first casualty of recent local action?

since being blessed by balcony pigeons i have gone from being an appreciative viewer to a compulsive watcher of the feral flock that roosts opposite our flat...and even moreso since the babies fledged

in case you didn't see the other threads here are some early pics
pretty pied pij & icicles
white pij & icicles

this was taken just a few days after the balcony pijies made their nest


but then i saw things change
recent view of roof with modifications

i found a pair of binoculars in the cupboard & whenever i'm a home have been watching the lovely pijs going about their day
the babies have been over there - a racing pigeon has joined the flock - pijs sunbathe, preen and flirt
but another thing has been revealed to me, behind that mesh i have seen at least 4 pijies wander along and disappear again - 2 blue chequer, 1 pied, 1 red
i was hoping they were just chatting to the flock when i saw them there, hoping that there was another way in/out of the roof
but today i saw 1 of the blue chequers dead, stuck behind the mesh
my heart sank

rip blue pij

rattyfied wrote:

since being blessed by balcony pigeons i have gone from being an appreciative viewer to a compulsive watcher of the feral flock that roosts opposite our flat...and even moreso since the babies fledged

in case you didn't see the other threads here are some early pics
pretty pied pij & icicles
white pij & icicles

this was taken just a few days after the balcony pijies made their nest


but then i saw things change
recent view of roof with modifications

i found a pair of binoculars in the cupboard & whenever i'm a home have been watching the lovely pijs going about their day
the babies have been over there - a racing pigeon has joined the flock - pijs sunbathe, preen and flirt
but another thing has been revealed to me, behind that mesh i have seen at least 4 pijies wander along and disappear again - 2 blue chequer, 1 pied, 1 red
i was hoping they were just chatting to the flock when i saw them there, hoping that there was another way in/out of the roof
but today i saw 1 of the blue chequers dead, stuck behind the mesh
my heart sank
rip blue pij

You must call someone to free the remaining birds before they perish too. We go though similar here in the states when freeway over passes are screend up leaving Pigeons to die trapped. As I am unfamiliar with animal organizations in the UK, I don't know how to direct you. I am going to send you Cynthia's phone number via Pirvate message and she probably will have osme ideas.
This makes me heart sick.

I'm sorry about the mesh mess, and hope there is someway that you can get
some help for the birds.

Poor pigeon! Hope you are able to help the ones that are still trapped. Cynthia will know how to proceed in the UK.
Are the owners of that house approachable? They must have put the net up to keep pigeons away, so surely they won't want dead pigeons attached to their roof! That would be the quickest way to free them and to get the net fixed so others don't get caught. Failing that, the Environmental Health Dept. at the town hall should be able to intervene, as exposed animal corpses are a matter of public health.
I hate to put things in such a cold, harsh way, but it's the only kind of talk those people will listen to. People who put up pigeon nets won't talk to pigeon lovers, but they will listen to someone who appears to have her neighbours' best interests at heart. Deception? Perhaps. But isn't that what most diplomacy is?

I am so sorry to read of this happening, yet again.
It's heart wrenching and angers me to the core .

I will be thinking positive thoughts that you are able to get some back up to help with the situation before any more pigeons get caught up in the mesh.

Please do keep us posted on how things go.

Sending you a BIG .

This is from the Liberation magazine, the advice might help but I also thought the wording of the letter can be used with a few changes if necessary. The Wildlife Crime Unit gives priority to major crime like smuggling of threatened species , but even if they don't take immediate action they can offfer advice:

Every year thousands of bridges and many other structures are pigeon proofed with netting resulting in pigeons becoming trapped and dying behind the netting. It has been brought to our attention that the Wildlife Crime Unit at New Scotland Yard will now respond to concerns raised by the general public where pigeons (and any other birds) have become trapped behind netting.

Previously we have been dependant on the RSPCA who will do little or nothing to assist with this type of offence - and allowing birds to become trapped behind netting 'is' an offence.

In a letter to Hackney Council, following a complaint by a member of the public about pigeons trapped in netting under 3 bridges in Hackney, Andy Fisher (Wildlife Liaison Officers with WCU) wrote to Hackney Council instructing the council to remove and/or replace the netting under the offending bridges. He also said: " As you may know, birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which generally makes it an offence to kill or injure a wild bird. It would be an offence to set in position an article so placed as to cause bodily injury to a wild bird. I understand that it was not Hackney's intention at the time that the netting was erected, but it seems that the result is the same (birds being killed). It is also an offence under the 1911 Cruelty to Animals Act to cause unnecessary suffering to an animal."

This is an extraordinary intervention by the WCU and sets a precedent. For the countless millions of pigeons that die of starvation each year, having been trapped behind badly netted structures, this is a lifeline. If a member of the public now sees a trapped pigeon behind netting under a bridge, on a railway station, on a shop or on any other structure the first call must be to the WCU and not the RSPCA, who will do nothing.

