Feral pigeons are the result of escaped domestic pigeons and historically were found in the cliffs and rock ledges in the wilds of Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. They’ve spread wide and far these days and have found a new preferred roosting and breeding site; under South Austria’s burgeoning solar panel installations.

Scientific Classification

Feral Solar Panel Pigeon

We should now be changing the common name from Rock Dove to the “Solar Panel Pigeon” as recognition of this newly evolving habitat. South Australia has keenly embraced this new sustainable technology as a green alternative to our primary supply of coal fired power. These early solar panel installations will, not to far down the road, be recognised as an ugly, clumsy method of installation. Elon Musk’s Solar Tiles while not a cost effective solution yet, will herald the end of the current base of solar panel pigeon sanctuaries currently being established in little old South Australia.

Managing this new preferred urban habitat

How best to manage this growing problem? We can tell you two things that we know don’t work; exclusion barriers and outright removal. How do we know for sure; because we are employed to get rid of those pigeons who simply keep hanging around. While not part of the common resolve, some of our customers have resorted to removing their solar panels out of sheer frustration, only to learn it doesn’t solve the problem.

In fact both these methods make the problem worse. Why you asked/scream? Simple, pigeons are territorial! Once they have bred somewhere, they treat it as home. The fact that you have renovated their home doesn’t mean they will simply fly away to find somewhere else to live. And now they are less than determined to return to the solar panels at roosting time when we start shooting them. They feel more vulnerable and hence become harder targets. At least when the resident population had a place of security (under the solar panels) they would return to climb under to safety. While this is a brief window, it is our best opportunity to achieve repeat targeting of your resident population.

So the reality is, you must get rid of your resident population before altering your solar panel access. Exclusion barriers only work before you have a resident population or after you’ve eradicated your resident population.