Jul 8, 2011

35 Stop Feeding The Pigeons!–Part 1

I wish people would not feed the pigeons. There seem to be a belief (by the perpetrators) that feeding pigeons is a good thing; it is not! In fact nothing could be further from the truth. Please do not misunderstand me. I do not hate animals, in fact I admire them. I grew up with them all around me and I don’t think anyone should be allowed to deliberately harm them however my admiration for animals is from a distance.

While I think cats are cute, birds are fun to look at and dogs are adorable I don’t want them in my bed, in my house or sharing the same space with me. Now this can be attributed to a number of things one being culture and the way “we” dealt with pets. First they had their own space, to be more accurate they had their own houses which we built for them that was cleaned daily, they were well fed and loved, we played with them, they also had their own dishes which was also cleaned and maintained daily.

My paternal grandmother had about six dogs, two cats if memory serves and chickens while at my maternal grandfather’s he had lots of chickens-hens, rosters etc and my uncle had a dog, a monkey and a parrot. We played with them, walked them but when it was time to retire for the night they all went to their houses as we did ours. Dogs to their dog house, cats to their house, birds to their place wherever that maybe (for those who had them as pets-in cages), chickens to the trees. Yes I did say trees, that is where they slept up in the tree, for us it was the lime tree. Not to mention the myriad of iguanas, cameliyans, house lizards, snails, snakes, bull frogs-nasty suckers and a host of others that were the natural part of our habitat. So this thing about having animals, birds, cats, dogs sleeping in one’s bed and eating out of one’s plate is a bit grotesque to me.  The idea of animal slobber mixed in with my food is not a comforting one, frankly it is off putting.

My aversion is further exacerbated by the constant irritation of pigeons invading my space-my balcony. I have not been able to enjoy my balcony for the past four years. This is due in part to people who feed the blasted pigeons so they no longer leave. I mean, why would they, its free food so instead of hunting and doing what comes naturally they hang around becoming the urban feathered bums, the willing vagrants and scavengers. They are a pest, I have to be constantly cleaning not to mention shooing like a mad woman when I am sitting in my living room attempting to enjoy a movie or the company of friends. Imagine sitting having a civil conversation and then you hear an outburst of (me of course)‘shoooo! Go away!, move!…oh sorry, pigeon (me apologizing for my random outburst)’.

There’s always pigeon shit everywhere, I clean today and tomorrow without fail there is shit again, the black and white stinkers. I mean who wants to play dodge the pigeon shit every time you want to go out on the balcony…hmmmm? A little shit here, a little shit there, here a shit, there a shit, everywhere a shit shit. Damn, anyone with a lick a sense knows that pigeon filth is filled with uric acid and highly corrosive with bacteria, fungal agents and ectoparasites that are responsible for diseases like encephalitis, salmonella, meningitis, just to name a few.

This cleaning pigeon shit really pisses me off and yesterday was no exception. I was cleaning because things were a bit messy from all the show and storms. I picked up an empty (what I thought was empty) green garbage bin and to my surprise pigeons came flying out. Imagine my shock, the garbage bin went flying one way and I the other. humpty dumptyIt happened so fast I didn’t know I was falling till i was falling and my left arm, elbow and hand scrapped against the concrete wall beside the sliding glass door and I landed with a thud twisting my wrist and slamming my derriere (butt) . The fall knocked the wind out of me. I couldn’t move for a bit. I called my daughter for help but of course she could not hear me over her music blasting in her room. I sat for a bit till I could figured out a way to get up since my hands were hurting especially my left. I couldn’t move the wrist for a while. I finally manage to drag my pitiful ass off the concrete floor and went inside, thankful that I was on the side closer to my living room than the seven foot drop on the other side. I simply sat to collect myself and massage my hand, it was bruised.

Now in addition to having some lovely red welts down my whole arm and being very very soar and hurting, I have to look into possibility of investing hundreds to get rid of the pigeons by purchasing either Plastic Bird Spikes – Stainless Bird Spikes – Gutter Spike – Bird Spider – Bird Slope – Solar Bird Repeller – Bird Netting – BirdBGone Diverter – Bird Chase Ultrasonic – Bird Chase Sonic – Goose Sonic – Goose Repellent – Coyote Decoys – Bird Gel – Spray Repellant – Scarecrow – Mini ScareCrow or Bird Motels Traps if I want to my balcony.

