by Pigeon Patrol | Sep 7, 2021 | Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News
by Pigeon Patrol | Aug 31, 2021 | Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows, UltraSonic Bird Control
Even the bird-brained can follow a leader. When pigeons fly in flocks, each bird falls behind another with better navigational skill, and the savviest among them leads the flock, scientists report in the April 8 Nature.
The research suggests hierarchies can serve peaceful purposes in the animal kingdom, where dominance by brute force is often the rule. “A pecking order tends to be just that — a pecking order,” says Iain Couzin of Princeton University, an expert in collective behavior who was not involved in the research.
The research also suggests that for pigeons, dominance isn’t set in stone. While one bird often emerged as the leader, other birds also stepped up. This flexibility in leadership had previously been seen only in some small groups of fish.
From schools to packs to swarms to flocks, collective behavior is widespread among animals. But in many cases, the important interactions are with nearest neighbors, and control of the group’s movement is distributed among members rather than hierarchical.
Biological physicist Tamás Vicsek of Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest and his colleagues studied flight dynamics in homing pigeons, which fly in flocks but conveniently return to their roosts. The researchers outfitted 13 pigeons with tiny backpacks carrying GPS devices that measured shifts in birds’ flight direction five times per second. Flocks of eight to 10 birds flew with the devices during homing flights (a roughly 14-kilometer trip back to the roost) and spontaneous “free” flights near home. Each bird also flew solo flights of about 15 kilometers each.
Analysis of GPS logs showed that for each excursion, the flock had one leader followed by at least three or four other birds. Each of these followers was in turn followed by other birds in the flock. Comparing the solo flight paths to the group flights showed that the birds with the best navigational skills led the flock.
While flocks have hierarchies, they’re not dictatorships, notes Vicsek. One bird led eight of the 13 flights, while other birds took the lead on the rest of the trips. Vicsek likens the dynamics to a group of peers deciding where to eat dinner. “Maybe someone knows the area restaurants best, or there is a person who’s a gourmand — or maybe they are the most outspoken,” he says. This one person might pick the place to eat for several nights, although another person might chime in now and then. And then there is the person with no say, whom everyone knows has terrible taste in food.
“These pigeons know each other. They know which is the smartest. The fastest bird will even follow the slower one who knows the way home the best,” say Vicsek. Videos of the birds’ positions during flight showed that if the best navigator moves a little to the left, it takes about a third of a second for other birds to do the same. But if the least savvy bird makes a move “the others don’t care,” Vicsek says.
Pigeons’ brains may be wired for follow-the-leader, comments behavioral neuroscientist Lucia Jacobs of the University of California, Berkeley. When the left eye sees something, for example, it sends all the visual information to the right brain hemisphere, and vice versa. This “extreme lateralization” may play a role in organizing flocks, the new work suggests. A pigeon following another was most likely to be flying on its partner’s right, seeing this leader with its left eye. “It’s very cool,” Jacobs says.
Source
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.
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 Roosting / 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 | Aug 31, 2021 | Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News
Bully birds such as blue jays and European starlings are a nuisance, but you can take some simple steps to prevent them from dominating feeders—and allow less aggressive birds to enjoy your hospitality. Here’s how:
1. Go modern: New innovations in feeder construction can limit the size of birds able to feed in your yard—and bully birds are generally larger than most of the more “desirable” feeder birds. Look for a rubber-coated mesh that surrounds traditional tube, suet and tray feeders. It allows smaller birds to pass through and enter the feeding chamber. Bullies such as blackbirds, pigeons and crows can’t squeeze through. The downside is that desirable birds such as northern cardinals are also too large to enter.
2. Take cover: Starlings are known for their love of suet cakes, and it is not unusual for them to eat a whole cake in a single day. To stymie starlings, hang your suet feeder under a domed squirrel baffle or buy a starling-proof suet feeder, which allows birds access to food only from beneath the feeder. Starlings are reluctant to go under any sort of cover.
3. Catch seeds: Many people find that foiling bullies at feeders isn’t quite enough because they often eat the food that the other birds drop on the ground. To solve this problem, place a garbage can under a hanging feeder. The bullies are not likely to fly into the can to get the discarded seed.
