A NEW lodger with a bird's eye view has settled in at Portman Road, as staff continue to spit feathers over a burgeoning pigeon problem.Nestling more than 100ft up in a floodlight pylon today, the bird has yet to be identified, although it is thought unlikely to be a canary.

A NEW lodger with a bird's eye view has settled in at Portman Road, as staff continue to spit feathers over a burgeoning pigeon problem.

Nestling more than 100ft up in a floodlight pylon today, the bird has yet to be identified, although it is thought unlikely to be a canary.

Stadium manager Trevor Kirton said he had no idea when the latest guest first made its nest in the pylon near the Princes Street junction.

He said: “We went out and checked at the end of last season and it wasn't there then. It's quite a palaver to get access there because you are working with heights and have to have specialist harnesses and other equipment.

“Once Charlie Cocker, our electrician, comes back off his holiday he will be making his way up there to get rid of it.”

However the new arrival is the least of the club's problems, as it seeks to give a plague of pesky pigeons the red card.

Mr Kirton estimated 200-300 of the birds hover and settle around the ground every day, causing mess and mayhem.

He believes the problem has been made worse by the demolition work at Ipswich waterfront.

He said: “They have knocked down the docks where they used to roost and they are roosting here or at the town hall. Now we are having a lot of problems with mess on the seats.

“We have also got seagulls. When we were holding the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert they were attacking the boys as they were doing the stage, because they didn't have anywhere else to go.”

Mr Kirton said the seagulls have also declared war on the pigeons.

He added: “Seagulls quite like a bit of pigeon. You will go out into the middle of the pitch and you will find a pile of feathers.”

The club has been bringing a hawk up from Essex to scare off the birds for at least four years, but now its' weekly work is more important than ever.

Mr Kirton said: “It comes from near Dartford to clear the pigeons away. It's nature's way.

“We have nests on the roofs (of the stands) and we clear them away when we are up there. I got a price to put nets on all the stands and it was £100,000.

“We netted from the roof down the back of the Britannia Stand and the pigeons came and sat on the seats.

“It's a total and utter nightmare.”

Newcastle and Notts County - The Magpies

Brighton - The Seagulls

Tottenham - The Cockerels

Cardiff City - The Bluebirds

Norwich City - The Canaries

Bradford City - The Bantams

Sheffield Wednesday - The Owls

Bristol City - The Robins

Swansea City - The Swans

Swindon - The Robins

Torquay - The Gulls