Truro’s library seeks creative solution to pigeon poop problem

Pigeons are making a mess around the Truro library, but there is no simple fix to the problem.

Chimney swifts nest in the building’s chimney, says a municipal spokesperson, and the town doesn’t want to cause any harm to the tiny black birds, which are a species at risk.  

“We do have an issue with pigeons at the Truro Colchester East Hants Library and the amount of droppings they are leaving around the building, which is impacting entrances/exits around the building,” Alison Grant, the town’s manager of strategic initiatives and communications, said in an email.

The town is cleaning regularly around the building, but are seeking a long term solution to managing the pigeons without affecting the chimney swifts. 

Open to suggestions

The town is open to suggestions from the public to find a way to reduce the waste around the library without harming the chimney swifts. 

“Recently, the Town of Truro has invited qualified parties to submit proposals for a longer-term humane solution to address this problem,” the email states. “Proponents must also address how their solution will not harm the chimney swifts as part of their proposal submission.”

Proposals have to be submitted by Oct. 25 with the hope of making a decision next month.

Chimney swifts tends to reside on rough vertical areas, like the bricks inside a chimney. 

Rielle Hoeg of Birds Canada said the birds are fascinating. 

“They spend almost all their time in the air, except when they … return to chimneys at night,” she said. 

But Hoeg says these birds are declining due to various reasons, including the loss of their habitats as older chimneys are torn down. 

“Chimneys, the ones they can use, have largely been built in the 1960s or earlier,” she said. 

Hoeg says the chimney swift population has declined almost 90 per cent since 1970. Because they are at risk, their habitats are protected federally and provincially.

This means permits are required to disturb a chimney. 

Hoeg says the library should avoid using loud noises as part of the solution to the problem. She said that could scare off the pigeons but would scare off the chimney swifts, too.