That is so messed up, I got to cage myself to enjoy myself. I mean damn what other alternative is there? When I am at home my time is taken up shooing pigeons off the balcony and during the time I am not at home I know they are having a ball because I can see sticks and little branches where they were preparing to nest down in my absence. Hey if they were helping me pay my rent, go halves on the grocery, cable and utility bills perhaps then I may consider them taking up residence on my balcony but that's not likely to happen and it’s no fun playing jump the poop when I want to go out on the balcony to take in the sun and breeze and just relax. And sitting among shit is not a solution either.

So if you ever get the urge to feed the birds, i.e. pigeons, please don’t! There are consequences to doing so, you may not see it but there is. Damn my whole hand hurts…blasted pigeons! Stop feeding the pigeons people! You know who you are..stop it! Stop it now!

35 comments:

  1. what i think .. stop feeding the pigeons is not a solution of your problem ..that will not make them to go away from our society and free us from shooing them all the time and from cleaning their shits..you can try pigeon control and pigeon deterrent spike for to get rid of this problem…..just like the others..http://www.usabirdcontrol.com/

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  2. Ya know,

    I had never thought of pigeons in this term instead of the fact they always seem to bomb my clean car after I finished washing it. On the other hand, around G-Town, we have problems with geese and ducks. One has to stop to allow the feathered few to cross the roadway. (This is respect to nature and its inhabitants)

    last week, the husband and I watched some "funny moments on television" in which a reporter was either knee deep in turkeys or madly chased by a frantic goose.

    After years of eating foul, they are revolting!

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  3. This is awefull, we only feed the little birds, like chickadees and nuthatches.

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  4. I’ve never liked Pigeon poop. As a matter of fact I have never really cared for pigeons as a bird favorite.
    Around here we are fortunate to only have Cardinals, Bluebirds, Morning Doves, Chickadees, Finches, to name a few.
    Looks like you are going to spend a few bucks to cage yourself from the pesky inner city birds.
    I did see Andrew Zimmern get pooped on by a pigeon in London, England. Later that day he ate a pigeon on "Bizarre Foods."

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  5. hey Fab, your hand’s almost healed, i hope ! gotta try to flex it now and again, ya. sending positive, healing vibes :))) dawn.

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  6. LOL, oh my gosh, I’m not laughing about the fall eh, it’s just the humor in the writing. I truly feel your pain, because I recently had the fight for my balcony also, but not with pigeons, with RACCOONS!! But I solved that problem after two nights.

    I see you done quite an extensive search on ways to get rid of these pesky pigeons. Sounds like you will be spending some money too.

    Well yuh is ah real trini if yuh know bout the fowls in trees and shooing them birds away! Leh meh tell dem pigeons fuh yuh as meh granny use to say "mash, mash, get out ah here"!

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  7. Oluyinka BabatundeJuly 8, 2011 at 6:16 PM

    Rhapsody
    I was laughing my black ass off when i started reading this piece on your blog and believe me that it was the first laugh for me in some 2-3days; i called my friend to come and read too as it was getting funny but the laughter stopped when i got to the part where you fell off. I got so worried and i understood clearly why you referred me to this page but truth is, i expected ou to give me a hint of what happened when you mailed me.
    So,how is your left arm dearie? Trust it is healing, albeit, slowly.
    Over here in Nigeria, most people hardly have time for birds, not to even mention feeding them and the econimic situation is worst to the extent that some people have unleashed their dogs(Alsatians,German Shepherds etc) and allowed the beasts in their crazy untrained character to roam the streets. Although some still looked at birds with pitiful attitude, i know a phrase in the Bible that clearly told us(human beings) to stop worrying about what we will eat as the birds in the air do feed and are well taken care of by God….and i wonder why people want to do God’s work.
    I’m so sorry for them though but i think their action might be due to the following selfish unjustifiable, uncalled-for reasons:
    1). To show other people that they are kind(kindness to animals is never a parameter to being kind)
    2). To show some poeple that they are friendly to the birds
    3). To while away precious time by feeding the birds who know where they can get their food without any human assistance.

    And like your friend Diane said, human beings should feed themselves first; not only with food but spiritually, morally and in other vital spheres of life.

    I have a small bird too but safely locked in a cage and i’m on the lookout for a parrot as it is widely reputed to be smart and friendly but that doesnt mean i should go out of my way to get one though or start feeding other birds to attract one.

    I trust you’ll be able to deal with the situation to warrant a permanent solution to same as I sincerely wish you the best soonest recovery Rhapsody…

    Have a Colourful weekend dear.

