911 Pigeon Alert Group Moderators and Local Pigeon Racers Assist in Rescue.

relofts · 06:32 AM

Well I was asked to tell our latest Rescue to all by Terry, so will try to share with you all, I am not sure that this story can compare to some of the rescues that I have read of Terry's, Yong's, and Julie’s, as well as many other's but it was definitely a fun day.

Last Night December 1, 2005 I received an email from a fellow 911 Pigeon Alert Group Moderator Bruce Lowe regarding a local business that had a problem due to some feral pigeons had gotten into their electrical room and were creating a mess, Bruce went out and investigated the situation and found that sure enough there were pigeons in there but he also noted shells on the floor and squeaking coming from way up in the top of the roof, problem was it was to high up and not sure how to approach the problem due to where the pigeons had chose to make their nests, he advised the business that he would need to check around to see what could be figured out and he would get back to them.

Bruce sent out an email to some fellow rescuers, and 911 Pigeon Alert Group Moderators asking for suggestions as the ceiling was approximately 50 foot high with no real way to get up to the top wondering if we had ideas or suggestions on what he should do in a case like this.

I received the email from Bruce and we decided the best thing to do was to meet at the location (New Adventure Park) this morning at 11:00 am December 2, 2005 and see if we could get a plan. Bruce and I arrived at the location and was greeted by the manager Roger, I was shown around, sure enough the room was like a square silo that had straight up walls with steel beams, the room housed the main frames, electrical boxes, and supplies stored in it with no easy way to get to where the youngsters were at without a lot of climbing which was going to prove to be dangerous due to the height as well as all the electrical wiring running through this building overhead 10 feet up supplying electric to all the rides and video games and such, there were droppings on top of the main electrical units as well as the floor, there were egg shells, and of course the squeaking from the youngsters could be heard so we knew the youngsters were there and they had to be gotten out before the room could be sealed to keep the pigeons out, the parents were flying about 50 feet above our heads knowing that this was the ideal place to live nice and warm from all the units running in this room. We then headed to the roof climbing a ladder about 25 feet up to a midlevel roof that came off the electrical silo building, the ladder led to a small hatch door to climb through, we tried to find a easy way to gain access to the youngsters and this turned out that it wasn't going to happen from that area but we were able to locate one of the openings where the pigeons were gaining access, thank god for cell phones. I called a fellow pigeon Racer who is the President of the West Visalia Racing Pigeon Club - Ron Sanders and he agreed to meet us at 1:00 pm and bring 40 foot ladders to assist in retrieving the youngsters.

December 2, 2005 @ 1:00 pm - Ron Sanders, Frank another fellow pigeon racer and one of Ron's workers showed up with the ladders and took a look around at what we needed to accomplish, again we all decided that the ladders were probably not going to do what we needed them to do because of the height of the ceiling, Ron then figured our next step was his son in-law who was a tree trimmer and also he owned a boom truck which may be needed as we noticed another opening that the birds were entering through on the outside of the tall silo building which was going to be difficult to access due to the height and location. The crew at the New Adventure Park advises us of yet another place that they have seen pigeons coming and going as well and so we head over to check this out and find that it appears the pigeons have also made nests in a over hanging roof that the building contractors did not seal off on the end so it is decided that we would also need to take apart the ends to gain access to this as well when we were done in the other room.

December 2, 2005 @ 2:30 pm - Nick shows up after a call from Ron to tell him we needed him, Nick checks out the situation and he heads home to get his safety climbing gear and Bruce is given a list of Material needed from Home Depot to close off the entrances to the parents.

December 2, 2005 @ 3:00 pm - Nick and Bruce arrive back with all the needed supplies, Nick climbs on top of the electric mains and shimmies up to get his ropes over the one center beam which is still 15 feet from where he needs to be, he then secures himself and climbs up the slanted support beams using his equipment to get to the youngsters which turn out to be at or close to fledging stage, there is full access to them in what looks to be a 36" metal shelf going completely around this silo room (still don't know what the purpose of it is) and the youngsters are old enough to move about running around, Nick is on the move hanging from his safety ropes and he is able to retrieve one while the second youngster takes a short flight to the other side and the parents high tail it out the wide opening we had found which would prove to be more difficult to seal up, Nick lowers the first youngster down in a cloth bag and goes back after the second one which Nick manages to catch at a loss of it's tail but he is safely lowered down to us below and Nick makes a complete circle around the room sliding with his safety harness and having to move it as he goes to stay safely secure, no more youngsters are found and all nests are removed. Now the challenge is to seal up the entrances, the first entrance is not to bad so the material that Bruce went and got (1/4 inch hardware cloth) is cut and sent up by ropes to be placed in the smaller opening, the second opening proves to be much to difficult as it is back a couple of feet and it is running couple of feet long, it is then decided that it is not going to be able to be sealed from the inside and we figured that it was going to take the boom truck which would have to be brought back the next day and we knew then we would have a problem with the parents getting back into the room. Nick then goes up through the port hole to the midlevel roof that runs off the silo building, he jumps up 5 feet to a tri level roof which is very steep and checks out the situation, Nick then decides he can propel over the roof top down to the open and seal it up, he needs someone on top to hold the ropes in case he slips due to the steep pitch on the roof, equipment is taken up, hardware cloth, cordless screwdrivers and such, Nick slides down into place with the maintenance guy holding the rope to keep him from falling some 50 plus feet to the ground, the hardware cloth is put in place and all birds in that section are moved out and youngsters are safe in the care of Bruce.

