INVENTION

I mentioned before that pigeons are a nuisance in Auckland with their roosting and being fed on the balconies of high rise buildings

Second Fiddle bizarrely suggested feeding them bread made from plaster of Paris (Note: beware accepting dinner invitations from him) which I don't think I'll follow up on.

In the absence of having a cat in the apartment I resorted to throwing socks at the windows to discourage them.

With the warmer weather and having the ranch sliders to the deck open this resulted in sending balled socks out into the city which is a loss to me and disconcerting to pedestrians below.



I decided to rig something up that would scare the pigeons away.

• boiling oil?
• cardboard cutouts of Shonkey?
• a double bass?

which were all impractical and would be offensive to me also so settled on a bird of prey cutout.

I went to many Auckland shops before finding what I wanted at Wah Lees, an Auckland variety store that has almost anything you'd ever want.

It's a bright orange kite with an evil looking eagle pictured on it. I have suspended it inside against the window and for the last couple of weeks no pigeons have landed on my balcony.

I informed Wah Lees and suggested that they promote these in their newsletter.

Soon there may be bright orange kites in the windows of all the Auckland apartments thereby transforming the look of the city.

I think I'll solve the glabal energy crisis next.