by johnnymarin | Sep 7, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
On Sept. 1, 1914, a legend passed in the aviary at the Cincinnati Zoo. That legend was a single pigeon, named Martha, after George Washington’s wife. Martha was the last of her kind, and with her death, the passenger pigeon became extinct.
The passenger pigeon, not to be confused with the domesticated homing pigeon, was a species of pigeon native to the Eastern United States. Once reported to be the most common bird, the species declined rapidly in the early 1900s and disappeared entirely with the death of Martha.
Some ornithologists, scientists who study birds, estimated that in their prime, passenger pigeons made up about two out of every five birds. Many historical journal entries tell tales of migrating flocks 1 mile wide blocking out the sun for hours.
IMPACT OF HUMANS
If the passenger pigeon was once so prolific, then what must have gone wrong to make the birds die off so fast? The short answer is humans. Passenger pigeons traveled in huge flocks for centuries because the larger numbers meant there were lower odds of any one pigeon being picked off, a technique called “predator satiation.” However, this adaptation is only advantageous until humans with nets, poles and guns became involved.
Passenger pigeons were seen as pests for the after effects of their migrations, easy to catch, prolific and tasty enough to be appealing to both the underclass and the elite. This combination means that when the location of a nesting flock was found, hunters would quickly arrive in the area to kill and ship off as many barrels of pigeons as possible. For a while, it seemed as though the hunting wouldn’t disrupt the pigeon population, as their numbers had barely declined.
Numbers can be deceiving, though, as years of disrupted breeding meant that almost all of the population was growing older and older with no young to replenish the flocks. Therefore, the continued pressure on the population eventually led to a sudden population crash. The last confirmed wild passenger pigeon was shot in 1901, leaving the population extinct except for those in captivity.
The sudden decline of the passenger pigeon got people’s attention, and soon legislation was being passed to protect migratory birds, as well as their nests, eggs and feathers. The 1970s brought an even larger explosion of environmental legislature. The Endangered Species Act, passed in 1973, was part of a worldwide effort to add protections to endangered populations.
Later, the IUCN Red List was developed as a global way to evaluate and guide the conservation of both plants and animals. The IUCN Red List categorizes species as Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the Wild and Extinct.
Despite passenger pigeons’ sad end, Martha has been well taken care of in her time after death. Immediately after she was found, she was packed into a 300-pound block of ice and shipped to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., where she was mounted and displayed through the 1950s. Since then, she has been protected in a locked box in the special collections area of the Smithsonian (though her internal organs are stored in an entirely different section).
Martha has made several flights since her death — to San Diego and back and then for a brief return to the Cincinnati Zoo to be displayed in a new exhibit in her name. For both of these trips, Martha flew first class with an escort — quite the upgrade from the crowded migration flights of her ancestors.
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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | Sep 6, 2018 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
A burglary in the Bahamas and the threat of a volcano eruption on the island of Guadeloupe set in motion one of the fastest and most widespread invasions of a non-native wildlife species — a bird, in this case — witnessed in North America.
Effects on the continent’s native wildlife resulting from those two seemingly unrelated events barely 40 years ago remain unclear. But Texas dove hunters certainly have benefited. This dove season, which began Sept. 1, Texas’ 300,000 wingshooters will take more than a half-million Eurasian collared doves, a bird that didn’t exist in the state — or most of North America — just a quarter century ago but has a wild population now numbering about 5 million in the Lone Star State.
“They have turned out to be incredibly adaptable and prolific,” Owen Fitzsimmons, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s dove program director, understated in talking about the non-native collared doves that now live, nest and reproduce across the whole of this sprawling ecologically diverse state.
They also have turned out to be an unexpected but welcome bonus for the state’s wingshooters. Collared doves, with some exceptions, generally inhabit the same habitat as mourning doves and white-winged doves, the state’s most populous game birds. They also behave, fly and taste much like a larger version of those native doves, making them just as challenging and popular with Texas wingshooters. And because they are non-natives and an invasive species, collared doves are not classified as game birds, which allows unlimited take of the prolific aliens.
