Trafalgar Square - Pigeon Police.

[501cards]

Was in Trafalgar Square early this morning setting up for concert and had the pleasure of watching the the Pigeon Police out at work,

Wonderful graceful creatures and so much better than traps of poison

 

[TomTomTom]

Beautifully beautifully sharp. Great captures!

 

[AndyWest]

Very cool shots. DOF is great!!!

 

[501cards]

Cheers

Kit was set up for Low Light Concert, Not ideal for Birding, so could only play around with a few close up's

 

[Buttkicker]

whats the story here ?? have the pidgeons become a complete nuisance in trafalger sq
presumably the London public just see them being scared away or does it actually get them

 

[Delta Skies]

Cracking focus on these. I wouldn't have thought about capturing these shots in the centre of London.

 

[DonkeyOaty]

Hi Richard,

Love these shots. Picture one is my favourite.

J

 

[501cards]

A Handler comes in each day with the birds, they are a deterent, but I was told that the younger pigeons are not afraid so once in a while they bring in an older bird that is happy to kill,

So its a mixture of regular daily visits with a couple of birds as a deterent and a less frequest visit with a "Killer" to educate any newcomers.

I was told its not just Trafalgar Square, 6 or more locations in Central London get crack of dawn visits,

They just happened to be later in the day on Sunday as the square was in lockdown for a concert happening at 11am, so they came in between 8 and 10 to give the pigeons an extra nudge!

 

[Thomas Covenant]

Cracking shots Richard.
From the look of the closeups it made a couple of arrests
John

 

[blakester]

These images (all very sharp and well composed I may add) remind me of when I was working (Police) just along from T Square with a colleague. We were near the Embankment, Victoria Gardens I believe, there was a bye laws sign which probably dated back years which stated 'No Falconry' in the gardens. Shortly after this we were met by a handler who had a Harris Hawk on his arm. He was flying it to scare the pigeons away. This hawk got its beady eyes on a pigeon which was sitting on a balcony of an apartment looking over the gardens. The hawk then proceeded to 'dive bomb' this pigeon only to fly into the open window to the apartment. The handler had to almost do a crossword to pinpoint which window it flew in ie 5 across 3 up
He then went around to the front of the apartments to speak to the concierge (sp) to go and retrieve his hawk. The person in the apartment must have had a massive shock, I know I would have with that hawk flying into my living room . He did retrieve it and we spoke to him later getting a close look at the magnificent creature.

 

[taxi]

Harris Hawk are beautiful birds.

I had the pleasure of watching one hunt on the Isle of Harris last year. The rabbit didn't last long.

Great set of pics and great use of dof!!!

 

[fritter]

Great shots. I saw these birds in the afternoon being flown around a square
near St Pauls. Made me laugh as they flew low and fast making the tourists screem!

 

[*Rich*]

Brilliant shots here, my fave is number one, catching the wingspan opened right up, so clear and sharp. I could sit and watch these birds all day, brilliant creatures.

 

[PIKEMAN]

Great shots coupled with a very interesting read . Thank you for posting

 

[Allanp]

What camera and lens set up is required to capture these shots? Very impressed!

 

[salmoally]

Lived in London for a while but never noticed this...

First one is a great capture, love the detail in the rest of them too.