WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.660 --> 00:00:13.640 If there's one bird that's a constant nuisance to the city dweller, it's the common pigeon. 2 00:00:14.600 --> 00:00:18.280 These birds are a mixture of all the different breeds of pigeons. 3 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:20.840 They're the, uh, the mutt of the species. 4 00:00:21.520 --> 00:00:25.880 And if there's one thing that irritates any of us who call ourselves pigeon fanciers, 5 00:00:25.880 --> 00:00:30.540 it's to have one of our pedigree homing pigeons confused with a common pigeon. 6 00:00:42.180 --> 00:00:46.220 The homing pigeon, unlike the common, is a specific and identifiable breed. 7 00:00:46.940 --> 00:00:51.300 This is due in part to the fact that we pigeon fanciers have imposed certain standards of 8 00:00:51.300 --> 00:00:55.820 on our birds, much as dog fanciers have with pedigree show dogs. 9 00:00:56.540 --> 00:01:01.740 The homing pigeon is the product of carefully controlled and selective breeding, which emphasizes 10 00:01:01.740 --> 00:01:04.480 the physical stamina and homing ability. 11 00:01:05.900 --> 00:01:10.520 And it's this ability to return home from liberation points hundreds and even thousands 12 00:01:10.520 --> 00:01:15.420 of miles away that is the basis for the unique sport of pigeon racing. 13 00:01:59.240 --> 00:02:01.780 This is how a pigeon race begins. 14 00:02:57.580 --> 00:03:01.400 Back at the home end of the race, there's not much we can do but wait. 15 00:03:02.340 --> 00:03:06.600 Usually before we come out to the loft, we give our race secretary a call to find out 16 00:03:06.600 --> 00:03:10.000 the time of liberation and the weather conditions out at the race station. 17 00:03:10.720 --> 00:03:14.660 With this information, we can usually approximate the time the birds will return. 18 00:03:15.580 --> 00:03:21.460 A good racing pigeon in fair weather and with a little help from a tailwind can fly upwards 19 00:03:21.460 --> 00:03:26.800 of 60 miles per hour and make over 600 miles in a single day. 20 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:39.760 When a homer comes off a race, he's been trained to enter the loft through a special trap. 21 00:03:40.420 --> 00:03:45.460 Sometimes to our consternation, they take their own good time about it and a pigeon 22 00:03:45.460 --> 00:03:49.580 isn't officially home until he's inside the loft and clocked in. 23 00:03:49.880 --> 00:03:54.780 Once inside, the flyer catches the bird and removes the race band or counter mark. 24 00:03:55.620 --> 00:03:59.260 Then he puts it into a small capsule and drops it into a race timer. 25 00:04:03.600 --> 00:04:09.960 As he turns the handle, the capsule is sealed inside and the time is stamped on a paper tape. 26 00:04:10.460 --> 00:04:14.580 Later, all the flyers return to the race headquarters where winners are determined. 27 00:04:18.580 --> 00:04:22.340 There's a lot of satisfaction in seeing one of your birds come home from a race 28 00:04:22.340 --> 00:04:25.420 because it represents months of breeding and training. 29 00:04:25.940 --> 00:04:31.460 Breeding usually begins in the early spring and the major objective is to mate two good racers 30 00:04:31.460 --> 00:04:36.040 and come up with a young bird that is as good, if not better, than the parent bird. 31 00:04:36.860 --> 00:04:41.680 In many respects, pigeon breeding is similar to horse breeding and that the breeders are attempting 32 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:43.740 to build up families of good racers. 33 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:50.100 Certain families of horses are known as long distance racers, some as sprinters and others as mutters. 34 00:04:50.700 --> 00:04:53.380 Now, in a sense, the same applies to the racing pigeon. 35 00:04:54.020 --> 00:05:00.160 There are the sprinter pigeons that race well up to 300 miles and then there are birds that are more successful 36 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:02.720 on races from 400 to 1,000 miles. 37 00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:07.960 Finally, there are the mutters that fly in all types of weather and rough conditions. 38 00:05:09.460 --> 00:05:14.940 After 10 days, the youngsters, as we call them, are banded with a lifetime seamless aluminum band 39 00:05:14.940 --> 00:05:19.520 that bears an identifying number which is placed on record with one of the national pigeon 40 00:05:19.520 --> 00:05:21.660 organizations to which a flyer may belong. 