancy.
Mr Hurley said they’d had trouble with adult falcons catching pigeons who had ingested bird deterrent-type chemicals which have been known to be used to eradicate feral pigeons in the city.
‘The peregrines feed almost exclusively on other birds, so they see this pigeon lame and they pick it up and it’s covered in this fairly caustic gel which the peregrines then ingest themselves,’ he said.
Birdwatchers in Melbourne are ecstatic at the news of four eggs being laid by a peregrine falcon after two of its chicks tragically dying last year after feeding off a poisoned pigeon
Peregrine Falcon
– Peregrine Falcons live in several of Australian major cities, nesting on ledges of skyscrapers.
– They feed on small and medium-sized birds, as well as rabbits and other day-active mammals.
– Peregrines swoop onto their prey at speeds of up to 300km/h, which has inherent dangers, as they occasionally collide with overhead wires, usually fatal at such speeds.
– Rather than building a nest, they lay their eggs in recesses of cliff faces, tree hollows or in the large abandoned nests of other birds. The female incubates the eggs and is fed by the male on the nest.
The tragedy was made more potent after Dr Hurley claimed he had been told by Melbourne City Council that these chemicals were illegal in the city boundaries but peregrine falcons were known to hunt up to 10kilometres from the nest.
While it is currently unclear whether the two falcons seen on webcam are the same from last year, Dr Hurley says they look remarkably similar.
‘You’ve probably got a pair surviving at a site, on average, maybe three to four years, and then one of them dies and they get replaced, or another one comes in and kills the resident and takes over,’ Dr Hurley said.
The falcons have generated so much discussion that a dedicated Facebook page has been set up, named the 367 Collins Falcon Watchers.
It’s founder, Leigh Stillard, who started the page to support the work of the Victorian Peregrine Project, believes that the more people watch the footage and post images the more awareness and knowledge on how to treat this ‘remarkable creature’ can be told.
The falcon and its eggs can be watched on a live-stream from on top of 367 Collins Street in Melbourne’s CBD
‘We hope one day we will see many more bird of prey families living in the Melbourne CBD,’ he said.
According to Dr Hurley, if the falcons continue to incubate undistracted the recently laid eggs should hatch in around 30 days.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Late in the summers of my childhood, black specks would fall out of the sky, floating in through my open bedroom window, snagging on the net curtains. Though we lived a good half mile from the nearest field, the charred shreds from stubble-burning made no distinction between town and country. Sooty showers rained down on suburban sensibilities year after year. Though people complained, nothing changed, for this was an age when farming sat in the social and political ascendancy.
A quarter of a century after a nationwide ban on stubble-burning began, the cereal fields are left to simmer under a weakening sun. Many hot weeks ago, the combines came and the harvest was taken off. Gold expanses of spiky stalks were left in regimented lines with bleached debris beneath. But, even now, on warming afternoons, the dusty plenty of July wafts from the roasted aftermath of the crop. There is spilled wheat in the chaff, barley grains exuding malted odours beneath stiff-straight stems, and from every “bare” field, a toasty flavour on the nose.
And still the harvest keeps giving. Early in the morning, wood pigeons, the white-collared workers of the tractor tramlines, are gorging in conspiratorial huddles among the barley stubble, paying little attention to the bike soughing alongside on the dirt track.
Off the bridleway, a flock of greylag geese in a slow bustle, some heads up, some heads down, are paddling through the wheat sticks. Big birds, big appetites. Holding a bumpy line beside the hedge, I swivel my head to the right and count. Fifty-two, fifty-three geese. They are not plucking at straws; they are finding something to eat.
I have half an eye on the thick tussocks at the base of one hedge, where there are whipped whirlpools of grass with black holes at their core. A rat spurted out of one the other day in front of me, a blur of thrusting snout and spider-fast legs. It trailed a pale tail that appeared to have levitated to the horizontal. I find myself glancing down now, checking hole by hole, filled with a mixture of excited expectation and revulsion. Human antipathy towards this gleaner of the fields runs very deep indeed.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