Please also remember that the Fire Service will also respond to calls for assistance to remove trapped birds although they generally need the OK from the RSPCA - they will sometimes act on advice from PICAS. Be aware that this applies UK-wide and not just in London. Please save these contact details for future reference and please circulate:
Wildlife Crime Unit
Room 233
New Scotland Yard
London
SW1H 0BG
Tel: 0207 230 3641
Fax: 0207 230 4020
Email: wildlife.metpol@gtnet.gov.uk

Thank you Cynthia. I hope she gets this information in time to save the Pigeons that are trapped.

thanks everyone for your support in this
and Cynthia for the useful advice

I have been walking the dogs and thinking.

Some years ago there were pigeons (and other birds) caught behind netting on a balcony in in Toronto, the owner of the balcony deliberately left them to die. The members on the spot were unable to do anything so Myriam (who was in Belgium at the time) and I called the Toronto Humane Society. We struck it luckily as the officer that picked up the information was prepared to go out of his way to find exactly where the pigeons were, visited the flat owner, released the surviving pigeons and issued a warning.

If this comes to a point where the RSPCA is needed, maybe members from other countries could call them, make it clear that they are calling from abroad. That might make them see that it is more than a local issue involving what they regard as an unimportant species.

thanks again
anything i can have for contingency is good

there are 4 houses under the flock's roof; i don't know who is in the house with the blocked up loft
but i do have a nodding aquaintence with a lady in 1 of the other houses
i saw her and her next-door neighbour talking to the chaps who cleared the guttering

Teresa wrote:

People who put up pigeon nets won't talk to pigeon lovers, but they will listen to someone who appears to have her neighbours' best interests at heart. Deception? Perhaps. But isn't that what most diplomacy is?

plan is i will try to talk to her...maybe see if she knows the other people well enough to mention it
angle will be "did you know there's a dead pigeon stuck behind the mesh, i have seen some others go into the loft
perhaps they might be stuck in there...wouldn't be very nice for you if they die in your loft...you could have your home infested by bluebottles carrying goodness knows what"
i hate to think the pigeons dying, but maybe even a mention of maggoty corpses ...all said with the most sensitivity

If you want to give me her phone number...I will give her a call . This needs to be done soon before others die. Really...I'm happy to do this and I will be very diplimatic because I know it does no good to provoke anger. She really may not know.
My worry is that there are babies behind the mesh. I wouldn't think she would want babies to die and maybe would be happy if she knew the trapped birds could go to a rescue sanctuary.

thanks...i will call on the lady i recognise tomorrow, if i knew her any better than just smiling as i pass her in the car i would have sounded out the situation days ago - really the nodding aquaintancy is just that

Quote :

My worry is that there are babies behind the mesh. I wouldn't think she would want babies to die and maybe would be happy if she knew the trapped birds could go to a rescue sanctuary

me too, few people realise pigeons nest round the year - friends who saw "my" babies said "isn't it late?"
i know nothing of the people with the blocked up loft, but this lady has 2 young children and there is a family dog
they have only cleared the gutter so maybe they are less hostile to the pigeons

My heart dropped when I read the title of this post and I'm afraid I nearly chickened out of reading it as I could guess what you'd found. When you said on one of your other posts you'd seen pigeons getting behind the wiring, I thought that might be the eventual outcome.

I wish my memory was better but I'm trying to remember a conversation I had with my local RSPCA inspector in August after I'd reported that there might be pigeons trapped inside a building my local flock live in. It had suddenly been boarded up and I knew there was a chance there might be birds inside.
While trying to track down a contact from the security company to gain access I was advised by PICAS to call the RSPCA aswell.

I sorted it out myself but in the meantime the inspector called me and she was actually very helpful. If I remember correctly she said it was illegal to knowingly leave birds trapped, whatever bird.
She said when I went into the building, if there was even one bird trapped inside and others had the means of accessing the building through any gap, then they had to leave an opening large enough for it to escape. I know it was definitely illegal to knowingly trap any bird. She gave me her name and ID number to quote to the security man who let me in to check, so that if he refused to provide an exit hole for them I could insist, saying I was acting with the RSPCA's authorisation. If they still refused I could report them. So it maybe worth a call to see if they will back you up if the neighbour won't comply.
I realise your problem is wire mesh as opposed to a building, but the same must surely apply, they can't knowingly leave the mesh in place if there is a way for the birds to get behind and thus trapped.

Please let us know if we can help any further, it's a terrible situation for you to have to watch if more get trapped and die as a result.

