Pigeon lofts in the Netherlands

On the Bijenkorf in Amsterdam

In the city centre of Rotterdam

In Zutphen

A place for pigeons: how they live in a loft

Origin of the "pigeon loft method"

The pigeon loft on the Bijenkorf store in Amsterdam

It's the first internationally announced installation of a pigeon loft in the Netherlands: on the 13th of october, 2004, the Amsterdam pigeon loft was inaugurated. It is located on the parking deck of the Bijenkorf department store near the Dam. The pigeon loft has been paid for by Amsterdam city council. You can find their press announcement here - if you can read Dutch.

The pigeon loft is designed by Rotterdam artist Stefan Gross to engage with the urban surroundings, and to be functional and attractive for pigeons. Volunteers organised by the Landelijke Werkgroep Duivenoverlast take care of it and feed the pigeons regularly. After the installation of the loft there is a habituation period in which the pigeons take up residence inside the loft. The newest developments can also be found in the News-section of this site.

Here are some pictures from the opening of the loft in Amsterdam on 13th of october, 2004. Click for an enlarged picture.

The pigeon loft in the city centre of Rotterdam

This pigeon loft was installed as part of a pilot project in May 2003 on the roof of an apartment complex in the centre of Rotterdam. (Click here for a map of its location).
The pigeon loft was also designed by Rotterdam artist Stefan Gross to engage with the urban surroundings, and to be functional and attractive for pigeons. The pigeon loft is funded by the city of Rotterdam and maintained by volunteers organised by the Landelijke Werkgroep Duivenoverlast. The newest developments can also be found in the News-section of this site.

A place for pigeons: how they live in the loft

From the street below, you can see the pigeons in silhouette while they breed. Inside the loft, the pigeons feed, drink, sleep and brood. This reduces the nuisance they cause through droppings and nests in roof gutters. Their breeding is controlled by manipulating the eggs. Volunteers maintain the loft and feed the pigeons daily.

The entrance openings and the ledges for sitting.

The brooding compartments and dishes.

A brooding pigeon.

Pigeon eggs.

In the town of Zutphen

In the town of Zutphen too, the first of three pigeon lofts was installed in October 2004.

This pigeon loft was designed by Herman Heuver at Tuns+Horsting Architecten B.V.(zutphen@tunshorsting.nl).

The ‘pigeon loft method’

In Germany, the ‘pigeon loft method’ has been a success for some years. Many cities (e.g. Aachen, Hanover and Augsburg) have them, and pigeons are no longer being captured and killed there. This method has now been introduced in the Netherlands. See for a discussion of the method the page "Pigeon Nuisance" of this website.

You can find images of the pigeon lofts that have been placed in Rotterdam and Amsterdam at the top of this page.

Note also this German website where pigeon lofts are being discussed: www.stadttauben.de.

© 2003-2007 Landelijke Werkgroep Duivenoverlast

Laatst gewijzigd: Q4 2006