41 00:05:24.840 --> 00:05:30.300 The youngsters are kept with the parent birds for another 18 days in either the old bird racing loft 42 00:05:30.300 --> 00:05:36.220 or the stock loft. By the time the youngsters are 28 days old, they are moved into the young bird loft 43 00:05:36.220 --> 00:05:42.440 and it is at this point that we begin their race training. Now, many non-flyers assume that you can 44 00:05:42.440 --> 00:05:47.460 take a young homer out from the loft some distance, let him go, and he'll return home. 45 00:05:47.460 --> 00:05:51.120 But unless he's been properly trained, the chances are he'll get lost. 46 00:05:51.820 --> 00:05:57.660 Even though racing pigeons have the homing ability bred into them, it's up to us to teach them how to 47 00:05:57.660 --> 00:06:03.520 use it. Therefore, though methods differ, the principal aim in training is to condition the 48 00:06:03.520 --> 00:06:09.320 birds for long flights and perfect the homing instinct. Our first step is to begin the loft 49 00:06:09.320 --> 00:06:14.560 training by putting the young pigeons in an outside aviary where they familiarize themselves with 50 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:21.940 their surroundings. After a day or two, they're let out for short exercise flights in the immediate 51 00:06:21.940 --> 00:06:28.320 loft area. During this time, the flyer teaches them to return to the loft and trap in at his signal. 52 00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:45.940 Finally, we begin a series of training flights which consist of taking the birds out from the 53 00:06:45.940 --> 00:06:51.200 loft a mile or two and releasing them to fly home. With each training flight, the directions are 54 00:06:51.820 --> 00:06:57.760 and the distance is increased, four, ten, twenty, anywhere up to a hundred miles or more. 55 00:07:13.460 --> 00:07:16.620 Before each race, we have to choose a limited number of entries. 56 00:07:17.260 --> 00:07:23.200 Now, our selection is based on several factors. One, of course, is a pigeon's previous race record. 57 00:07:24.080 --> 00:07:27.800 And in the case of young birds, we consider the performances of the pigeons from which the 58 00:07:27.800 --> 00:07:33.560 youngsters were bred. Another factor is the general physical condition of the bird. We check to make 59 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:39.060 sure that the pigeon isn't missing any of the important flight feathers. Then we look for a 60 00:07:39.060 --> 00:07:44.760 bright sparkle in the eye which indicates that the pigeon is in good health. Finally, we consider what 61 00:07:44.760 --> 00:07:51.140 you might call the bird's psychological attitude. In other words, what will motivate him to fly back 62 00:07:51.140 --> 00:07:57.320 quickly? Eggs in the nest? Going argument with another pigeon? A desire to be in familiar 63 00:07:57.320 --> 00:08:02.260 surroundings? These are just some of the things a flyer knows will increase the pigeon's incentive 64 00:08:02.260 --> 00:08:08.700 to return home. Then, when we've made what we hope are the right choices, we head off for the race 65 00:08:08.700 --> 00:08:09.260 headquarters. 66 00:08:19.580 --> 00:08:25.580 Every club flies an old and a young bird race schedule. The old bird races are held in the spring 67 00:08:25.580 --> 00:08:38.680 and in the early summer and range from 100 to a thousand miles. The young bird races begin in 68 00:08:38.680 --> 00:08:43.320 the morning. The race is held on the day before each race and every flyer prepares an entry sheet 69 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:49.900 listing the band number, color, and sex of each pigeon. While the flyer checks his bird with a 70 00:08:49.900 --> 00:08:55.080 race secretary against his entry sheet, a rubber counter mark is stretched on a special machine. 71 00:08:56.220 --> 00:08:59.780 The race secretary records the number of the counter mark on the entry sheet 72 00:08:59.780 --> 00:09:05.740 and then the mark is placed on the bird's leg. After each pigeon is counter marked, it's put 73 00:09:05.740 --> 00:09:11.340 into a shipping basket. When all the flyer's entries have been checked in, the paper tabs 74 00:09:11.340 --> 00:09:16.320 carrying the numbers of the counter marks are sealed in an envelope and put away with the entry 75 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:16.560 sheet. 76 00:10:14.700 --> 00:10:28.340 There are two things needed by each flyer before he can enter his birds in a race. First, he must have what is known as an airline distance survey, and the other requirement is one of these race timers that have been specifically designed for the sport. 77 00:10:28.980 --> 00:10:35.100 Now, the airline survey is the exact distance from the various liberation points to the flyer's loft. 78 00:10:35.780 --> 00:10:40.640 This is determined by an approved independent surveyor who calculates the distance to as close 79 00:10:40.640 --> 00:10:47.040 as one one-thousandth of a mile. The miles are then converted into yards to be used in computing speeds. 80 00:10:47.880 --> 00:10:51.760 The race timer is a highly accurate and relatively inexpensive piece of equipment 81 00:10:51.760 --> 00:10:55.940 that is usually set at the same time that the flyers are basketting the birds. 82 00:10:56.580 --> 00:11:02.960 Each timer comes equipped with a paper tape that slides by a stamping mechanism that records day, 83 00:11:03.180 --> 00:11:09.620 hour, minute, and second each time the crank is turned. When the timer is ready, it's synchronized 84 00:11:09.620 --> 00:11:16.400 with the master timer and then reassembled. Along with a high degree of accuracy, the timers have 85 00:11:16.400 --> 00:11:22.180 built-in devices to prevent any tampering during the race. When the lid is closed, a spring is 86 00:11:22.290 --> 00:11:28.330 caught so that the timer is opened before the end of the race. The mechanism is triggered and a hole 87 00:11:28.330 --> 00:11:32.490 is punched in the paper tape that can easily be detected during the race tabulation. 