Are pigeons becoming unwelcome visitors in Hoylake?
Some residents believe that they are and residents and businesses in and around Charles Road don’t want people to throw out food for them.
Apparently people have been leaving corn and other food on the pavement for the pigeons to feed on but this in turn appears to have attracted rats to the area. As you can imagine, the rats are less welcome than the pigeons.
Pigeon muck is also very noticeable on and around the now-closed Punch Bowl pub – this has been the case for quite some time.
So are pigeons, or rats for that matter, a problem in Hoylake? Are pigeons and rats also encouraged by residents leaving food out in their gardens for the birds? Have you seen rats in the vicinity of Market Street?
Have your say in the comments below.
I am a bird lover and although for some people pidgeons are considered as vermin they do have a place in wild life and the whole food chain.
From my view point feeding pidgeons close to the side of busy roads is not the right place for them to feed and this has been proved by the number of dead pidgeons that we have had to remove from Market Street between Wlliam Hill and Everite Windows. the reason these birds have been killed is simply because corn has been left out on the pavements, the birds come to feed and then are frightened by the close proximity of the traffic. When they flew away some of them head straight into the road and are killed by the traffic.
We have in the past put notes up on the tress outside the Sailing School asking that the pidgeons aren’t fed. Feeding stopped for some time but has started again.
My concerns are;
1. We are bringing up these pidgeons to rely on the public feeding them – this is not natural
2. We are killing the pidegons that are being fed – this is wrong
3. These pidegons may cause a road accident when they take off from the roadside to avoid the traffic – who wants to be responsible for the death or injury of other people?
4. With Council spending being restricted there is no longer anyone to clean up their droppings which now appear in the whole area around this part fo market Street – this is unattractive and may prove to be detrimental and unsightly to people travelling into Hoylake
5. These are wild animals and should be feeding in the fields and byways not in built up areas and certainly not in areas where they may be killed and/or cause accidents which may/maynot kill or injure innocent people
So may I ask that whoever is feeding the pidgeons throughout the whole of Market Street to stop this practice as their kindness is in fact being cruel
I agree with everything John says.
I have noticed the corn on the flower beds we look after in the row has increased a lot lately.
This is, of course, growing and is almost impossible to did out once rooted.
We are hoping to sow wild flowers in the spring once the bulbs have finished but unless we can stop whoever is putting the corn down it will just be overwhelmed .
Any animal in the wrong place at the wrong time is vermin.
Pigeons carry human pathogens and so should not be encouraged near houses.
As for rats, we are never more than 20 feet from one. They are ubiquitous and dangerous.
I complained to the Council and also to Esther McVey a couple of years ago about the pigeon problem around the Punch Bowl public house, when it was in the care of the last owners, stating that it was not the most pleasant site and pretty awful for those people waiting at the bus stop there. A combination of pigeon excreta and cigarette butts filled the water hoppers at the exit of the downpipes and was a filthy mess.
I had a response from the Council saying that they had communicated with the landlord at the time who stated that it was a problem; the pigeons were roosting/nesting in the baskets fitted near the upstairs windows and nesting material was indeed evident in these hoppers too. She would remove the eggs as they were laid, but of course nature encouraged the pigeons to lay more!
They also said that they had installed recepticles for smokers to put the butts in when they finished a cigarette but clearly Joe Public did not use these!
Not sure what we can do – perhaps have someone fit some Eco-pick to the edge of the roof to discourage roosting and of course discourage people from feeding these vermin.
I am pleased to hear comments re the feeding of pigeons – hope we can track down the well meaning person and stop this problem.
The Council have visited areas where corn is dropped, but need to know the name or car number of person involved before they can act. I have been informed that they come at 5 am and start at entrance at back of Firehouse,then work their way down Charles Road to other sites, so if you are up this early try to get a car number for the Council.
Charles Road Bins
The large, commercial sized waste bins in Charles Road must add to this problem. They not only block the pavement for pedestrians but are often surrounded by black bin bags, containing ‘overflow’ rubbish which inevitably attract scavenging wildlife. Maybe the corn and the rubbish could be monitored at the same time.
I saw an elderly gentlemen yesterday morning (Monday, January 28) , just before 9.30am , walking along the cinder path between Elm Grove and Manor Road railway station, casting corn along the way from a blue plastic bag.
I don’t like using language like this, but he didn’t seem “all there” and I’ll confess I didn’t approach him; for that reason, and also because I had my dog with me at the time and not everyone likes them.
I spent a few hours this morning clearing hamster food from a lot of our tubs and planters. I am sure whoever is doing this thinks it is bird food. I am not convinced it is the same person/people who is putting out corn but whoever it is it is causing us (friends of Hoylake and Meols in Bloom) a lot of problems as the corn and seed will take root.
I am sure whoever is doing this means well and does not understand the problems caused
Sorry to report that Hoylake has one less pigeon. At lunch time yesterday (Saturday) I’m afraid that one pigeon that had been feeding on the corn under the tree outside William hills took off and was killed by a passing car. To be honest I felt rather frustrated as this is not the first nor will it be the last pigeon that will be killed trying to leave a feeding location so close to the road.
Whoever is placing the corn close to the road PLEASE STOP
Thank you