Both Londoners and visitors to the city may have spotted the fake animals at stations on the Jubilee Line. These seemingly odd decorations actually play a crucial role
You may have noticed a peculiar sight during your journeys on the Underground network – artificial owls perched above the platforms at certain stations. These seemingly odd decorations actually play a crucial role in maintaining the cleanliness and functionality of these stations.
On the Jubilee line, pigeons have become quite a nuisance, creating messes with their droppings, which can pose both hygiene and safety risks, and even obscuring signs. To combat this avian issue, TfL has installed these faux owls to deter the pesky birds and other pests.
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While the British Transport Police are responsible for apprehending vandals and ensuring the safety of the trains, and TfL staff manage crowds on the platforms, the owls are tasked with controlling a different kind of unruly crowd: the feathered troublemakers.
These owl decoys can be spotted throughout the Jubilee line, particularly on the platforms at Canning Town and on the station roof at Wembley Park. Morden Tube station on the Northern line also hosts a few of these bird deterrents.
They are strategically positioned on ledges where pigeons are likely to perch, preventing them from nesting or damaging important equipment or signage, reports MyLondon.
At Canning Town, these owls are cleverly placed directly above an equipment cabinet, which needs to be readily accessible to staff. This is in addition to metal spikes that are also used to discourage the bothersome pigeons.
If you’re keen to spot them, head to the front of Jubilee line trains in both directions.
At Wembley Park, they’re a bit more elusive, hidden in spots visible from the footbridges and above the canopies from the open parts of the Jubilee platforms.
Wembley Park is said to have a particular pigeon problem due to football fans from the nearby ground often dropping food and snacks bought at matches around the station, providing a veritable feast for any self-respecting pigeon.
Pigeons are less troublesome for London Underground than National Rail operators, who occasionally employ birds of prey to sweep stations and deter them from nesting.
King’s Cross, with its expansive station roof and numerous ledges across its footbridges, mezzanine level and shops, and Victoria, often utilise a Harris hawk to patrol the termini.
Thames Trains even trialled plastic owls on its property along the Paddington-Reading route as far back as 2002.
Since 2016, the main link between big-eyed birds and London’s public transport has been the Night Tube symbol, a blue and white (sometimes yellow) emblem that appears next to lines offering a continuous service from Friday morning to Sunday evening.
Despite the Jubilee being a Night Tube line, and owls being nocturnal, there haven’t been any sightings of the real birds flying along the route from Stratford to Stanmore.