December 2, 2005 @ 5:00 pm - We now must tackle the problem of this overhanging roof that the pigeons have made their way in, which turns out that when you try to go in it must be taken apart, it was sheet metal and trim so all the screws were coming off to gain access, feathers and droppings were going every place as the end trim was being removed, first thing we find is the nest with 2 small youngsters in it about 15 days or so old, both are well fed and very health, we also see 4 more head further away from the opening, the 2 youngsters are removed and placed in a carrier Bruce had, the remaining front trim is removed (10 inches approximately wide) and we see one bird leaves through the entrance which we figure to be the father, the other 3 stay behind, after following the birds through this 25 foot roof the guys are able to get one of the others out with a net and hand it down, then onto the next and they hand it down, the 2 appear to be older youngsters beyond fledging stage and they are released to go with the father, the final pigeon is still in there which we figure was the mom, after multiple tries Bruce finally is able to contain her and she is placed in the carrier with her 2 youngsters which you can tell are hers due to the markings from feeding on her beak, the maintenance crew is advised on cleaning the mess up, and put up the hardware cloth immediately to keep the 2 older fledged youngsters and the father from going back in as they were just above on the
roof top waiting for their chance to re-enter, everyone loaded their gear, Bruce loaded 4 youngsters and one momma pigeon up and we were out of there @ 6:15 PM, everyone was happy the youngsters were safe, the parents were able to be gotten out without harming them by anyone with us over seeing the project, and the entries were sealed to stop future problems.

The maintenance crew will be checking for other openings around the Adventure Park and making sure that there will be no more problems, well I guess that wraps up the story and Bruce took pictures so we will post those very soon for you all to see.

Ellen

relofts · 01:03 PM

Thanks Bruce for having your camera there to take pictures.

Ellen

The site has went down that I put the pictures on, if you can not view them in this post please see below.

relofts · 12:58 PM

More Pictures.

The site has went down that I put the pictures on, if you can not view them in this post please see below.

relofts · 12:58 PM

Last Pictures.

The site has went down that I put the pictures on, if you can not view them in this post please see below.

Sorry it is a little long, but figured it might be easier to get the entire story.

I want to put out a huge thank you to Bruce and Michelle for caring for these youngsters and for being there to take the call when needed, also a thanks to all that helped us in this rescue to get the pigeons out of the building before the land owners got upset, The Adventure Park was extremely kind and considerate about these little ones and they were willing to work with Bruce how ever they could to keep harm from coming to the little youngsters.

Ellen

Reti · Posted 5th December 2005, 02:18 AM

OMG, what a rescue.
I can thank you, Bruce and the whole team enough.
You all did an awsome job.

Reti

Skyeking · 11:32 AM

What a tremendous job done! I commend everyone involved for their time and efforts in procuring the safety of these feral families!

I'm glad that there were no teeny tiny newborns, as that would have made things more difficult for all.

The pictures are really great, and the babies and mommy look relieved and happy.

Thank you all so much for your time and talent, and also for sharing Ellen! It is amazing what can be achieved when a lot of talented people come together for a greater purpose.

Pigeonpal2002 · Posted 5th December 2005, 04:55 AM

Hi Ellen,

Great rescue story indeed! That is pretty darn daring, brave and I think ranks up there with all the other great stories we hear

I could never have gone up that high myself because heights terrify me. Especially climbing ladders and being tethered to things...that would have given me a heart attack

LOL

Congratulations to all of you on this wonderful and incredible team work to save these pigeons

Feefo · Posted 5th December 2005, 05:35 AM

I couldn't access the photos (I am at work so hopefully will be able to see them at home). Sounds like you achieved a "mission impossible" there! I was dizzy just reading it.

Cynthia

feralpigeon · Posted 5th December 2005, 06:34 AM

Ellen, that's an amazing rescue story from start to end. From the Adventure Park not wanting any harm to come to the parent pigeons and their babies, to all the networking you did to ensure that outcome, and all the folks who jumped in to help, each with their specialty skills that combined, ensured the safe retrieval of the pigeons and successful future release as well. Many thanks to all of you for your volunteer time and proud we can be at PT that you and Bruce, two of our moderators were involved in that hair raising rescue.

Bless each and everyone one of you for your extraordinary efforts, the tree trimmer for his expertice, and the Park employees for the choices they made in bringing you all there.

fp

bklowe · Posted 5th December 2005, 09:26 AM

Thank you Ellen for posting the pictures and the story. Mine was really a minor role as Ellen had the creative approach and would settle for nothing short of rescueing all the birds we possibly could. You also knew the people that without whose help this rescue would have been impossible.
So Ellen thank you so much for your help and all you have taught me about pigeons .... and your friendship.