by johnnymarin | Jan 18, 2019 | Pigeons in the News
A heartbroken owner’s prized racing pigeons were burned alive when the cage they were kept in went up in flames.
The turn of the new year brought devastation for Liam Hope when his beloved birds were incinerated in a blaze at his loft on Benton Road, West Allotment.
The 28-year-old car valet from North Shields was immensely fond of his pigeons – keeping some as pets – and described them as his “whole life”.
He told ChronicleLive: “I’m absolutely gutted, these pigeons were my whole life and I would visit them most days after work.
“I’ve been around them since I was born, my dad, granddad and great-granddad all raced pigeons too.
“I also got really attached to them and kept one retired bird, George, as a pet.”
The fire broke out in the early hours of New Year’s Day and neighbours in West Allotment alerted Liam to the blaze.
But by the time emergency services arrived it was too late and the 110 pigeons inside the cage were dead.
Liam raced the birds with his partners 81-year-old Brian Morris, who has owned the same loft for 50 years, and 65-year-old Colin Spillard.
The trio recently spent £2,500 on some new birds, which can cost up to £500 each.
“It’s going to cost a fortune to replace”, Liam said.
“The cage’s shell alone is worth around £4,000 and then there’s the cost of the birds.”
Despite the grief and weighty financial damage, Liam is confident that his pigeon racing career is not over and said that he will rebuild his successful team from scratch.
He has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for the costs of building a new loft which has already gathered £585 in donations.
Liam’s specialist racing birds won five events last year and were kept on a protein-heavy diet but loaded with carbohydrates before they set off on the 800-mile round trip to France and back for competitions.
After extinguishing the blaze, the fire department’s investigation found there had been “no malicious ignition” and the flames must have started internally.
But Liam contests this and claims to have CCTV footage, that has not yet been seen by police, which shows a man torching the loft.
He said: “The camera’s not great but you can see a kid walk up to it and try to set it on fire.
“He doesn’t manage to at first, but then he comes back.”
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: “Police received a report from two officers of a fire at an allotment on Benton Road, West Allotment on New Year’s Day.
“The report was made at about 1.20am when officers reported a fire in a pigeon loft.
“The fire service attended to extinguish the fire and it is believed all the pigeons died in the blaze.
“The fire investigators found that there was no malicious ignition.”
They said that a trawl of nearby CCTV had been carried out in the aftermath of the fire but nothing suspicious was found.
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 | Jan 17, 2019 | Pigeon Patrol's Services
For more than two decades, Drew Lobenstein has taught communications at Moorpark College and is just shy of the impassable five stars on RateMyProfessor. However, he isn’t your average communications professor. Not only is Lobenstein admired by students for his devotion as a public speaking teacher, but very few know that he is an award-winning pigeon breeder. His pigeons can be found throughout the world, some even having reached establishments like the Beijing Zoo. In fact, Lobenstein has been awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award” and been inducted into the “Hall of Fame” of the National Pigeon Association. Lobenstein sat down with reporter Ulises Koyoc to share how pigeons and public speaking have impacted his life.
How did this passion for pigeon breeding come about?
“I was six when my father actually bought pigeons that we would use as food later, but he made me feed them every day so they got fatter and more tender. I don’t know why, but I got so attached to them that I begged him to not kill them after the first meal had been served. I was crying [and] my father said ‘Fine, you take care of them then.’ Maybe he did this to shut me up.”
Pigeon breeding is not a common hobby nowadays, why still do it?
“Because I’ve done it since I was a little boy so it’s been a part of me for more than half my life. Sure the hobby isn’t practiced much now in America, but other places like in Mexico or Asia still breed. I love doing it and meeting new people. I owe traveling the world to pigeons. These little birds gave me the opportunity to fly around the world for competitions. I can remember when on my street there [were] 13 guys breeding, now there’s only three of us in the entire San Fernando area.”
Do you think your family will carry on the tradition of breeding?
“My family has tried breeding before, but they didn’t enjoy it enough for them to continue. My daughters especially are more focused on other things than breeding pigeons. Pigeon breeding tends to be done by older guys who have a lot of time in their hands so when I see younger people at competitions it gives me a smile to know that the sport will continue.”
What is your favorite type of pigeon to breed?
“For me, my favorite is the Jacobin pigeon because they are so elegant in the physical sense and extremely smart. All pigeons tend to be intelligent but these Jacobins simply amaze me; their hoods and eyes are gorgeous. The downfall to Jacobins is that they take longer to breed than other types, but I think the reward is better.”
Do you think you’ve bred the perfect pigeon?
“I don’t think so, I’ve come close to breeding such a beautiful pigeon before, but it was not the best I’ve ever done. Maybe in my lifetime, I won’t be able to see such a pigeon, but that doesn’t mean I’m giving up. It takes time and patience to achieve what one wants, there’s still hope.