The first collared doves documented in Texas were seen in the northeast corner of the state in the mid-1990s. Their arrival was the then-latest frontier the birds colonized in what was becoming a fast-spreading invasion with roots in seemingly unrelated events in the Caribbean in the mid-1970s.
In 1974, burglars broke into a pet business in the Bahamas that dealt in exotic birds. The criminals opened a cage holding an estimated 50 Eurasian collared doves, and the flock went free.
Two years later, the owner of a captive flock of collared doves on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe let loose those birds before fleeing the predicted eruption of the island’s La Soufriere volcano.
Soon after, the first wild collared doves documented in North America appeared in South Florida. Those birds, experts including those at the universally respected Cornell University Lab of Ornithology deduce, originated from those two freed flocks.
This was just the latest beachhead in the species’ long history of invasion and colonization.
Eurasian collared doves are native to the Bay of Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. In the 1600s, traders brought them to the Middle East and Turkey, where they thrived. From there, they slowly spread west and north until, by the 1950s, they had colonized most of Europe.
The bird’s spread in the Americas has been much faster and prodigious.
From Florida, the birds marched — flew — north, south and west. Within only a few years of their arrival in northeast Texas in the 1990s, they had colonized the entire state and far beyond.
By 2004, Texas held what state wildlife officials then roughly estimated were “several hundred thousand” collared doves. They didn’t really have a solid figure as the birds were just popping up everywhere and the agency had no system in place to census the non-native species. But it was clear the birds were thriving in Texas.
Just slightly smaller than native white-winged doves and half the size of native mourning doves, collared doves are easily distinguished from their close relatives by their size and pale-gray coloring and the distinctive black slash on the nape of their neck that gives them their common name. They can be identified in flight by their larger size, generally slower wingbeat and their “square” tail feathering; mourning doves and whitewings have “pointed” tails.
Collared doves share many behaviors with their native relatives, including their preference for feeding on seeds — agricultural and native — in areas with low or little ground cover. It is not uncommon to see both mourning doves and collared doves feeding in the same field. Less common is to see collared doves mixed with whitewings on feeding fields. But whitewings and collared doves certainly share a trait of being comfortable nesting and roosting around human development.
“They’re a bird that does really well in suburban and some rural areas,” Fitzsimmons said, noting that collared doves, like whitewings, benefit from the expansive nesting habitat created by the large number of mature trees in urban and suburban areas and the abundance of water and forage in those settings.
Back yards beckon
Collared doves quickly find and take advantage of the millions of bird feeders in yards across Texas.
They also are especially attracted to some rural areas, particularly those around farming and ranching operations. Barns, grain storage silos and elevators, and livestock feedlots serve as larders and lodging for the Eurasian colonizers.
“Some of the biggest concentrations of collared doves in Texas are in rural areas, especially in the Panhandle around grain elevators and feedlots,” Fitzsimmons said.
That adaptability to varied habitat gives collared doves a scaly pink leg up on their native cousins.
Also to their advantage, collared doves are amazingly fecund creatures. Just as with native mourning and whitewing doves, a pair of collared doves construct a seemingly flimsy nest onto which a pair of eggs are laid. All three species are serial nesters, often making multiple nesting attempts each year. But collared doves take it to an extreme. Mourning doves and whitewings may make two or maybe three nesting attempts a year. Collared doves regularly make four nesting attempts a year and even more. Often, collared doves will begin constructing their next nest while they still have fledglings in an earlier nest.
“There’s documentation of collared doves nesting as many as six times in one year,” Fitzsimmons said.
That robust reproduction coupled with adaptability and wanderlust has seen collared doves expand their number and range in startling fashion. In less than 40 years of their arrival in North America, they had spread south to Panama, across almost the entirety of North America, including all of the contiguous United States, into southern Canada and even into Alaska. Collared doves were first documented near Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2014, where the birds spent the winter and survived.
That behavior — staying in a cold, often frozen region instead of migrating to warmer areas — appears one way collared doves differ from native doves. While mourning and whitewing doves make migratory moves to the south in autumn and winter, returning north in spring and summer, collared doves appear to forgo such annual long-distance movements. The birds appear to simply shift locations within a fairly limited region, moving only far enough to find food and suitable habitat.