88 00:11:33.670 --> 00:11:37.990 The outside latch has been designed so that it can be wired and sealed with the club stand. 89 00:11:52.350 --> 00:11:56.090 When the counter marking is complete and the baskets have been declared closed, 90 00:11:56.770 --> 00:11:59.710 they are also wired and sealed and then loaded on trucks, 91 00:11:59.930 --> 00:12:03.250 which take them along with baskets from other clubs to the liberation point. 92 00:14:29.610 --> 00:14:35.070 One of the first questions put to a pigeon racer is, what makes the pigeons come home? 93 00:14:36.330 --> 00:14:42.050 Well, of course, none of us know. But most every flyer has at least one theory. 94 00:14:42.890 --> 00:14:48.490 Some maintain that it's the sun that guides the pigeons, and they'll point out that very few birds 95 00:14:48.490 --> 00:14:52.270 are lost on bright clear days. Others believe that the sun is the sun that guides the pigeons. 96 00:14:52.270 --> 00:14:57.710 We know that since each area of the country has its own magnetic influence, the birds get accustomed 97 00:14:57.710 --> 00:15:02.310 to that influence and then compensate for the differences and head for the area that has a 98 00:15:02.310 --> 00:15:10.170 familiar balance. However, all that we can really say about this built-in radar is that it is similar 99 00:15:10.170 --> 00:15:15.290 to the instinct that you find in the wild ducks and geese that return to the same pond every summer. 100 00:15:15.290 --> 00:15:22.470 And yet, occasionally something happens to homing pigeons, and their instinct fails them 101 00:15:22.470 --> 00:15:27.790 temporarily and they become confused and get lost. When this happens to a large percentage of birds 102 00:15:27.790 --> 00:15:34.650 during a race, we call it a smash. Some of the lost pigeons will turn up weeks or even years later, 103 00:15:35.370 --> 00:15:41.130 but others never return. It's known, however, that a series of storms in the path of flight 104 00:15:41.130 --> 00:15:46.730 may scatter and exhaust the birds and force them down. This is often the reason for a poor return 105 00:15:46.730 --> 00:15:53.110 percentage, but so far no one has been able to explain those occasions when the birds fail to 106 00:15:53.110 --> 00:15:59.030 return on what we'd normally call a perfect race day. In these instances, some fliers feel that 107 00:15:59.030 --> 00:16:05.250 something as remote as sunspot activity may be the cause, but again this is only a guess. 108 00:16:06.190 --> 00:16:09.710 Usually weather conditions have the greatest influence on the bird's speed, 109 00:16:09.710 --> 00:16:14.290 but there are other factors. Since a bird has been trained to fly only by day, 110 00:16:14.610 --> 00:16:18.750 if he is unable to reach home by nightfall, he'll drop down and roost until dawn. 111 00:16:19.830 --> 00:16:24.470 Sometimes the pigeons are prey to hawks or they injure themselves on power lines, 112 00:16:25.230 --> 00:16:31.410 yet the instinct to get home is so strong that on many occasions badly wounded birds, 113 00:16:31.590 --> 00:16:36.550 barely able to fly, have come home only to die upon entering the loft. 114 00:16:38.870 --> 00:16:47.490 Pigeon racing is full of unknowns and intangibles, and all we can do on a race day is wait and watch. 115 00:22:55.070 --> 00:22:59.530 When the race is called, the fliers return to the race headquarters with their timers and race 116 00:22:59.530 --> 00:23:04.870 report sheets. One of the race secretaries stamps off the timer to the master and then breaks the 117 00:23:05.050 --> 00:23:26.550 seal. The tabulation is a fairly involved process that requires each counter mark to be read off 118 00:23:26.550 --> 00:23:28.890 and checked against the fliers report sheet. 119 00:23:36.050 --> 00:23:41.310 Once this has been done, the paper tape is removed from the timer and they begin to figure the last 120 00:23:41.310 --> 00:23:47.490 hours, minutes, and seconds from the time of liberation to the time of return for each bird. 121 00:23:55.690 --> 00:24:01.610 The time is converted into minutes and then divided into the number of yards flown to arrive 122 00:24:01.610 --> 00:24:08.330 at average speed. When the tabulation is complete, the flier whose bird made the fastest average 123 00:24:08.330 --> 00:24:11.510 speed in yards per minute is declared to win. 124 00:24:17.570 --> 00:24:24.290 The sport of pigeon racing attracts a wide cross section of people. There are small business owners, 125 00:24:24.710 --> 00:24:32.350 professional men, blue collar workers, executives, young boys, retired men, and a lot of women too. 126 00:24:33.450 --> 00:24:39.370 And whether it be the challenge of breeding and training good racers or receiving recognition at 127 00:24:39.370 --> 00:24:45.070 the end of the season, there's a great deal of personal satisfaction to be gained from every 128 00:24:45.070 --> 00:24:51.730 aspect of the sport. But as any of us will tell you, the greatest reward for a flier 129 00:24:51.730 --> 00:24:56.090 is the thrill of having one of his pigeons come home a winner.