We’re all used to seeing pigeons scattered all over Manchester.
Piccadilly Gardens is a haven for the feathered beasts, you can barely walk down Market Street without getting hit in the face with a bird, and they love picking through your McDonald’s leftovers at St Ann’s Square.
But commuters this morning were surprised to find themselves quite literally face-to-face with a pigeon.
A mystery man boarded a Metrolink tram heading between Chorlton and Manchester city centre with his feathered friend in tow.
The passenger was photographed with an actual pigeon perched on his shoulder, like a greyscale chubby parrot.
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The man was spotted riding the Metrolink with his pet pigeon in tow. Credit: Submitted
One eye-witness who got in touch with The Manc said that people ‘barely batted an eyelid’ at the strange sight.
They added: “I saw a video of him the other day when he goes in a shop he puts the pigeon down and it waits for him like a f***ing dog.”
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The man, and his pet pigeon, are often spotted out an about around Manchester, but seeing the bird quite that close on your morning commute is a bit of a surprise.
Someone who saw presumably the same pairing (unless there’s two of them, which we doubt) earlier this week tweeted: “It’s too early for a man to get on the tram with a pigeon on his shoulder.”
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A spokesperson for TfGM said: “We are planning a pilot to allow dogs on trams but sadly there no plans to expand this to pigeons.”
Metrolink recently revealed plans to test dogs being allowed on the tram network for the first time since 1992.
Currently, all animals are banned from the service, apart for service animals.
Featured image: Submitted
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Get Baked is giving out FREE slices of its viral multi-layer chocolate cake in Manchester next week
Thomas Melia
The viral bakery known for its impressive multi-layer chocolate cake is offering slices of its huge sweet treat for free when it opens in Manchester next week.
If you’re fed up of your friends in Leeds banging on about how good Get Baked is, then don’t worry because, the headline-grabbing independent bakery is landing in Manchester next week, and if that news wasn’t sweet enough to tempt you to the new opening as it is, they’re also offering out free slices of their ‘Bertha’ cake to the first 1,000 people in the queue.
Get Baked’s first ever Manchester location will be in the Northern Quarter in the heart of Stevenson Square meaning you can pair your Aperol spritz with a serving of chocolate cake this summer… can life get any better?
The massive chocolate cake is inspired by the dessert featured in Roald Dahl’s book ‘Matilda’, later turned into a film adaptation in 2002, and its name ‘Bertha’ is a spin off the original ‘Bruce’ cake.
Rich Myers, who is the founder and creator of Get Baked, recently put out a statement on Instagram to explain why the company recently took the decision to increase a slice of ‘Bertha’ cake from £17 to £20, saying they’ve received nothing but love from people understanding the rising costs of owning a business.
Get Baked’s Manchester is soft-launching on Friday 14 March, but it’s the following day (Saturday 15 March) when the 1,000 slices of ‘Bertha’ will be up for grabs.
“Expect it to be a bit all over the place, because the first day of a new site is never easy. But that’s okay, because on the second day, we’re giving away 1,000 free slices of Bertha,” Get Baked announced on Instagram.
So if you fancy your luck at securing a slice of free cake, head down to Get Baked at 1 Stevenson Square in the Northern Quarter, from 12pm on Saturday… but let’s be honest, you’ll probably need to get there much sooner.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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Real hawks hired to scare off pigeons ‘causing problems’ at northern train stations
Emily Sergeant
Northern has hired real hawks to help scare off pigeons who are ‘causing problems’ at train stations across the region.
You may remember that at the back end of 2023, the rail operator declared that it wanted to ‘force pigeons to take flight’ by trialing a whole host of new deterrents at stations across its network, and did so by positioning plastic owls around some platforms to scare them off, along with a host of other special measures.
As well as the fake owl statues, Northern also started using a special gel on ledges and roof trusses that’s designed to trick pigeons into thinking the surface is too hot for them to land on, and to really hammer it home, noises that simulate predatory hawks were broadcast out of massive speakers too.
But now, they’re ready to take things up a notch.
Introducing Maverick and Zulu, our skilled Northern hawks addressing pigeon concerns at stations. ⁰⁰For years, birds have posed challenges for both customers and staff, as well as stations due to their corrosive droppings. ⁰⁰After various attempts to resolve the issue, we're… pic.twitter.com/kC856Cnxg3
Because Northern claimed the ‘pests’ continued to keep ‘flocking to stations and nesting’, two real hawks called Maverick and Zulu have now been deployed at a couple of stations in Yorkshire as part of a 12-week trial.
If they prove to be effective, the rail operator says the real hawks could be introduced at other Northern stations which have been ‘plagued’ by pigeons in recent years.
Northern is keen to assure customers that the hawks are ‘not being used for hunting’.
Real hawks have been hired to scare off pigeons ‘causing problems’ at northern train stations / Credit: Libreshot
“We have tried plastic owls and recorded hawk noises, but they weren’t an effective deterrent,” explained Alex Hornby, who is Northern’s commercial and customer director. “So now we’ve brought in real birds of prey to help us with our pigeon problem.
“The pigeons are a real nuisance for our customers and cause headaches for the station staff who have to clear up after them.
Daisy Jackson -
5th May 2022 