Since the birds’ arrival and subsequent boom, wildlife managers have launched research and monitoring efforts to try quantifying the population and qualifying their impact or potential impact on native species. So far, that impact appears minimal. While the non-native collared doves share some habitat with native doves and obviously compete for resources, no significant detrimental effects have been discovered.
There is concern that the non-native collared doves could prove to carry and transmit Trichomonas, a the virulent avian virus or other transmissible viruses or diseases, Fitzsimmons said.
“It’s something we’re watching,” he said.
A bonus of sorts
While the ecological impact of collard doves remains unsettled, their benefit to Texas wingshooters isn’t. The birds have become a player in the state’s hunting community.
Because collared doves are a non-native species, they do not fall under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the federal law that regulates hunting of native migratory birds such as mourning and white-winged doves. Similarly, Texas state law does not classify the alien doves as game birds and their taking is not regulated. In Texas, collared doves can be legally hunted at any time and taken in any number, the same as their close cousins, feral rock doves (pigeons).
This liberal loophole allows licensed Texas hunters the latitude to take collared doves when the opportunity presents itself. Over the last several years, some hunters, especially in the Panhandle, have taken to year-round hunting of collared doves, focusing on the feedlots and other area where the big doves concentrate.
“There are even some outfitters and guides now offering collared dove hunts,” Fitzsimmons said.
But most collared doves are taken incidentally by Texas wingshooters targeting mourning or whitewing doves during the autumn hunting seasons for those birds. The collared doves are “bonus” birds for dove hunters. While the daily aggregate bag limit of mourning and whitewing during Texas general dove season is 15 birds, there is no limit on the number of collared doves that hunters can take and those collared doves do not count as part of the 15-dove daily limit.
Part of the landscape
To prevent potential issues concerning identification of the unprotected collared doves and closely regulated native doves, hunters taking collared doves are advised to not clean the birds before getting home or at least leaving a fully feathered wing on all doves so game wardens can easily identify the species.
Those collared doves are welcomed by most dove hunters, who find them just as challenging a target as the native doves and equally wonderful on the plate. And they take a lot of them.
“We estimate the annual harvest of Eurasian collared doves in Texas is now 700,000 to 800,000,” Fitzsimmons said. That’s not nearly as many as the 3 million whitewings and 5 million mourning doves that Texas hunters annual take. But it’s far from insignificant.
“They are a part of dove hunting, now, for a lot of Texas hunters,” Fitzsimmons said.
For that, Texas wingshooters can thank burglars and a volcano.
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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | Sep 5, 2018 | Animal Deterrent Products
The 2018-19 general upland game bird hunting season will open in mid-September for several species in specific zones around the state, providing hunters with many opportunities to bring home some delicious table fare for the upcoming holiday season.
September openers include quail (Zone Q1 opens for mountain quail on Sept. 8, and Zone Q2 will be open for all quail on Sept. 29) sooty and ruffed grouse (general season will open in various northern and eastern counties on Sept. 8); white-tailed ptarmigan (which will open Sept. 8); and band-tailed pigeon (the northern hunt zonewill open Sept. 15).
Please note that nonlead ammunition is now required when hunting on California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Wildlife Areas and Ecological Reserves. As of July 1, 2016, the nonlead shot requirement is extended to include the take of upland game birds with a shotgun statewide, with the exceptions of dove, quail and snipe, or any upland game bird taken on a licensed game bird club. Please plan accordingly. For more information, please see the CDFW nonlead ammunition page.
Zone maps and information about daily bag limits and possession limits for each game bird species can be found on the CDFW Upland Game Bird Hunting webpage. Additional information about each species can be found below.
Quail
Quail are some of the state’s most popular native game birds. There are three species of quail found in California: California quail, mountain quail and Gambel’s quail. California quail (the state bird) are common and widespread throughout the state in low to mid-elevation brushy habitats with good cover and abundant food. Mountain quail are found in higher elevation habitats. Gambel’s quail are California’s most desert-adapted species and are found in the very arid lands of southeastern California.