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  8. Not only do we need to stop feeding the pesty little terdy critter’s, however, ppl need to realize that pigeon’s are scavengers and will eat almost anything that is discarded onto the ground! So the next time you feel the urge to throw out that remaining Mc D’s hamburger onto the ground or dump your remaining shake out or other food item’s to include gum, candy and the like….there is going to be a pigeon somewhere in the lurking and believe me the gaseous little things are gonna find somewhere to drop their pent up filling’s. Oh, by the way….not only do pigeon’s shit a lot….they produce an unhealthy amount of carbon monoxide in their farts as well!

    Be blessed my friend!

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  9. I’m with you on the pigeons.

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  10. AWWW…..I actually feel terrible about having dogs kept outside. Feeding pigeons isn’t an option and they scare me anyway…Ducks however are cool until they get too close.

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  11. Hi… just stopping in to see this post and it made me smile!I love animals but when it comes to birds… ugh!At my work – we have a natural habitat for Canadian Geese – they return year after year to nest, have ducklings, grow up all in time to fly South again. The problem is that they shit EVERYWHERE and it’s just plain nasty. To try to get the company, who lets these beautiful maginificent birds nest, to clean up the shit – is impossible. It’s incredibly unhygenic. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t mind the birds. I just hate the shit.Thanks for the giggle! You came by my space on WordPress a while ago and left a very nice compliment. I’ve been out of the blogging community for so long … just thought I would come on by to say hello and check your space out. I like it. I’ll be back.Ciao!KC http://itsjustmeagain.wordpress.com

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  12. (lol) you are so candid is why is whyi totally adore you :)))take caredawn

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  13. Fabz,

    hey girl! your entry here is the 1st one i’ve read this afternoon that makes me want 2 leave more than just a 1 or 2-sentence comment, albeit heartfelt ones 4 sure–

    do i know anything about the downside of bird feeding in public? oh yes, indeedy-do!

    Toss an airborne seagull a morsel and in seconds a swarm of seagulls will envelop you and unless you’re very lucky 1 of ‘em will poop on you

    and pigeons are darn near as bad–until the late 1980′s (I think), tourists made a point of feeding pigeons at Jackson Square in New Orleans–made the grounds in front of the picturesque cathedral there un-picturesque when viewed close-up in person–i saw Jackson Square quite a few times in those days…

    UNTIL a certain tv meteorologist, Willard Scott, initiated a crusade to thwart pigeon-feeding at this should-be lovely urban spot–he envisioned how much nicer Jackson Square would be to see w/o pigeon poop on everything there—-SOOOOO once feeding pigeons stopped there thqanks to motivation by Willard Scott, the walkways and statues AND tourists at Jackson Square became poop-free and as nice to experience as one envisions after seeing a photograph of Jackson Square.

    hope all’s well as can possibly be for you and yours,

    love ya,

    Richard

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  14. yo Fab.i do miss you! thank you for the alternative angle of thought. it is very good. much appreciated :) p.S:back later to read about the saga of them, pigeons :p stay Fabulicious, sis

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  15. So sorry you got hurt. At least you didn’t fall off the balcony. Hope you feel better soon.

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  16. Aerial rats. What a nuisance. I hope your wrist heals quickly and I’m sure glad you didn’t fall off the balcony. We can certainly count that as a blessing and still curse the birds!
    j

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  17. wow.. It seems to me we are the ones invading natures space. Birds only know what they know
    Here in my apartment building we have rules.. and do NOT feed the birds. I still get the odd visitor
    but don’t have food. Perhaps you could put up screens to keep them off your balcony, and suggest a ruling that no one feeds them in your building. I have morning doves that visit me.. I love their songs and don’t mind cleaning up after them. Then again my dog sleeps on my bed :) It is my pleasure and life seems too short not to enjoy or to be angry at birds.
    Hope your wrist gets better
    BE Well
    Barb

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  18. Dear Fabulicious,
    Sorry to hear about your falling, I hope your left arm is doing good now.I havent seen people feeding birds here in Quito,,the birds fly in the sky and they reside in their natural habits.
    I also think that human beings should try to feed themselves first, their body, mind, and spirit, they care so much about the animals, i am sure those animals are much better then us. God created each one of us with a natural instinct of feeding.

    Hugs,
    Diane.

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  19. My neighbor feeds the pigeons, bulbuls, doves, sparrows, finches, mynahs, etc. That's probably why those birds think they can have dessert off of our papaya tree. It's driving us crazy! Stop already! Those birds are also pooping off our roof and walking all over our solar panels, etc. Arrrghhhh!

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  20. Oh me, oh my. I laughed way too hard at this lol. I don't feed any stray animal (big or small) because then they keep coming back...even if you only feed them once.

