Click on the pdf files for the labelled results. Use the bottom link for the Wikipedia Ward details including its location in nz.
FedWard18October2014.East Flockpdf
FedWard18October2014.East Futurity
FedWard18October2014.3×2 teams Eastpdf
FedWard18October2014.West Flockpdf
FedWard18October2014.West Futuritypdf
FedWard18October2014.West 3×2 teamspdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward,_New_Zealand
Ward Race report coming…………
Our first race of the 2014 Old Bird season for the ARPF went off without a hitch there being a very good muster at basketing and things were run very smoothly.
One of the great things this year is the use of the screen to feed results to from Jim Cater’s pc. Jim certainly deserved to be commended for his excellent and diligent work and the other members working in well alongside him just like a well oiled machine.
There was a happy atmosphere that night and obviously the novelty of the system used to present the results and the fact that this was the first of our Federation races had much to do with it. A lot of us hadn’t seen each other for about 5 months, so it was good to catch up and talk pigeons amongst other things.
On the morning of the race after liberation the Federation site reported
“Auckland & Manaia Pigeons liberated 8am into clear skies Fresh NW wind
South Waikato 8.30am
Hamilton 8.45am”
And I wrote on my Facebook pigeon chat site
“up 8am, fresh nw and fine, should pick up a sw from King Country so fast finish if 4cast correct, wait and see”.
Checking out the metservice rain radar I could see that there was a good chance of some very big showers especially in the King Country i.e. centre of the race for front markers. Winds were pretty strong west with hail expected and later reported.
For most Auckland pigeons this was their first longer race for the season. For some reason prior to this race the programme this year only included one 2 day basket which are our North Island races of longer duration. Unfortunately due to a storm brewing 2 weeks prior our programmed Whanganui race which is a 2 day basket was not held. This disappointed a number of fanciers. I noticed that some of the later pigeons were pretty tired and either they got a bit lost or the fitness level was below par for this distance, however it was good to get the fly into them and those organising the transportation and liberation of the pigeons did an excellent job. Incidentally, a couple of the pigeons which were about 3 hours behind the front pigeons won for me the Westport Combine 4 weeks later, having been spelled 3 weeks after this race and then given a Raetihi as a ‘pipe opener’.
To new comers, we fly these middle distance races in sections. I posted the results yesterday and all you have to do is click on them and the pdf file will open up for you in that window and perhaps you can keep reading in another. Win Arnold took the first Yearling and first Flock in the East Section and gets his name on the overall trophy. Paul Millar was ‘bridesmaid in both legs. I told him he had to wear a bridesmaid dress the next Federation race but I didn’t see him in one!
I was happy with my 4 together that took 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Flock places. My first yearling came back from the north to finish 6th Yearling.
Jim Cater took the honours in the West Section in both legs of the race. He also took the same places in the Western Union race 2 weeks prior from Raumati, so he had won four trophies by this stage and was flying very well. You could say that he deserved it due to all the hard work he puts in for the Federation races even though he is not on the Committee now. However he did not finish at 4 major wins as you will find out in the weeks to come as I collate the race reports for the season just ended. He had a ‘magic’ season indeed.
Just going back through the East Yearling results it was very good to see Risto Gramov 3rd in that leg, 5 minutes behind on the slow by but he is 36km more than the winner, Win. Seeing Risto with 10 entries, that is a massive team for him, as often he has barely a handful but races quite credibly. Also one of our back markers had a good performance, I think i.e. Dave Driver to take 7th, one behind mine. I give Dave 120KM so Win gives him about 100km; I would say that the pigeons were finishing slower somewhere north of the Bombay’s, so good fly Dave!
Looking again at the East Flock race you can see that the pigeons were a bit split up and Gramov in the Harbour Club just pipped Camry Lofts which is the fancier Ray van der Riet. Other than that, David Moors having a good bird in a wind that is unfavourable for his loft location in the East Section. Elley Family (my family) having 59 pigeons in the Flock race of course having a better chance of getting a few up there and they were 2 two year olds and 2 three year olds and had never done anything at a Federation trophy race level. All medium to large and the sort of body type that can go well in the strong westerly side winds over here and in that particular race, although a few months later two of these went to Invercargill but have failed to return. One (337) was actually reported on Dog Island which isn’t that far from the race point. A government worker had caught him and looked after him and let him go 2 days later in Bluff and then rang Bill Beattie who handles and liberates the Invercargill pigeons when he gets the good to go. When Longville senior gave me the note with the bird’s number on it at the strike off recently he said ‘it’s on its way”, I wondered what he meant and initially thought he was getting brought up, but no such luck! Perhaps 337 thought the bottom of the South Island was the top.
