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Animal Advocacy Pigeons-Catching & De-Stringing!
- Thread starter shyvas
- Start date
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There were 2 pidge patrols both on Friday and Monday. I met 2 young students (sister & brother) from Berlin who were on holiday. They (especially the young lady) wanted to learn how to de-string.
We picked up a multitude of rubbish ties, string, elastic bands, plastic etc off the pavements and around the trees. They were a tad shocked to see how dirty the town is. The weather was very warm and like myself, they weren't keen on the high temperatures.
Sarah learned the techniques and successfully caught and managed to de-string the easy ones. She will join the Grey Angels online workshop to learn all of the techniques. Hopefully, she can join or create a group in Berlin. Her dream is to help and work with birds.
Some interesting conversations, especially with 3 young children. They helped me by placing the string into a paper cup before discarding. They also said that they would tell other children not to chase pigeons.
I also had an argument with a father and granny, who were not pleased that I told their daughters not to chase pidges. Animal abusers never like to be called out!
14 pidges caught and 11 were de-strung. 3 others needed to go to a rehabber and also a vet. We don't have the latter over here so they will end up losing toes/feet.
Sadly, there is very little interest for the group to grow. It's so very different to what we have in many towns in the UK, including Brighton. There is also no real feeling of a community of a group spirit. Hence, I'm doing most of the work, solo.
I keep telling the pidge to fly over to Brighton, where there is so much more help for them.
A total of 63 pidges have been treated/de-strung.
We picked up a multitude of rubbish ties, string, elastic bands, plastic etc off the pavements and around the trees. They were a tad shocked to see how dirty the town is. The weather was very warm and like myself, they weren't keen on the high temperatures.
Sarah learned the techniques and successfully caught and managed to de-string the easy ones. She will join the Grey Angels online workshop to learn all of the techniques. Hopefully, she can join or create a group in Berlin. Her dream is to help and work with birds.
Some interesting conversations, especially with 3 young children. They helped me by placing the string into a paper cup before discarding. They also said that they would tell other children not to chase pigeons.
I also had an argument with a father and granny, who were not pleased that I told their daughters not to chase pidges. Animal abusers never like to be called out!
14 pidges caught and 11 were de-strung. 3 others needed to go to a rehabber and also a vet. We don't have the latter over here so they will end up losing toes/feet.
Sadly, there is very little interest for the group to grow. It's so very different to what we have in many towns in the UK, including Brighton. There is also no real feeling of a community of a group spirit. Hence, I'm doing most of the work, solo.
I keep telling the pidge to fly over to Brighton, where there is so much more help for them.
A total of 63 pidges have been treated/de-strung.
Well done @shyvas
You can't help them all but like the post you shared the other day, it means so much to the ones that you are helping.
You can't help them all but like the post you shared the other day, it means so much to the ones that you are helping.
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Well done @shyvas
You can't help them all but like the post you shared the other day, it means so much to the ones that you are helping.
I know. However, so many of them should be going into rehab and also to the vets. I cannot do all of this alone and the members aren't much help. I'm also comparing to what happens in Brighton. There is such a great network and many people that are eager to help.
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After. It's so rewarding to see what the pidges' feet look like once the string is removed.
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You are doing wonderful things for the pigeons, @shyvas. Well done!
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One of the funny ones, that we took a pic of during yesterday's patrol.
The above one which the de-stringer is holding is a double foot stringfoot tied together. This is considered as an urgent case as they tend not to live long. They cannot walk normally and forage. Moreover, they can be bullied and easily get run over. We found 2 dead pidges yesterday run over by a car.
The strings are once again, human hair plus dustbin ties. You cannot really see how tangled and deeply embedded all of the stuff is until you start to remove it. This pidge must have been in bad pain.
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We did a pidge patrol in the city centre yesterday. I managed to do 12 500 steps. I left home at 10 am and got back by 5pm. There were just 2 of us and we managed to de-string (mainly the other de-stringer) 5 pidges. I usually let the other person do most of the work as she still needs to gain more expertise.
We received one or two words of encouragement from a foreign couple. Happily, we didn't get any nasty comments as per usual from the elderly French women who hate us! However, just as I was trying to catch 1 out of 3 string footed pidges, I saw a male cyclist who was ordering some food from a nearby café, tried to kick a pidge. He merely missed the poor mite by a few millimetres! He was in such a rage, that he would have killed the pidge but happily for some reason he didn't achieve his hateful wish.
The above pic (before & after) was of a pidge in the neighbourhood where there are a lot of afro hair extensions! They obviously got their poor feet tangled up in some discarded hair which was like wire. As we managed to de-string the pidge before the hair had cut into their skin and hence cut off the blood circulation, their toes and feet will be saved. It's really such an easy gesture and technique to learn. I really don't understand why more people don't wish to learn how to do so. If we don't help our wildlife, they are left with a life of misery.
I'm planning to go and visit the hairdresser in this area and try and explain that she has to discard the hair properly. I don't have high hopes, but we'll see.
We also popped into Land & Monkeys where my colleague bought a fabulous sandwich. We also needed the loo as their are no free public toilets in town. Happily, the owner is a sweetheart and he's allowed me to use it even if I don't purchase any food. I also am given a glass of chilled water if need be.
