Ed Berube sits in his motorized scooter in the middle of Kennedy Park every nice day he can. As he digs into his giant bag filled with unshelled peanuts, pigeons begin to flock around him.
Jerk Pigeon Guy
Ed Berube, who many know as “Birdman,” feeds pigeons in Kennedy Park in Lewiston on Monday afternoon
“There’s the birdman with his flock,” said a person walking past him Monday afternoon.
But it’s the human flock Berube is really trying to reach.
“I use the birds and peanuts to open the door to talk about Christ,” he said. “I was born again 28 years ago,” he said, standing straight up out of his chair.
He has chronic breathing problems, so he gets short of breath walking. When he’s not with his “girlfriend,” a 1,400cc motorcycle parked just up the street, he is motoring around town on his scooter looking for somebody with whom to share his love of Jesus.
“I was trouble as a kid. I was run out of town in Massachusetts where I grew up,” he said. “They told my mother to take me away or they would send me away.”
He and his mother moved to Richmond, and he took jobs in the woods and on farms. He eventually moved to Lewiston to work in the Libbey Mill until it closed.
“I was just going on with life, drinking, drugging and all that. On Sunday, my wife would go to church and I’d start drinking. They kept inviting me to come, and when I finally did, I warned the pastor that he didn’t know what he was dealing with,” Berube said.
“It took about 17 months, but I finally felt the spirit kicking into gear. And then, it was like a light switch just flipped on,” he said.
Berube recited Scripture, then pulled out a zippered case with books and clippings in it. He thumbed through a Bible and challenges people to read the verses and not become changed.
“I just want to kick their spirit into gear,” he said, as he reached for another handful of peanuts for the pigeons circling closer and cooing.
About Pigeon Patrol:
Pigeon Patrol Products & Services is the leading manufacturer and distributor of bird deterrent (control) products in Canada. Pigeon Patrol products have solved pest bird problems in industrial, commercial, and residential settings since 2000, by using safe and humane bird deterrents with only bird and animal friendly solutions. At Pigeon Patrol, we manufacture and offer a variety of bird deterrents, ranging from Ultra-flex Bird Spikes with UV protection, Bird Netting, 4-S Gel and the best Ultrasonic and audible sound devices on the market today.
Voted Best Canadian wholesaler for Bird Deterrent products four years in a row.
Contact Info: 1- 877– 4– NO-BIRD (www.pigeonpatrol.ca)