Out all night
(Internet Published) Oct 2000
Whenever one of my pigeons fails to return to my loft and enter my loft by
nightfall, I am very very upset and very worried. I have said with
monotonous regularity that such pigeons are at great risk and the very best
of them and the most experienced specimens may never be seen again. Left out
on the loft top all night is bad enough, but out all night roosting
elsewhere, is a potential disaster. A kit of tipplers, especially, is mostly
ruined if it fails to drop at it's own loft after a fly. It takes patience
to re-train such defaulting kits or individuals and this is a subject for a
later article.
High flying seems to be prone to several hazards - I mean high flying of pin
head size or less. It certainly attracts Peregrine Falcons and most high
flying pigeons have an inborn terror of anything that looks like a Hawk or a
Falcon. The appearance of such a hawk or Falcon will often terrorise pigeons
even though there is not an attack. In terror, such high flying pigeons will
bolt out of the area and fail to return by nightfall. Where they end up is
anybody's guess and it's a matter of luck if they manage to get to the loft
on the next day.
I certainly have served my apprenticeship with this problem. I have had many
a sleepless night thinking worrying about a kit that was "missed" and
overflown into darkness, never to be seen again. I have been worried sick
even at the loss of one bird. To me, loss means my failure and my own
disgrace. Any man who ever flew Tipplers, Rollers, etc., and who also has a
heart will know what I am talking about.