FedRaumati4Oct2014 east yearlings
FedRaumati4Oct2014.eastflockpdf
FedRaumati4Oct2014.eastteamspdf
FedRaumati4Oct2014.westyrlgpdf
FedRaumati4Oct2014.westflockpdf
FedRaumati4Oct2014.westteamspdf
more coming soon…………..
Dad, very clever, extremely articulate, funny man, four degrees, not a dummy.
Would tell me about all the different situations he had to sort out in Presbyterian Churches around the countryside in nz. A good man but a sinner like we all are in need of saving and the precious, abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. Rest in peace until the last trumpet sounds!
I am from time to time made aware that not all members of the pigeon fraternity enjoy my blogs, especially those blogs and posts that stand up for and command respect for ‘our mighty pigeons’. One of the things that is indeed beautiful and liberating is the freedom from having to be right or control; I am of the opinion that these are very dangerous components of human beings. When they are used in ways which are not warranted and violate the human right of ‘freedom of expression’ and seek to put a ‘lid’ on items of ‘public interest’ then we can find in ourselves some of our ‘inner demons’.
But back to the pigeon, why are our racing pigeons ‘mighty’. It is not because they have all won big races because even in the current champs loft the best performers are few and far between, especially when we hit the middle distance and longer. However, I was wondering tonight, how many marriages has the hobby of keeping pigeons saved, how many little children have retained both parents because Daddy has stuck it out for his children with the help of the pigeons as a relaxing and supportive hobby.
My argument is always ‘without the pigeon, you do not have pigeon racing!’ When races go wrong and leadership feels under the gun and react in a feelings first manner with their decision making then there may be reason for concern. Like any situation, should we only keep as a friend someone who pushes the right buttons and says the right things always, certainly not, that would be controlling to the nth degree!
Henk, a nice Dutchman used to often talk about ‘ego’ when discussing pigeons with me in the Manukau Club many moons ago. In hindsight those were very wise words, for if there is a problem with a race or race(s) and many pigeons are missing, then what should be more important, the ego of the pigeon fancier or the missing pigeons themselves, I hear you all saying, “the later’ and of course, you are very right indeed!
If someone is very passionate about the welfare of the pigeons is that a bad thing? Certainly not and it is here that I disagree with some writers who indicate that ‘you can love pigeons too much’. I actually think that the reverse applies myself i.e. you cannot love these defenceless creatures enough and if the heart is missing for the pigeon, if politics and so on mean more than the pigeons, then a fancier is indeed in trouble I think, don’t you?
What would you think the general public thinks of these ideas; would it be any different from caring for your pet dog or cat, maybe not? It intrigues me when there is some sort of commotion in the ‘pigeon world’ e.g. the banning of racing for now in Johannesburg. Of course this simply turned out to be a false alarm, it is really only about the governments there’s concerns of the feral pigeons (and lost or still coming home racers) being a reservoir for both human and avian diseases and I believe it will fizzle out.
This got many people in a flap though and given how some have felt and reacted to that news to me it begs the question, if ten years went by and pigeon racing is banned in many parts of the world due to animal activists campaigning to curb the sport in all sorts of ways, then if we arrived at that situation e.g. in nz or Australia, what key things should we have done to prevent this happening?
I will point out that nz is very isolated from the rest of the world and a pigeon or pigeon eggs would either have to be smuggled in somehow in order for there to be a disease risk, as simply put, no pigeon alive is capable of flying across the huge expanse of the Tasman Sea from Australia. A pigeon would have to hitch a ride on a boat as importations of pigeons have been banned for decades.
That just leaves the situation with the animal activists. Some might think that I am one and I do not choose that label because if I really was against pigeon racing in nz then there are a lot more things that I could do than merely writing on my blog mainly in the off season and running a small closed Facebook chat group, both of which have varied topics.
My mindset is that if we are open and transparent we have a better chance of not being a target for groups like PETA, the logic being that despite their perhaps fundamental goal of ‘liberating all the birds and animals’, that in general they are very content on working to see improvements in the lot of animals e.g. free range broiler chicken and egg farming as opposed to the stereotyped ‘factory farming’ which I will admit that as I have aged I have realised the radical differences in the two practices.
Should pigeon racing be banned in any country? Are liberations out to sea and even as a typhoon approaches good for the sports image? They are probably not. Of course it is not for me to say, but I think within my own country there are many people working to make the racing pigeons lot in general a very good one and I like that!
