Precisely 14 seconds after the photo in yesterday's post, I caught the two pigeons in flight. The first one may be hard to see to the left and the second one has just left the front door of the pigeon house (if you click on the photo and maximize your browser window, you'll get a better view).
You may ask, what is a pigeon house? Well, I have heard that the idea is to provide an attraction for them that would keep them away from greater downtown Amboise (as you can see this is right next to the Loire). If it's working, I'm glad because there are still lots of them near my house. I read a recent article in a local paper (La Nouvelle République), that to help control the pigeon biset population, Amboise is sterilizing some (but not all) of the eggs found here.
C'est une idée intelligente. Espérons que ça marche.
ReplyDeleteMon époux n'aime pas les pigeons mais nourrit quantités d'oiseaux des jardins: je lui dis qu'il est raciste.
Il faut cependant reconnaître que ces oiseaux font bien des dégâts dans les villes!
Raciste d'oiseaux ! Très amusant ! Et oui, Amboise connait bien les problèmes:
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Goodness, a modern pigeon house! They need one near the Palais Royal. We even get seagulls some time which is interesting. I wonder if the decoy works.Stunning photo by the way. So nice of the pigeon to come out at just the right moment. I don't know if you've seen my Aussie in France post on pigeon houses http://www.aussieinfrance.com/2012/09/pigeon-houses-in-france/
ReplyDeleteWell, I encourage all readers here to take a look at your blog entry. It's an excellent historical survey of these houses. Thanks !
DeleteSterilising the eggs sounds like a reasonable approach. Certainly better than putting out poisoned corn, which is what most of the locals would do here when they got sick of the numbers.
ReplyDeleteOh no. I had not heard of this practice. Sounds dangerous to all wildlife. I can appreciate the frustration when I'm awakened early on summer mornings (when the windows are wide open) with the loud calls of these birds. But still.
DeleteSounds to me like a smart way to control the local pigeon population.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a relatively humane way to control them. So I'm all for it.
DeleteThe pigeon on the left is great ,it's always fascinating when birds take off. Well pigeons are making some mess in town but what about dogs ? I was very surprised when visiting Paris how much dog mess you can see. I am not a dog ennemy ...I have a young Labrador
ReplyDeleteI am recovering slowly from a leg amputation sigh and then waiting for a sophisticated prothesis in a few months ! No more high heels possible!!! Lol.
Tess
The dog situation is Paris is much better than we first started going there back in the 80s but it is still far from perfect. Of course, I don't blame the dogs themselves ! We used to have a chocolate lab. She lived a very full and energetic life... to say the least.
DeleteAnyway, thanks for the update on your situation. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be. I do hope the prosthesis works well for you. It would appear that the modern technology is amazing now. And I am so glad you can still laugh despite all this. You clearly have a very strong spirit.
I think that is the first I have heard of a pigeon house.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen them in the States, but historically they are more common in Europe.
DeleteIt certainly is a problem when the natures way of controlling numbers fail.. we do have problems with a few types of birds like the rainbow lorikeets that I've shown now and again, so pretty but a pest all the same. I like the pigeon house Stuart, hope it helps the problem.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it helps. But hey, compared to other world problems, this is not so bad.
DeleteI wish I had one in my cour intérieure... I like old dovecotes and this modern pigeonnier is rather nice!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think it has a rather basic yet pleasant design. Of course, I always like the wood.
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