Next Sunday, I'm planning a training session for either one or two newbies. There is so much work to be done and so very few people that are interested to save our pidges.
We have helped a total of 86 pidges.
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Just got back from town where I spent nearly 3 hours trying to catch a double sf/tt since the last few weeks.
I spotted them yesterday but it was impossible to catch them as they are skittish. The flock is also very frightened of humans. So, I decided to go today and waited for 3 hours but it was far too hot and as there was no shade, (too hot) I decided to call it a day. Moreover, the pidge didn't come so I will try next week.
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A brief summary (pix to come) of Sunday's stringfoot session. Translated from French to English, using DeepL, so please do not laugh!
We held a CV pigeon-catching session in Aix for beginners. We had two newcomers from Marseille, plus a member of our group, Nourredine. The participants learnt the techniques and, above all, what not to do – how to catch the pigeons. Everyone managed to catch several… much to the dismay of our little feathered friends! There weren’t many pigeons despite the late hour, so we went to the Cours to find some. We got off to a flying start as there was a double/TT with a ‘ski ’. Sherazade managed to film the destring without me knowing!
Then she was able to do her first de-stringing in Aix with an ‘easy’ case, which is best when you’re learning. They learnt the basics. We also learnt how to hold them. There was some hesitation – ‘how can you do it when you’re on your own’! But that will come bit by bit with practice. Like everything else, it’s by practising that you learn! We walked through the centre towards Place Bellegarde, where there are lots of pigeons, so the group could continue practising catching them.
We found a dead crow (blood in its mouth), so Nourredine placed it under a tree and we covered it a little with foliage. It’s always so sad to see. We stayed for a while in front of the courthouse because there was a group of pigeons there, though they were rather skittish (timid), but we managed to catch one or two. There was one that should have gone to rehabilitation.
They’ve noticed that sometimes pigeons with SF stay well away from the flock! Sometimes you have to wait a long time to catch them. Patience is key!
After the session, I went back to the boules court in Jourdan Park. The moment I put some potatoes down after the seeds, the one we needed to catch (double SF/TT) flew off! It was as if he knew what I was up to! So, yet another hotspot where we need help.
On my return, I received a message from the couple in Marseille telling me they’d picked up a poor pigeon in the middle of the road; cars were running over it! They took it home for the night. After lots of back-and-forth for advice, via WhatsApp with a rescuer in Brighton, myself and Shehrazade, the pigeon spent a peaceful night. She looked after him very well despite having three cats at home! He survived the night! In the morning, she took him to the vets; Kérukera in Aix where he spent another two nights. I’m going to check in on him this morning. He had some company, as another person dropped off a pigeon with an injury to its leg. Fortunately, they’re open every day!
We’ve treated five pigeons, including one with a double/TT. That makes 91 pigeons who are now living with little or no pain and have much prettier feet! There are dozens more that need to be caught and taken to the vet, so if you’re available, please let us know. Thank you all three of you for contributing to our group. I hope this will bear fruit...
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
We held a CV pigeon-catching session in Aix for beginners. We had two newcomers from Marseille, plus a member of our group, Nourredine. The participants learnt the techniques and, above all, what not to do – how to catch the pigeons. Everyone managed to catch several… much to the dismay of our little feathered friends! There weren’t many pigeons despite the late hour, so we went to the Cours to find some. We got off to a flying start as there was a double/TT with a ‘ski ’. Sherazade managed to film the destring without me knowing!
Then she was able to do her first de-stringing in Aix with an ‘easy’ case, which is best when you’re learning. They learnt the basics. We also learnt how to hold them. There was some hesitation – ‘how can you do it when you’re on your own’! But that will come bit by bit with practice. Like everything else, it’s by practising that you learn! We walked through the centre towards Place Bellegarde, where there are lots of pigeons, so the group could continue practising catching them.
We found a dead crow (blood in its mouth), so Nourredine placed it under a tree and we covered it a little with foliage. It’s always so sad to see. We stayed for a while in front of the courthouse because there was a group of pigeons there, though they were rather skittish (timid), but we managed to catch one or two. There was one that should have gone to rehabilitation.
They’ve noticed that sometimes pigeons with SF stay well away from the flock! Sometimes you have to wait a long time to catch them. Patience is key!
After the session, I went back to the boules court in Jourdan Park. The moment I put some potatoes down after the seeds, the one we needed to catch (double SF/TT) flew off! It was as if he knew what I was up to! So, yet another hotspot where we need help.
On my return, I received a message from the couple in Marseille telling me they’d picked up a poor pigeon in the middle of the road; cars were running over it! They took it home for the night. After lots of back-and-forth for advice, via WhatsApp with a rescuer in Brighton, myself and Shehrazade, the pigeon spent a peaceful night. She looked after him very well despite having three cats at home! He survived the night! In the morning, she took him to the vets; Kérukera in Aix where he spent another two nights. I’m going to check in on him this morning. He had some company, as another person dropped off a pigeon with an injury to its leg. Fortunately, they’re open every day!
We’ve treated five pigeons, including one with a double/TT. That makes 91 pigeons who are now living with little or no pain and have much prettier feet! There are dozens more that need to be caught and taken to the vet, so if you’re available, please let us know. Thank you all three of you for contributing to our group. I hope this will bear fruit...
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)