Flying Alone

By

John Clements

Anyone interested in Long Distance pigeons almost always also takes a keen interest in bird migration. It's part of the wider fascination and spin off of our sport. Our, (long distance pigeons) are of course doing something similar but not quite the same as migration in the wild. There are differences. Wind direction is not controlled in pigeon racing. With bird migration the departure day is chosen to suit the direction of travel.  All migratory birds start in a following wind.

One of the most majestic of all migrations is that taken by the 'Bar Headed' goose in its flight over the Himalayas from India to Tibet. These geese can fly at altitudes of 21,000 feet during their migration.  They do it in stages but the crucial part of flying over the high mountains they do it in one seven hour stint.   Our pigeons could not manage a flight at that altitude but they can do other things.  They can and do fly for longer stints. They can fly against the wind. They are able to fly alone without the help of a flock, I can't think of a winning pigeon location in the UK that homes to a loft of 1000 feet or more above sea level.  Our pigeons certainly rival these high flying geese.  Our pigeons have a higher average speed.   We ask our pigeons to go against their natural instinct and continue flying despite the break up of the original flock they started out with. This is a big ask.  The items I have just mentioned are essential differences between 'Bar Headed' geese and successful marathon pigeons. We have over the years improved the marathon pigeon through a process of selective breeding but we still have a long way to go.

Bar headed geese flying over the Hymalayas

Anyone interested in pigeons and pigeon racing is obliged to understand of the flocking habit in pigeons and how it affects homing and race results. If you don't attempt to understand it you will never become a regular in National results at the longer distances. You have to understand that pigeons in a flock fly faster than pigeon flying alone yet pigeons that are capable of flying alone when the flock has broken up have better navigational capacities and a more determined homing instinct than ordinary pigeons.  One of the definitions of a 'smash' is when the conditions are such that the flocks are broken and individual pigeons are forced to rely only on themselves to make it home. The percentages that make it to their home loft  in reasonable time are very small. Some still do it at a reasonable speed but others may take days or weeks to get home.

The now famous 'Centenary Smash' is a good example of a 'smash'.  The famous centenary race is now a part of everyone’s memory and UK pigeon folklore. During the 'Centenary Smash' pigeons were knocked to the ground by torrential rain and as a consequence the flocks were broken pigeons taking part had to get up - fly on - and navigate alone as individuals as best as they could multiple winners were lost in this race but because the flocks were broken the race proved to be beyond the capacity of most yet it did sort out the best long distance pigeons from those that were not up to it.  This tragedy was compounded by the fact that the race was largely made up of ordinary club pigeons who were, unlike 'National' pigeons, not used to flying alone even though some had won many Club and Federation races in their recent past. These fast club pigeons were left wanting under conditions they had not experienced before.

Thinking fanciers learnt a lot from this race. Non thinking fanciers decided to avoid navigation testing races in the future.  Those who did chose to examine the evidence came out of it better fanciers simply because they now understood the huge impact the flocking has in all forms of pigeon racing.  In short races flocking is high in marathon races flocking it is less.  The channel crossing and where it happens in the race (early or in the later part)  is a huge factor in marathon races from France to the UK. The more southerly the race-point in France the more it exposes the pigeons lone flying capability.

To stress the point of view of long distance racing; a pigeon that is released from say Perpignan, Tarbes, Marseilles, Pau or Narbonne and then has then to fly through the whole of France with either a night stop on the way or in a single stint, has, by the time it reaches the Northern French coast probably alone of in a tiny group. The lone pigeon has a decision to make. Top pigeons take the sea crossing into England in their stride and cross without hesitation but those of a flock mentality, even if superbly fit, will wait for others to join them before they gather enough confidence to tackle the sea crossing.  Some poor or inferior specimens may never cross at all or perhaps return two weeks later when they have recovered the mental strength to do so. It is always difficult to breed extra determined pigeons. They cannot be bought off the shelf.

The conclusion of article is our successful long distance champions are in a way superior to the 'Bar Headed' geese. Rare individuals long distance pigeons have a superior 'flying alone; quality that runs against a basic natural habit. Lone flying  is probably arrived at by  mixture of both nature and nurture but all in all only one in a hundred pigeons originally bred are ever capable of and have the capacity to fly alone with confidence, This proportion has stood pretty much still for the last 40 or 50 years. . This kind of pigeon, able to do this kind of task, is very rare but for those who take part in this kind of racing -  the drama the excitement the expectation and the build up of the race make it a worthwhile way of experiencing something different. It also tests your understanding of pigeons.   The marathon kind of pigeon cannot usually be found by studying a list of first prizes. First prizes are usually for those who have commercial frame of mind. Those who have done it prefer a lesser but more reliable test.  They study distance flown returns repeat performances and the route and conditions on the day as being of greater significance.   The best and most efficient way is to take heed of those pigeons that have performed under the conditions that play out here in the UK. Mainland Europe is not the same.

This study of migration is probably not the best commercial path for the pigeon industry.  Pigeon advertising tends to make huge claims based on star-studded pedigrees and first prize pigeons.  Myths abound but few fanciers or studs have even a passable record of breeding successful extreme distance pigeons for others.  Another myth I am now prepared to blow out of the water is that of big senders having an automatic advantage.

Big senders who regularly exercise or flag sixty or more cocks and thus by doing so encourage flock behavior in their team rarely do well from distances over 700 miles. Sending a lot of pigeons at these distances does not necessarily give competitive advantage. Quality matters more than quantity and quality is always in short supply in flights over 700 miles .

Lols Pride

The fact that exercising a large number of pigeons around the loft helps to create the flock mentality in the team runs counter to what is expected of the marathon pigeon. Lol Green the owner and breeder of 'Lols Pride' one of them great pigeons of this century  once told me he often had to leave his pigeon to come into the loft alone every morning because he had to go to work. The pigeon had already been flying alone for an hour when he had to leave.  Obviously the experience of flying alone was of a huge benefit for 'Lol's Pride’ when it came to how Lol's Pride performed over three years from Pau with the NFC.

A high proportion of Bar Headed Geese migrate successfully is simply because they still maintain the flock despite the high altitude. I am sure a single flying Bar Headed goose would probably not make it if they were forced to do so. 'Lol's Pride' was the first section 'L' Certificate of Merit winner with the NFC and even now only three have ever done it  flying  a similar distance.

The NFC certificate of Merit is awarded to a pigeon that gets into the first 100 Open places three times in the NFC's longest race. Pigeons from section 'L' one of the longer sections have to get into the first 200 places. Only three pigeons have ever done it from the longest sections in the history of the award. 'The Pride' was 3rd - 32nd and 114th Open in 1987 1988 and 1989.