4. Be selective: Selective feeding is another way to control the kinds of birds that eat at your feeders. Generally, bully birds do not like safflower or nyjer (thistle) seeds. By offering just those seeds—and not wild bird seed mixes—only finches, chickadees, nuthatches, cardinals and grosbeaks will come to the feeders to dine.
5. Aid acrobats: Bully species usually require a perch to hold onto while eating, but most finches and many other small feeder birds can eat without perching at food ports. Finches can cling to the sides of a tube feeder and eat all day long. Bullies can’t. Some commercial tube feeders have perches above the food ports, where the birds have to stretch downward to feed—something that bully birds can’t do either.
6. Use bottles: Thwart suet-eating bullies at a cagelike feeder by inserting a long perch that extends out both sides, placing a small soda bottle over each end. When a bully lands on a soda bottle, the weighty visitor rolls off the perch. Smaller birds are too light to roll off the bottles while feeding, or they can cling to the wire cage.
7. Offer alternatives: A male hummingbird is often aggressive and protective of a sugar-water feeder that he considers his own. Only “his females” and their young are allowed to feed undisturbed. The simple solution is to set up an additional sugar-water feeder on another side of your house, out of sight of the other male’s domain. He can’t guard a feeder that he can’t see.
8. Buy weights: Look for a bird feeder that has a weighted perch or treadle. When larger, heavier birds land on a treadle, it drops down over the bird food. (This device works against squirrels, too.) Lightweight birds can reach the food because the treadle does not drop down when they perch.
9. Hang mirrors: Birdhouses for woodpeckers, wood ducks and owls are often taken over by European starlings. To keep the foreigners at bay, place a small mirror on the back wall facing the entryway so that starlings see their own “scary” reflections when they land at the door. The mirror doesn’t seem to deter other birds.
10. Play music: Just when the strawberries and grapes are ready for picking, a variety of birds will descend on a garden patch to consume the fruit. One way to deter these critters is to set up a radio in the garden that plays loud music. It’ll scare even the boldest invaders.
Source
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.
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 Roosting / 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 | Aug 31, 2021 | pet bird, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes
You don’t get a lot of pigeons in Brighton – seagulls rule the roost down here – and certainly not many snowy white ones who fly at your backdoor, and then stand there, waiting for you to open up.
That was what greeted us at breakfast one morning last week. My daughter opened the door. The bird was clearly tame and, judging by the rings on its legs, a homing pigeon. We watched as it hopped into the kitchen and, right in front of us, crapped on the floor. It was unceremoniously shown the door.
When I got home from work that evening I was told that the pigeon hadn’t left the garden all day. That it had come into the house several times. That the kids had fed it. And that it had taken a dump on our floor again. It was clearly lost, confused and badly house-trained.
The following morning there was a suicidal crash at the window. We threw the bird some Rice Krispies and called the Royal Pigeon Racing Association, who asked for the number on the bird’s ring.
No 25257 belonged to Mr Pile in Barnstaple, Devon. “I was wondering where he had got to,” he said. “Don’t know what he’s doing in Brighton. He was on his way to Weymouth.” What does he want? “Some grub, of course. He’s hungry. Beans. Corn. Seeds.” So, if we feed him, he’ll fly home? “Might do. Then again, he might decide to stay.”
There are 60,000 pigeon-fanciers in the UK and thousands of their birds get lost each year. “It’s the peregrine falcons,” said Pile. “Them and the sparrowhawks. They attack them and so they fly off in any direction. It’s getting so bad that many are giving up the sport.”
After four days, No 25257 disappeared. I called Pile. “No, he hasn’t turned up yet. But a friend of mine lost one once. Ten years later, it came back.” Pile has promised to call me when 25257 finally returns. I hope he does.
Source
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.
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 Roosting / 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 | Aug 26, 2021 | Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes, Pigeons, Pigeons in the News, Raccoons, Sparrows
Birds brighten our lives. We find joy in their songs, inspiration in their soaring flight. They connect us with nature. But sometimes birds connect us a bit too directly with nature.
Park under the wrong tree – one where a flock of starlings or grackles comes to roost – and nature may be painted in white on your car so thickly that it takes a trip or two through the carwash just to see through the windshield again.