If I write on this blog or in the chat group in favour of pigeon welfare then I am really only doing the sport and the ‘pigeon’ (which the sport simply cannot do without) a favour, at least that is what I think. Besides which, the blog is just a little ‘stage’ and of course the chat group on Facebook is closed, so what’s the problem? Am I to be gagged for sticking up for the pigeons? My opinion in this regard is that it could be dangerous for circles of people if they attempt to do that, as how does that make them look with respect to pigeon welfare here in nz?
Fanciers also worry about people who might cause the sport, even here in nz trouble, but I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, maybe I am biased, you can tell me, and I am open to being wrong!
I do know that we need to put a mammoth effort into preserving the sport from the grass roots up. Welfare standards at the home lofts must be excellent and the race liberations under taken in a very careful and considerate way, especially from the long distance, which many people love. If in doubt, hold them over has to be strictly adhered to.
Therefore by attempting to curb intelligent criticism of a pigeon body of any form, whether it be in casual conversations, private emails, meetings, closed chat groups or even on blogs such as mine, is in my mind extremely controlling and just a tad naive, however, I also accept that that is some fanciers views and you are entitled to think that way just as I and many others are entitled to think in a more futuristic, broader way that gives the ordinary racing pigeon much more respect than some give. So I am still convinced that if we are totally honest and transparent with the public and totally open to learn as pigeon bodies how to manage our racing programmes better, then instead of reaping ‘problems’ in the long term with the public, then we will reap a harvest of ‘great things’ with the public and the more that we can get on the radio, tv and in the newspapers for the right reasons the better.
It was a huge shock to the fanciers in the U.K. to be attacked so sensationally by PETA last year and of course I have written three articles on PETA and if I think it would help I will write more, however given that they seem to have settled down I think that it is better to keep any ideas for future articles and videos on the back boiler. I think that they would go after the Australians before nz but I also think that they will have bigger fish to fry, just like they took on Elizabeth the Queen of England and the fancy in the Diamond Jubilee Year, although in essence they want to control and curb the sport, they are very much into sensationalism and of course it is ‘free’ advertising for them when the media do run with it.
Leaving that subject and getting back to the grass roots of the sport in every country, we need to push the exposure of the younger generation to racing pigeons. Every now and then I see something or get sent something on the net about racing pigeons in schools and that is a great thing. In form two at Henderson Intermediate the teacher of the time Ollie Green got me to bring a pair of pigeons to stay at the school in the class in a metre long coop high up below the ceiling and they bred there and we would have them out in the class and there would be the occasional ‘deposit’ on the desks or floor. It was a good, fun thing.
It is easy to get side tracked from the real important jobs that ought to be done as pigeon bodies. Arguing and bickering never achieves anything except for a dry throat and perhaps a headache! Circles of people that run pigeon organisations need to focus on what is important to a pigeon body as a whole and not get lost in the relentless pursuit of ‘ego’ and ‘vanities’. The rights of the little men viz the infirm, the aged, the beginners, those simply just struggling in general and the ‘unconverted’ non fancier public member, these are more important than ‘feelings’ that can run high when people find themselves in difficult situations and revenge would be a lovely past time.
My Father was a preacher to the lost, the unsaved and at times that is my role too. However, in addition I find myself as an ambassador for the ‘mighty’ pigeon and ‘woe betide anyone’ who thinks that racing pigeons at the least are not worth as much and have as many rights as the drug peddlers, pedo’s and other filth in our societies! Do not these scum bags have rights, you bet that they do and so should our pigeons and don’t worry, I’ll keep fighting for them!
Enjoyed it.
At the end of the 2008 season Keith retired after eight good years as chief convoyer of the London & South East Classic Club, which took him to all the major race points in France, including twice Tarbes (560 miles) and six times to Pau (550 miles). He says he loved convoying and could write a book about his experiences while driving the pigeon transporter on the continent, but maintains he would never go to Guernsey for a holiday as he took the Classic young birds there 15 times and has had enough of the place. He has been writing in the fancy press since 1972 and enjoys doing his regular pages every week in the pigeon fancy press. Keith has appeared eight times on the television with the pigeons, the…
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Enjoyed it.
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It is always a pleasure to announce good race results from the South Island. Last Friday and weekend the Waikato Federation flew four races from the South Island. The Timaru and Mosgiel were released early Friday morning, the Invercargill pigeons at midday Friday and Stewart Island early morning Saturday. The Auckland Federation flew two races from the South Island on the Saturday, Christchurch and Timaru.
I have the results from the Waikato Federation and to me they are very good, I’m sure that you will agree. Perhaps some of you reading will be able to add more info about the fliers and their top position scoring pigeons in the comments section.
