Peregrine falcons expected to chase away pesky pigeons at South Health Campus
As formidable hunters that prey on other birds, peregrine falcons have been tasked with solving a messy pigeon problem on the roof of South Health Campus.
Since the impressive facility’s opening four years ago on the city’s southern edge, hundreds of pigeons have increasingly gathered, leaving corrosive droppings behind.
Last year, hospital officials built a shelter for peregrine falcons, hoping they would make a home there and prey on the pigeons at the same time. But to no avail.
This year, they’ve ramped up efforts by bringing three falcons, two females and one male, and caging them into an enclosure and then delivering dinner every day.
“It’s dead pigeon. And they’re really enjoying it,” said Pat McInenly, director of facilities maintenance at South Health Campus.
“We hope that when we release them on Saturday, they will stay. We think they will. They’re ready.”
Pigeons are common to almost all tall buildings in the Calgary area, but South Health Campus is particularly problematic because it is a new hospital and must remain clean and sanitary.
Maintenance workers have been spending hundreds of hours trying to keep the area clean, McInenly said.
But just recently, the pigeons have started leaving droppings on ledges and in areas that even workers can’t reach along the roof.
As well, McInenly added, pigeons are leaving corrosive droppings on the sides of the building, including colourful walls, and damaging bright paint.
At their wit’s end, facilities staff decided to contact John Campbell, an Alberta raptor expert and breeder, to help them solve the problem with a bird of prey.
Campbell provided guidance to hospital staff on how to build a proper enclosure for the falcons.
Once the birds are released, staff will continue to feed them pigeons until they mature further, when it’s hoped they will start hunting the pigeons on their own. eferguson@postmedia.com