 | Victoria has a large variety of street lighting. On the left are two of the more common types in their Chinatown red versions. You may notice the sharp spiky things on top of the sodium vapor lamp in both photos. These are to deter Victoria's long-time residents, our local seagulls, from roosting there. In the photo on the right, if you click to enlarge it you can see on the lower stop/go light post the reason for discouraging these birds. Of course, it's not just meant to discourage seagulls. We have pigeons in Victoria also though they are not as numerous as seagulls, nor are they so large or ubiquitous. I often marvel when I look at the day's photos how many of them have seagulls perched or in flight somewhere in the frame. In the photo to the right, on the chimney to the right of the roof of the chinese gate stands today's seagull. |  |
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Sunday, February 22, 2009
Street Furniture VI - Street Lamps
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7 comments:
I'm not a fan of pigeons, flying rats, or seagulls, CPR turkeys.
Bird spikes seem like a fairly recent (last 20 years) invention. I suppose since both birds don't seem to have many natural enemies that they've just multiplied exponentially.
As coincidence would have it I'm posting street furniture tomorrow.
Great colorful photograph. I like the way they painted the lights red; I suppose so people could see what they're running into?
yes its nice to keep things neat with spikes and such to keep the seagulls off. But remember that if they were not here the place would be a mess. Its amazing how much they clean up for us.
Beautiful colours, Benjamin (that "u" is just for you ;^) ). The red car zooming by makes this a great troika against that lovely blue. I had never noticed the "regular" light poles were also painted red in Chinatown.
Postie has a point about the gulls being a good clean up squad, but their guano is not healthy to have about. I remember the infection control people at a hospital I worked at trying one thing after another to keep birds from roosting on the patient room window ledges and near the air intake vents for our 15 story building. The spikes were eventually what went on that worked and lasted for more than a short season. I remember they once tried a sticky substance called "Hot Foot" to discourage roosting. You can imagine the dilemma of patients seeing birds mired in goo on a window ledge and maintaining the goo on 14 floors. And the one pigeon who apparently couldn't get its foot unstuck and having to move a patient's room so someone could extricate the poor bird humanely before it died of thirst. What a nightmare.
-Kim
Again, the colours are great here.
I have never seen the is pigeon stoppers before. I know many local residents who would welcome these are on our lamposts. Eye popping colours nicely done and educational.
Wonderfull fotos congratulation.
Greeting from Belgium
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