Pigeons in the Night
(Internet Published) Jun 2000
Until 16 years ago, all of my pigeons were trained to accept being out at
night. For many years, I had no option but to train them like this.
Otherwise I would have not been able to fly at all between October and
March. This was too much to bear, because I really needed to fly each
evening. In those days, I left work at 4:30 PM. I bought a Honda 50cc motor
scooter for the main purpose of getting from my place of work to the place
where I kept pigeons. The journey was 2 1/2 miles and I could to it in 10
minutes. October and November I could arrive at my loft in a little
daylight. December and January it was dark before I could get to the loft.
February and March I could arrive with a little daylight left.
Of course, between late March and October I had sufficient daylight.
With tipplers I had the help of an old gardener who would release the
tipplers at any time I asked. This meant that I arrived at 4:40 PM in the
hopes that my tipplers had not dropped already. In fact, it was not often
that they had. I well remember arriving in the twilight or darkness to
anxiously locate my kit. Sometimes I could hear them before I could see
them.
The valley where I keep pigeons is a dark, wild overgrown place. No public
lights and being in a wooded valley, the darkness comes very suddenly.
However, my tipplers were all trained to darkness, to two kerosene lamps and
a few white droppers. There were times, when the tipplers continued to fly
strongly and I knew that I had to wait for the signs. In fact, on several
occasions I had tipplers flying in the dark for 4 hours during training and
I was not amused by that.
On marathon attempts I helped to get 2-3 hours flying in the dark. In fact,
I very seldom did. All too often my kit "showed signs" and needing to drop,
just as the light was failing. About 1970 I had to give up the tipplers
because frankly they were getting me down. I reckon that tipplers have to be
kept where the owner lives and not at a distant location. I had already
given up the Macclesfield prints and greys because of their failures in the
dark. My Sheffielders from K. Brown and J Heaton were far better in the
dark. Jack Heaton was indeed an excellent dark flier.
However, as I said, I had to get rid of the tipplers. Due to ordinance I was
not allowed to keep them at home. Thereafter it was rollers and of course I
flew them to darkness too. I had to. Some of the best simultaneous bursts of
rolling took place in the last shreds of daylight. The poor light made them
nervous and in the mass confusion they would roll. I could hear them roll.
People said that I was crazy to be down there in the cold and darkness after
a hard day in the forge.
Yet I had to do it. I needed to do it. So I did it.
I found it easy to get my pigeons used to the darkness. I simply caused them
to be out in the dark--that is all. Feb, 2000, by accident my kit of about
50 rollers were still flying as the daylight "went". "I nearly DIED" Result
was a terrible confusion bordering on panic. It took me 2 hours to get them
in side with a torch which also scared them. They were too scared to take
feed and I was in a state of nerves too. Obviously not trained for the
darkness and I'll make sure that I don't have that none-sense again. I am a
little too old for that caper.