Between breeding pigeons and teaching, which is your greatest passion?
“This is a hard question, because teaching for me has been an outstanding journey. Helping students overcome their fear of public speaking is so rewarding because I’ve been in their shoes. Scared of going up and talking to a crowd was so terrifying to me. However, with some help, anything can be achieved. When it comes to breeding, I owe so much to those birds who have literally changed the course of my path. Both passions have helped me become a better person. I think it’s a tie for this question.”
Why become a public speaking teacher, if as a kid you were terrified of speaking?
“There was a point in my life as I got older where I did not want to keep quiet anymore. I just needed to let my voice be heard. Of course, I needed help, [and] by help I mean a lot of help. However, this made life so much easier being able to not only speak to a large group of my peers but even little conversations. Young people often find themselves searching for who they are and some don’t even know the importance of their voice. Some are natural talkers who go on forever and others aren’t. I wanted to help those who aren’t able to. Like I said before, I was in their shoes and that makes my job easier because I can relate to them.”
In what ways do you think your students change after taking your class?
“My job is to help them be better in speaking to crowds and I’ve noticed that some of my students come back to say how much of an impact my class was for them. Others on the last day of school say ‘thank you,’ and shake my hand. As a teacher, this is what we like to see. It makes us feel good. Over my course here at Moorpark College, people tend to be thankful of my job and that humbles me. I think I’ve done a pretty good job by all means.”
What do you consider your greatest achievement as a public speaking teacher?
“[My] greatest achievement is getting the opportunity to help students find their own voice in a noisy world.”
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 | Jan 16, 2019 | Pigeons in the News
Police are investigating the discovery of several dead birds in a park in Tokyo’s Kita Ward. At around noon on Jan 13, four pigeons and five sparrows were found dead in Kamiya Park, Fuji TV reported.
The birds had no external injuries and there were remnants of rice grain scattered nearby, leading police to suspect that the birds may have been poisoned.
In October last year, 18 pigeons that had eaten corn dipped in agricultural chemicals were found dead in Akabane Park. Similar incidents of other birds and feral cats being poisoned have also been reported in the area.
Police said whoever is responsible faces charges for violation of the Wildlife Protection Law.
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 | Jan 15, 2019 | Pigeons in the News
Gyanoday Primary School had shut in 2012 and is now home to two buffaloes.
One can also find pigeons fluttering to a pigeonhole but not students, teachers, desk and blackboards.
Who let the buffaloes in?
The answer is clear in Gopaldhara-Rangbhang valley: successive politicians who ruled the hills but dragged their feet to put in place a proper education system.
The school, 7km from here, was established in 1995 by the Subash Ghisingh-headed Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC).
The school started with no permanent teachers. Four volunteers used to teach the 45-odd students.
“I have a family to support. How long can one carry without salaries?” asked Aswain Thami, a former volunteer teacher.
One of his colleagues joined Gopaldhura tea garden office, while two lady volunteers preferred to be permanent homemakers.
Thami landed a civic police job in 2014.
Local people made submissions to not only Ghisingh but also Bimal Gurung when he was heading the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration.
They have recently taken up the matter with local Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leaders who are now with Binay Tamang, the GTA head. “We have been told that our grievances will be redressed soon,” said Suman Yolmo, a managing committee member.
“If at least one permanent teacher is appointed, the school would still be functional,” rued Thami.
Primary school teacher’s examination was last held in 2001 and the appointment letters were released the following year.
Amar Singh Rai, GTA (education in-charge), admitted that primary and secondary education system was in “a mess” in the hills. “There has to be a proper recruitment system,” said Rai.
The School Service Commission has been defunct in the hills since 2003. Ghisingh opposed the commission demanding that its power be transferred to the DGHC.
“There are vacancies of 652 primary teachers now. For some reason, the earlier GTA did not pursue this issue but the state government has asked us to submit rules for appointing the teachers,” said Rai.
“The rules have been submitted. Once the matter related to the 652 teachers is taken care of, we will have to put in place a proper system,” said Rai.
“The school building has developed cracks and needs repaired,” said Yolmo.
Less than 50ft away stands a glittering three-storied “guest house” that was patronised both by Ghisingh and Gurung. The buzz is that Rs 74 lakh was spent on the “guest house”.
Till date, no guests have arrived.
It’s a solace for the school which has no students.
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 | Jan 14, 2019 | Bird Deterrent Products
This is the bizarre moment a man feeds his two pet pigeons with seed held in his mouth.
In the video, the man is seen sitting on a stone with a pigeon on each shoulder.
The man then opens his mouth which is full of grain and lets the birds feed on it together.
The birds continue to feed on the grain until their hunger is satisfied.
The pet owner said: ”I am quite attached to my birds and I like to feed them from my mouth.
”If I put the grains on the ground they won’t eat, they will eat only from my mouth. After they are done eating, they fly away.”
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)