Aside from helping you decide where not to park next time, this messy event raises a scientific question: Why is most of the bird poop we see white? The answer lies in the fact that birds, unlike mammals, don’t produce urine. Instead they excrete nitrogenous wastes in the form of uric acid, which emerges as a white paste. And uric acid doesn’t dissolve in water easily. Hence its ability to stick to your windshield like blobs of white plaster.
It appears that drivers of some cars might be asking for trouble. A study in England found that red cars are most likely to be the target of bird droppings, followed by blue and black. Green was the least likely. So be careful where you park. And give that red Mustang a wide berth.
Source
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.
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 Roosting / 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 | Aug 17, 2021 | pet bird, Pigeon Control, Pigeon Droppings, Pigeon Patrol's Services, Pigeon Predators, Pigeon Spikes
If I say the word ‘pigeon’, it will conjure up an image in your head. In an urban environment this will probably be a ‘rat with wings’. However, if I say the word ‘dove’, you may well think of the second day of Christmas or Pablo Picasso’s ‘Dove of Peace’, a modern interpretation of an Early Christian symbol. Doves are seen as positive, but pigeons need to work on their public image.
The truth is many of what we Londoners call pigeons are in fact doves. The feral pigeons we see in Trafalgar Square are actually rock doves. To quote the RSPB, “there is no strict division between pigeons and doves.”
It’s easy to see why a rock dove would find our urban environment attractive. In many ways, our high-rise office buildings are a perfect substitute for a cliff face. This makes them ideal places to roost and nest and, being in an urban environment, they are also protected from many of their natural predators.
Are Pigeons Dangerous?
When you hear a pigeon coo it is hard to imagine that they can present a threat to human health. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case.
The British Pest Control Association recently published a study that found nearly 50% of feral pigeons were carrying Chlamydia psittaci. This can lead to ornithoses in humans, a nasty disease with symptoms that include chills, fever, sweating, severe weakness, headache, blurred vision, pneumonia and, in extreme cases, possible death.
In January 2019, pigeon droppings were also thought to be a “contributing factor” in the death of a child at a Glasgow hospital. Other pigeon related diseases include Histoplasmosis, Toxoplasmosis, and infections related to the Campylobacter, E. coli and Salmonella pathogens.
Pigeons are not themselves dangerous, but the pathogens contained within their faecal waste can be dangerous to humans.
What Are the Chances of Getting These Diseases?
In fact, pigeon-related diseases are uncommon in the UK, which is not the case in other countries, including the US. Unless you are directly dealing with pigeon nests or waste, it is unlikely you will encounter the pathogens that cause the diseases. When we deal with pigeons, we always wear the right personal protective equipment (PPE) to ensure we are protected from these pathogens.
For most Londoners, the main problem is that pigeons are a nuisance. Roosting birds defecate down buildings, making them look dirty. For a business, this doesn’t give the right impression. Imagine you must choose between two restaurants – one is clean and the other has pigeon guano down its front – you are going to choose the clean restaurant because its façade suggests an attention to detail and cleanliness.
Pigeon waste can also create a slipping hazard. Businesses and property managers have a duty of care to ensure their buildings and surrounding areas are safe. A pavement covered in guano can be slippery, which could result in injury.
How Do We Get Rid of Pigeons?
Firstly, it is important to remember, “all wild birds and their eggs in the UK are rightfully protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.” It is strongly recommended that you do not attempt to deal with the problem yourself.
Secondly, these birds are often roosting in inaccessible places as a form of protection. It is therefore dangerous to try to reach them without the proper equipment and specialised training.
There are two main things you can do to protect your property from pigeons.
- Cut off their food supply – pigeons like an easy meal and so if you remove food sources they will move elsewhere. In your garden, this means removing food that has fallen on to the floor, ensuring bin lids are shut and covering compost heaps. Also, discourage people who think it is okay to feed them!
- Stop them roosting – there are multiple methods available, including netting and spikes. The intention isn’t to harm the bird, simply to make them move somewhere else.
Again, it should be emphasised that accessing the places where bird proofing measures need to be installed can be difficult and dangerous. It is therefore highly advisable to seek fully insured, well-trained professional help if you have a pigeon problem.
Source
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.
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 Roosting / 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