Janet

Unfortunately PICAS said it is sometimes the case of being lucky with your local inspector, and mine was very sympathetic.

jamy wrote:

My heart dropped when I read the title of this post and I'm afraid I nearly chickened out of reading it as I could guess what you'd found. When you said on one of your other posts you'd seen pigeons getting behind the wiring, I thought that might be the eventual outcome.

I wish my memory was better but I'm trying to remember a conversation I had with my local RSPCA inspector in August after I'd reported that there might be pigeons trapped inside a building my local flock live in. It had suddenly been boarded up and I knew there was a chance there might be birds inside.
While trying to track down a contact from the security company to gain access I was advised by PICAS to call the RSPCA aswell.

I sorted it out myself but in the meantime the inspector called me and she was actually very helpful. If I remember correctly she said it was illegal to knowingly leave birds trapped, whatever bird.She said when I went into the building, if there was even one bird trapped inside and others had the means of accessing the building through any gap, then they had to leave an opening large enough for it to escape. I know it was definitely illegal to knowingly trap any bird. She gave me her name and ID number to quote to the security man who let me in to check, so that if he refused to provide an exit hole for them I could insist, saying I was acting with the RSPCA's authorisation. If they still refused I could report them. So it maybe worth a call to see if they will back you up if the neighbour won't comply.
I realise your problem is wire mesh as opposed to a building, but the same must surely apply, they can't knowingly leave the mesh in place if there is a way for the birds to get behind and thus trapped.

Please let us know if we can help any further, it's a terrible situation for you to have to watch if more get trapped and die as a result.

Janet

Unfortunately PICAS said it is sometimes the case of being lucky with your local inspector, and mine was very sympathetic.

Great advice!
And here is a contact for PICAS: enquiries@picas.org

what i did today

plan a: tried to speak to the lady who i know on sight; but the house has no doorbell, i knock on the door itself but it wasn't very loud & they live upstairs

plan b: i go next door - the roof of this house is the one with the dead pigeon
an older lady (and her dog) answer (great - i make a big fuss of the dog whilst introducing myself)

in hushed tones i mention the pigeon

so we have a nice chat, which i'll try to sum up:

she is concerned - this action has been a big thing for these people, the "d" word pops into the conversation; i am playing the sympathetic card so do not enter into an argument about pigeons and disease but make good use of it; the live birds flying around weren't the problem for her...she says it was the dead ones falling onto her balcony and in the garden - of course she doesn't want dead pigeons stuck on the roof and in the roof space, i agree - "yes the last thing you want is corpses and (hushhh)maggots up there and flies coming into your house"

seems she didn't like the idea of any birds, live or dead, being stuck - when the mesh went up a one way exit was fitted
but now she has the seed of doubt so she is looking for reassurance it worked

she told me she is going to speak to her next door neighbour (the one i have never seen) about it
and really did seem grateful i'd told her

thought maybe when i go out later i could pop a card through her door with my phone number - just in case she needs any more info?

I understand how difficult it is when you are dealing with your neighbors...folks you see on a daily basis. You feel like you are walking on egg shells. It's a difficult situation to be in.

The thing is, time is running out should anymore Pigeons be trapped. Can you see anymore from where you are?

Matilda wrote:

I understand how difficult it is when you are dealing with your neighbors...folks you see on a daily basis. You feel like you are walking on egg shells. It's a difficult situation to be in.

The thing is, time is running out should anymore Pigeons be trapped. Can you see anymore from where you are?

it's unfortunate that neighbours round here see very little of each other - if these were people i did see i would have asked what was going on earlier *sigh*

but having spoken to this lady and knowing that an exit was provided, plus having watched these roofs for years i am thinking that the crow got the blue pigeon (it had been pecked) - i have seen the crow grab pigeons as they try to enter the roof, this was before the mesh was there

when the dead pigeon appeared it had been a few days since other pigeons had walked along the mesh
and i have seen none since

It's odd...because usually, pest control companies don't leave an exit...at least not here.

Thank you for all you have done.

Matilda wrote:

It's odd...because usually, pest control companies don't leave an exit...at least not here.

Thank you for all you have done.

i have a possible answer, it's something my husband mentioned ages ago but i had forgotten about; these buildings used to have flat roofs, then for whatever reason they built pitched roofs on top...so what is between is not a traditional attic/loft

theory:
so maybe there is no access from the houses
the residents don't want pigeons in the space between the roofs, they won't want rotting pigeons up there either - so when the mesh is installed an exit is provided...the lady said it lets them out but not in again

she actually said to me it had been a problem for years...since they built on the flat roofs
...had they had normal attics i guess they could have cleared their own lofts and tried to block them from the inside ages ago???

Well done, Rattyfied, what a negotiator!
Your direct action has paid off -- you managed to get the information about the exit , and established dialogue with your neighbour (which may yet be extremely valuable for the welfare of other pigeons).
I'm so relieved that there aren't any other pigeons trapped there!