The early mountain quail-only season starts on Sept. 8 in Zone Q1and continues through Oct. 19, covering much of the mountainous region of northern and eastern California. On Sept. 29, the early general quail season opens in Zone Q2 for all quail species in several north coast counties. The remainder of the state will open to quail hunting on Oct. 20 and extend through Jan. 27, 2019. Finally, an additional two-day early hunt season will be open on Oct. 6-7 in Mojave National Preserve for hunters with junior hunting licenses.
For all quail species, the daily bag limit is 10 and the possession limit is triple the daily bag. Hunters can still use lead shot for quail until July 1, 2019 unless hunting on CDFW Wildlife Areas or Ecological Reserves.
All three native species of quail are characterized by high reproductive potential associated with adequate and well-timed winter and early spring precipitation. Northern California experienced increased precipitation this spring, benefitting quail habitat and productivity. Hunters should experience good populations of quail this fall.
All three species of quail are most active in the early morning and later afternoon and move in large coveys throughout the day. Quail have distinctive calls that can provide clues to the birds’ location. Quail are more apt to run than flush, making them a more challenging game bird to hunt. Hunting dogs can be useful for locating, flushing and retrieving birds in the field.
Quail can be successfully hunted with legal gauge shotguns. A modified or improved cylinder choke is recommended to avoid damage to the bird. Because of the dense brush habitats where they are usually hunted, downed quail can be hard to find. Despite this challenge, CDFW reminds hunters that wasting game is both unethical and illegal.
CDFW estimates that in the 2016-2017 season, 51,281 hunters bagged 320,913 quail over the course of 184,541 hunter-days. Not surprisingly, California quail is the most frequently bagged of the three species.
Forest Grouse
California has two species of native forest-dwelling grouse: the sooty grouse and the ruffed grouse. Sooty grouse occur in the Sierra Nevada, Cascade and northern coast ranges while the ruffed grouse is restricted to the northwestern part of the state. The general hunting season for both species extends from Sept. 8 to Oct. 8 this year. For sooty and ruffed grouse, the daily bag limit is two (both of one species or mixed species) and possession limit is triple the daily bag.
Although they are fairly large birds, grouse camouflage themselves well and generally hold tight to their location even when hunters are nearby. They flush quickly and fly off in a zigzag pattern, requiring a quick and accurate response from a hunter. Dogs are useful companions to help hunters find, flush and retrieve bagged grouse. Nonlead shot is required for all grouse statewide.
Ptarmigan
The white-tailed ptarmigan is a non-native grouse that was introduced by CDFW to the Sierra Nevada in the early 1970s. This is the smallest species of ptarmigan and the only one found in California. They inhabit the high elevation alpine habitats at low densities from Sonora Pass in Tuolumne County to Kings Canyon National Park.
Hunting these birds can be challenging because of the high elevation and steep terrain. Hunting is permitted from Sept. 8-16. The daily bag limit is two per day and the possession limit is two per season. Hunters should prepare for difficult hiking conditions and be familiar with the area before heading out after this game bird. Nonlead shot is required for hunting ptarmigan.
Band-tailed Pigeon
The band-tailed pigeon is California’s only native pigeon and is a close relative of the extinct passenger pigeon. They look similar to the introduced domestic or rock pigeons that frequent urban areas. Band-tailed pigeons are often found in mountainous terrain throughout the state, using coniferous forests as well as oak woodlands, but populations are migratory and movements can be unpredictable. The federal Harvest Information Program (HIP) estimates that in 2017, 2,500 hunters spent 5,600 days afield in California and harvested 5,600 band-tailed pigeons.
The northern California hunt zone season runs from Sept 15-23. The daily bag limit is two and the possession limit is triple the daily bag. The southern hunt zone does not open until December. Nonlead shot is required for band-tailed pigeons statewide.
CDFW reminds hunters that an upland game bird stamp is required for licensed adult hunters (18 years and older) but not for hunters with a valid junior hunting license. A HIP validation is also required to hunt band-tailed pigeons.
