Peterborough City Council chiefs are planning to move the showpiece fountains in Cathedral Square after chemicals in the water has seen birds turn on shoppers.
An artists impression of what the fountains will look like outside Peterborough Town Hall. Picture: Peterborough ET
The dramatic move, which is sure to make a splash, has been sparked by the discovery that new chemical treatment, Looflipra, used to recycle the water has created a chemical reaction in the birds’ brains which sends our feathered friends into a frenzy.
The issue came home to roost this week as the fountains in the £6 million Cathedral Square were turned back on.
Engineers have been working round the clock in the underground substation under the square to recycle and clean the water, in keeping with the city’s eco-credentials.
But after plunging their plumage into the water, far from cooling off, the normally mild-mannered pigeons transformed into birds of prey.
In behaviour reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller The Birds, the pigeons have been seen swooping down on unsuspecting shoppers and snatching their sandwiches, cakes and burgers straight out their hands.
The situation has sent worried council chiefs into a flutter and unwilling to put people at risk, they are now planning to move the popular water feature down Bridge Street to outside Town Hall.
A Peterborough City Council spokesman Walter Works said: “We understand the birds have been in a right flap since we switched on the fountains for the first time.
“We certainly won’t be splashing the cash when we move them as we think we can re-coup the money by using the lighting system currently underneath the square to produce laser-light spectaculars to entertain everyone who has been flocking there.
”Although the birds are not taxpayers, they are still important members of our community and need to be given full consideration.”
Bird behavioural expert from the international Friends of Wildlife Education Department (FOWLED), Rio Palof was drafted in to see if there was a way of improving the birds’ behaviour without making the major decision of re-locating the fountains.
However he could offer no crumbs of comfort and said it was “inevitable” that birds coming into contact with the water would have the potential to exhibit extreme behaviour.
Mr Palof said: “Birds are quite simple creatures and have basic needs, one of which is to eat and this chemical sends a message to their brain which increases their hunger and the lengths they will go to satisfy that.
“In my experience, by moving the problem away from an area where there is a lot of food and potential targets about, it will help alleviate the issue as by the time the birds have flown away they will have forgotten what it was upsetting them.”
Twitchers in the city have been spitting feathers about the problem.
Pigeons Rights spokesman in Peterborough, Robin Sparrow said: “People should have nothing to fear from birds and it is terrible that these poor creatures should be suffering just because they want to have a bird-bath in the square.
“They say a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush so shoppers should be grateful they want to eat of their hands.”
Homing in on pigeons
Pigeons are domesticated rock doves that have returned to wild or semi-wild conditions.
Some were domesticated for food, others as homing pigeons and some as ‘fancy’ pigeons bred for their plumage.
Pigeons can find their way home from hundreds of miles away.
The head-bobbers do need to stay alert as Peregrine falcons are increasingly exploiting them as a food source.
Famous pigeon fanciers include the current Queen and heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson.
By Avril Uno
Source: Peterborough Today
