Life just got difficult for the pigeons that roosted under the eaves of the roof of Palazzo Pancrazi, the 500 year old town hall building in the centre of Barga Vecchia. This morning work started on putting up physical barriers to keep the pigeons on the move. A series of light alloy spikes which create a very small visual disturbance to people on the ground but create a very large disturbance for the birds when taking off and landing. This is the second time that these spikes have been used around the outside of the Palazzo Pancrazi to keep the pigeons away – the last time the birds retaliated by rocking the lines of spikes until they dropped to the ground.
That time they were made of plastic and were just one single line of spikes. This time they are alloy and containing a series of 5 spikes in a line. Any bets on how long these will last ?
One pigeon did manage to get back in under the eaves of roof this afternoon but by the evening was gone again. As dusk fell over Palazzo Pancrazi just one lone pigeon standing guard could be seen stark against the sky.