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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | Sep 4, 2018 | Bird Deterrent Products
One of the best places for pigeons is at Markham Rd. and Lawrence Ave., where a perpetual buffet of birdie num num is on the menu.
It is also a bad place to be a pedestrian or a TTC rider. After they dine, the birds roost on overhead utility wires to digest their meal and then deposit wet, smelly droppings on the sidewalk and people below.
We’ve had several complaints over the past few years about the hundreds of pigeons drawn to the southwest corner of the busy intersection by food scattered across a parking lot.
The bird lovers’ hearts are in the right place, but the mess created by the huge number of pigeons attracted to the food is the bane of people who catch the bus at a TTC stop on the corner.
A reader told us he’s been twice bombed on his way to the TTC stop, adding that he’s heard it’s a sign of good luck to be pooped on by a bird but doesn’t believe it.
“They sit on the wires and s– on everything below,” said the reader, who asked not to be named. “One time I could see it falling in front of me, like it was raining bird s–.”
We’ve gone there several times and seen hundreds of pigeons and a few seagulls pecking at seed in the parking lot, while others that had finished dining roosted wing-to-wing on wires on the east side of Lawrence, waiting to drop a surprise on a hapless victim.
The sidewalk below the wires had a residue of guano on it, but we thought it would have been much worse. Plentiful rainfall over the past few weeks has likely washed away some of it.
Dumped next to a concrete barrier on the north side of the parking lot was a huge pile of stale white bread cut into pieces — enough to fill a couple big garbage bags — along with several pounds of white rice.
The situation raises a couple questions, like who’s doing it and what can be done, if anything, to stop them.
STATUS: We asked the city if any rules prohibit the feeding of birds. City spokesperson Angelica Santos sent us an email that said “feeding wildlife can increase the population of wild animals in a community and cause the animal to lose its natural fear of people.” Yeah, but we’re talking about pigeons, not raccoons or bears. Santos went on to cite bylaws that say “a person feeding wildlife in a public area can be fined by the city, if the person is observed by an officer throwing waste.” In other words, unless a bylaw enforcement officer stakes out the parking lot and catches someone feeding them, there are no repercussions. We also found a page on the city’s website that says “there are no specific bylaws that restrict the feeding of wildlife outside of a city park.” Since the feeding is done in a private parking lot, it looks the feeders are home free.
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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
by johnnymarin | Sep 3, 2018 | Pigeons in the News
At Tuesday’s regular meeting of Town Council Manager of Planning and Land Development, Ashley Bilodeau will ask council to consider passing a by-law to prohibit the feeding and attracting of pigeons in town.
In a report Bilodeau will present to council, she writes “The pigeon population is increasing in the Town – Pigeons mate for life and pair can breed up to 12 ledglings per year. Staff have increasing been receiving calls and emails from residents asking for help ith neighbours who are feeding the pigeons, encouraging the flock to flourish and remain in the area.
Pigeon feces are highly acidic and so corrosive that it can cut a roof’s average life span in half.
Resident’s property is being damaged.
Orkin Canada gives the following tips for prevention and control:
· Eliminate sources of food, including bird feeders intended for other species
· Repair and seal any damage to the exterior of buildings where they can build nests
· Place fake/statuettes of predatory birds near ledges
· Create an unwelcome environment with loud noises and/or water sprays to scare them away
To this end, Staff is asking Council to consider a bylaw to prohibit feeding and attracting of pigeons.”
Her report goes on to say “Public comments were received from two individuals; one of which was supportive of the new By-law, the other was concerned about whether it can be enforced appropriately. In order to ticket someone,
they would have to be in the act of feeding a pigeon. Her recommendation was to place emphasis on enforcing the buildings and/or structures that encourage nesting/roosting.
Staff also met with the Timiskaming Health Unit (THU) to discuss the health concerns related to pigeons. From their standpoint, pigeons are not a health problem. There would need to be several
inches of droppings in a very restricted area in order for it to pose a health concern. They insist that feeding restrictions do help, however the enforcement must be focused on the places they reside.”
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.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)
