Don’t Let Your Co-op Become a Pigeon Coop

Sane New Yorkers regard them as rats with wings, and they make use of the many tools to combat pigeon on their property. But things get complicated when a neighboring property owner doesn’t care that pigeons are emitting toxic piles of excrement in a shared space between buildings.

Such was the case on the Upper West Side, where pigeons set up housekeeping on a grocery store’s outdoor air vents and cooling system. Residents of a co-op that shares a courtyard with the grocery store hired an exterminator, but the nests remain. The store’s management did not respond to calls. What’s a co-op board to do?

“The mere presence of pigeon droppings in the courtyard is an unsanitary condition” and could be grounds for a violation, Kempshall McAndrew, a real estate lawyer at Anderson Kill, tells the New York TimesAsk Real Estate column. The board should keep the courtyard free of pigeon droppings in case an inspector visits.

Beyond that, McAndrew advises the co-op board to call the Department of Health and Mental Hygienedirectly, bypassing 311. The board should photograph the area, documenting the nests as the source of the problem. It should also keep records of calls to the grocery store and of the exterminator’s efforts.

If such measures fail? The board could sue the grocery store for an injunction and for monetary damages.

 

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)

This Tasmanian has been showing pigeons for 40 years

FOR a pigeon breeder, it’s the ultimate feather in the cap: to win the Australian National Pigeon Show.

Phil Young, from New Norfolk in Tasmania, has been breeding pigeons for nearly 40 years, yet so far the victory has remained elusive.

“I’ve got a four-door dressing table in the garage that is full of trophies and ribbons from agricultural shows around Tasmania and Australia,” says the 68-year-old, who is the president of the Royal Hobart Show pigeon and poultry committee.

“The Melbourne Cup is the pinnacle of racing and for our sport, the Australian National Pigeon Show is the big one.

“But no, I’ve never won it.”

Heaven knows he has tried hard enough.

Starting with a breeding pair 38 years ago, Phil now has 250 pigeons in six breeds, kept on his residential block in lofts in four aviaries, measuring 25m long and 6m wide.

“It’s like an alarm clock in the morning with the cooing,” Phil says.

“There can be a fair bit of noise, but we’ve got very good neighbours — they used to show parrots so they understand.”

Every morning and night Phil feeds his brood a special grain mix (costing $100 a week), as well as a protein mix for special birds, and estimates he spends at least two hours a day tending to their needs.

In the lead up to competition day, however, he and his wife, Sue, can spend much of the day preparing the birds.

“If we’re going to the Nationals we prepare for a month beforehand. My wife can be in the yard up to midnight shampooing the birds, especially the tail feathers, then drying them with a hairdryer.

“We put powder in their feathers to sweeten them up a bit and make them soft.

“We use clippers on their feet and a nail file on their beaks.

“Some of them enjoy it. The most flighty are the magpies, they don’t want to work with you. But the dragoons or the tumblers really concentrate and do everything to help. Of course the more you handle a bird, the more they work with you.”

The Youngs have 15 breeding pairs of magpie pigeons, 20 pairs of British show racers, 10 pairs of dragoons, six of English carriers, seven Australian performing tumblers and five British racers.

Phil, who is also a judge at agricultural shows and the president of Tasmania’s Meander Valley Pigeon Club, says there are characteristics in each breed that make a winning bird.

Similar to the cattle or sheep show ring at agricultural shows, pigeons lose points based on conformation — bones, feathers, beaks, eyes and body shape are all scrutinised to establish best in breed.

This year, the National Pigeon Show in Melbourne (next year it’s in Adelaide) saw 57 exhibitors show 379 pigeons.

“It’s a very friendly atmosphere in competition,” says Phil, who this year has attended 11 events.

“You want to win. Everyone wants to be the top exhibitor, but it never gets too competitive.”

He says time and expenses add up when travelling to events, with pigeons by law needing to be transported in special cargo containers, especially when flying.

“The Australian National Pigeon Association has worked with Qantas to make it easier for breeders to move their birds,” Phil says, adding that he has a special covered trailer and van when driving.

He says the beauty of attending events is also buying cocks or hens from competitors to try to improve his breeding genetics. Phil breeds year-round, with eggs taking 21 days to hatch a squeaker (a baby pigeon).

Each year Phil sells up to 80 of his own birds, ranging from $10 to $100.

“The most I’ve ever seen a pigeon sell for was $1000. It was a top bird and the breeder just wanted it.”

Even though he breeds racing pigeons and is a member of a homing society, Phil has never become involved in the sport, mainly because he lives further than the 10km radius from the Hobart club – a required distance so pigeons can fly home.

Phil grew up in Tasmania and worked in the railways out of Launceston and Hobart before spending the next 40 years as a harness racing trainer.

He’s still the president of the Tasmanian Pacing Club and helps his stepsons train their trotters.

“I got into pigeons because it took some of the stress away from harness training,” Phil says.

“A friend of mine gave me a pair of breeding pigeons and I was hooked. The bug started from there.

“The sport is very social.

“Everyone makes you feel warm and welcome.

“If you get down, you go out to the pigeons. I appreciate them and it’s also a buzz to win.”

 

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)

Man Falls Off Ladder After Stealing 40 Pricey Pigeons With A Bucket On His Head

Miami police are looking for a man who stole pricey pigeons from a store while wearing a bucket on his head. The store’s owner says the same thing happened in May and if it continues, he’ll be out of business. Surveillance footage shows the robber searching through cages inside a gate before he finds the birds he wants. He collects the animals in one enclosure and then sets up a ladder to escape. Outside in the parking lot, he climbs a fence before falling off a ladder with the birds in hand.

 

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)

Pigeons too are characters in Parava

Actor-director Soubin Shahir’s directorial debut Parava has not just humans, but also birds as significant elements in the story. “As the  title says, the movie has birds, especially pigeons, in many scenes,” says director Soubin Shahir.

“Not just the birds, Parava is about every living being,” added Soubin.   “Though we have started shooting, it is too early to discuss the plot in detail,” added Soubin. Parava, shot in and around Kochi, is a comical ride with tinges of adventure. The story revolves around a group of children.
Parava will be produced by Anwar Rasheed. The movie has Shane Nigam.

 

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)

The real time of nature: Pigeon

In my apartment, there is a picture window that looks out on the Glennland Building, a half-block to the east.

There, in late spring, two pigeons built a nest in one of the air-conditioning vents. It has been a pleasure to look out at their progress in this and, finally, at their expeditions to find food for their babies.

Meanwhile, the president, commenting recently on police killings, mentioned the anxiety and tension caused by the 24-hour news cycle.

In fact, some of the reporters claim their work is now reaching the immediacy of real time.

But truly this is not so. All of these machines, starting with the book, give only abstraction and an aid to memory. For me, at least, the “real time” very quietly is watching the pigeons down the block. In that quiet you can then look up, see the sky, find the ground beneath your feet and so have the confidence to act if action is required.

Now the book-internet development offers a kind of very important liberty. It may be a harbinger of the united world as a fulfillment of that liberty. But you must be weaned of it to use it or it might swallow you alive.

So I say real time is not in these fascinating marks on paper or in sounds from cellphones, but in quietly looking out the window and enjoying the pigeons.

They tell me this is true, and asked me to tell you as well.

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)