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  21. Sorry about your falling experience, it must have been really frustrating. We don't have such experiences here in Lagos

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  22. Hi Rhapsody,
    I totally feel for you in your fight to get rid of the pigeons.
    We have 2 people in the building that feed pigeons.
    Plastic sspikes and netting should do it and a bunch of plastic winmills or streamers on sticks that worry the birds.
    Love,
    Herrad

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  23. I too love animals and birds, however having been the recipient of bird kaka in my hair while taking leisurely walk, I too like to admire them from a distance.
    Great post Fab!

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  24. Sorry ma'am about your injuries, hope you are feeling much better....i understand your anger, the cleaning up is the most irritating when one has so much to do...no we don't have pigeons in Nigeria, they would had ended up as roasted meat, hence they dare not come to Lasgidi! {i joke} :D

    I don't like animals..esp cats...cleaning up after dogs is not funny..they poo a lot! What about the ticks??...my hubby bought a puppy home which stayed in the balcony for 2 days before we gave it out to my parents, can you believe a month later i saw lice on the balcony wall???..what if it had gotten into the bedroom..or wardrobe???...so i really don't understand the so-called love when one kisses their pets..ewwww..there ought to be a limit or line drawn!

    Well, invest in any device you think would give you peace of mind & rid of them..take care & goodluck.

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  25. Oh. That is a great post. Sorry you got hurt but I was picturing it all and couldn't help but giggle.

    Tiff

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  26. I don't like animals. I dislike cats a lot! I think they look evil and such. Lol. I'm scared of dogs. But, I do think puppies are cute and adorable. I think I wanna own a puppy one day (one that would remain small). Lol. But,I'm not sure if that would happen now.

    Animals are God's gift to Man. We should admire them and take care of them...if that's our passion. But, I don't think they should be treated as humans. I'm not saying that we should maltreat them, but, we should give them their own space and such.

    http://foreversweetlybroken.blogspot.com/

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  27. Sorry you got hurt, but I hope you forgive me for smiling at your description of the accident. I think a way to prevent future occurrences is to buy the deterrent you mentioned. At this stage, I think we've gone beyond just not feeding the pigeons.

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  28. Sorry!!! even though i laughed (just a little :D)

    Adiya
    http://museorigins.blogspot.com (formally the corner shop- had to change my url X_x)
    http://museorigins.com

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  29. 'Round these here parts we refer to pigeons as flying rats. I do have to say they are resiliant critters. There are so many of them everywhere but I too do not appreciate the gifts they leave from there little feathered colons.

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  30. Oh you do have a problem there, that sounds awful...I didn't know they could be such pests.
    I live way out in the boonies...it's raccoons and deer that can be a problem.
    My Father never let animals inside either, much like your Grandma. My dog Kady is my companion and protection. Although she likes to be outside most of the day, I couldn't leave her outside at night there are Mountain Lions and Bears.
    smiles,
    Raven

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  31. ♫ *´”)
    ¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨) ♫ ♪
    (¸.•´ (¸.• ♫ ♪ Uhhhh, I have no ideas and I can hardly find the words to write other than my gosh! What you are experiencing sounds like my version of hell. After all, pigeons carry mycotic, (airborne) diseases. They carry bacterial, and protozoan diseases, worms which live in their feces they have fleas w... etc. In short, they are living biological warfare vectors. Darn poop flyers!!! I totally share your dislike for their un announced visits. Seriously, talk about home invasion!

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  32. ♫ *´”)
    ¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨) ♫ ♪
    (¸.•´ (¸.• ♫ ♪ Oh my! Oh my... I am so sorry to hear about your nasty fall (and here I thought that you would be falling for me some day). You are very lucky, as you certainly could have been hurt even more.
    I am sending you some extra special 'healing vibes' your way in hope that you'll recover quickly. :(

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  33. Completely agree with you about the Pigeons!! There are lots of them in our neighbour's balconies and they seem to be flying around everywhere. Thankfully there are enough trees where we live so we have a more diverse bird diversity that keeps pigeons at bay. But seriously, pigeons are a menace in urban areas as there are not enough natural predators to keep their population from growing. Multiplication of any one species is not right for the eco system ..

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  34. This is true that animals and birds are also living things that is god's creature but when they spoil home and other things then it hurt us but one should not give them poison and all since they have also a right to live.One can use other methods that can keep them away

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  35. Regularly cleaning the place where the pigeons are prone to settle is a very natural way to keep pigeons away. Pigeons often frequent a place because people feed them. The birds return to the place where they get easy food. So, if you stop feeding the pigeons, they would get discouraged to return to same place

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