Yes, it is not my imagination but there is definitely a larger more aggressive population of pigeons residing on the beach. In the last 8 years that I've been feeding pigeons the population has remained stable. I thought about where they "new' pigeons came from and I do believe my hypothesis is correct that they came from Hampton beach. I remember reading in the Hampton paper that there was a "pigeon problem". So a ban on feeding them was in order not to mention netting and other roosting deterrents.
I've noticed more piles of poop now as well and I worry somebody will decide to do "something about the pigeons" here. Retahhded guy still sics his dog after them and just glares at me in defiance.
I think the best thing to do is to start weaning the pigeons away from the store fronts and street area where there are people. I think if I stop feeding them cold turkey (pardon the pun) they could starve.
I've starting feeding them on the beach now to try to get them away from the sidewalk and street. I've asked for suggestions from my pigeon chat group as well in how to deal with this in a humane way and not to piss people off with bird poop everywhere. The bottom line is the pigeons need to move their bums to a different area. I do not want to initiate any firestorms against the pigeons when my intentions are kindness.
interesting dilemma
ReplyDeleteI bet they would prefer being in a more protected area than on the open beach. Isn't there a little park you can subvert to this clandestine activity :^) ?
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