Unfortunately the returns for the Christchurch to Auckland race were extremely poor and are a big concern for the fancy here in Auckland. The West Section did a bit better than the East Section with returns. The Timaru race although going up at the same time had a better percentage return.
Weather conditions for the ARPF Christchurch National and Timaru races were headwinds in the South Island and over the Cook Strait and the lower North Island. In fact the early morning forecast for the afternoon in the Cook Strait was a gale warning of nor-westerlies rising to 35 knots i.e. around 65 kmph and likely gusting double that at times. The conditions for the Ferry returning to Wellington from Picton were pretty rough with many people vomiting.
The unfortunate thing was that the nor-west winds of some significance were forecast for the Cook Strait until some time during Sunday afternoon so that any pigeons which hadn’t crossed on the day had a pretty big ask ahead of them.
However, further up the North Island from Waitomo it was mainly south-westerly on Saturday and Sunday with a fairly steady westerly wind pattern below this to the lower North Island’s moderate to strong nor-westerly.
One of my Christchurch pigeons was reported on the ARPF website, see email below.
Hi Emma
Many thanks for reporting this pigeon – we really appreciate your having done so. The pigeon belongs to Mr Fergus Elley, who is also receiving a copy of this email, and who will be in touch with you as soon as possible.
Kind regards
Jim Cater
Auckland Racing Pigeon Federation
—–Original Message—–
From: Emma [mailto]-email addy removed
Sent: Tuesday, 9 December 2014 8:44 p.m.
To: Jim Cater
Subject: Found Pigeon
Message body:
Hello,
We have found what appears to be a racing pigeon on our farm. It has two tags, one reading ‘TAURIS 2000’ and one that reads ‘NZ PUKE 2012 0339’.
We have caught it and are giving it seed and water, but we would like it to get back to it’s owner as soon as we can. Any help you can give us would be great. We are located in Tiraumea in Northern Wairarapa. You can reach us through email or on -ph num removed.
Regards, Emma.
This pigeon of mine was dropped off in Palmerston North the next Friday at a friend Earl Hautapu’s place who is a fancier down there having not been back in the sport that long. This pigeon is a bit of a pet of mine; otherwise I would give it to him as he likes it! Thanks both Emma and Earl. Now I have to find out a way of getting it back here that is not too expensive. The pigeon should have been on the west coast of the North Island but has likely been blown off course, although it is great it got over the Cook Strait and hopefully many pigeons in this race did and they will work their way home in the next few weeks or so.
You’ll find the East Section and West Section results below and normally I publish the first 20 in the East and first 10 in the West, but since the returns are so sparse I have included the whole result.
The Timaru returns are a bit better even though it is almost another 140km. This could be because it is said to be an easier race point to orientate out of and also because fanciers are more likely to send out and out long distance pigeons which are in general more experienced.
East Section Old Bird National Christchurch 6th December 2014 6.30am liberation. 26 lofts. 294 pigeons.
Plc Loft No Distance Day Clock Var Flying Pigeon Metres/Min KM/Hour Needed
1 K Frazer 33 722880.0 1 19:40:49 2 13:10:51 ARPF-11-1119 BC H 914.0545 54.8433 0:00:00
2 Craig Gray 23 714048.1 1 20:21:23 – 13:51:23 MKU-12-2722 BC H 858.8675 51.5320 0:50:12
3 Craig Gray 23 714048.1 1 20:37:57 – 14:07:57 MKU-12-2755 BC H 842.0875 50.5253 1:06:46
4 B Roud 4 740196.8 2 7:10:02 1 16:14:03 MKU-11-1470 BC H 759.9166 45.5950 2:44:15
5 Tui Lofts 18 739349.2 2 7:35:40 – 16:39:40 EU-13-0330 BB C 739.5957 44.3757 3:10:48
6 Tui Lofts 18 739349.2 2 7:39:04 – 16:43:04 SARPC-11-2300 BB C 737.0888 44.2253 3:14:12
7 J and G Lofts 8 727962.7 2 7:36:09 1 16:40:10 SARPC-13-3132 BC H 727.8414 43.6705 3:23:45
8 David Moors 15 742623.0 2 7:59:05 1 17:03:06 ARPF-12-2457 GRIZ C 725.8557 43.5513 3:30:39
9 R & P Gramov 11 760466.2 2 8:26:58 -4 17:30:54 HARB-13-3356 BC C 723.6333 43.4180 3:38:56
10 R & P Gramov 11 760466.2 2 8:39:37 -4 17:43:33 HARB-13-3374 BCWF C 715.0263 42.9016 3:51:35
11 Tui Lofts 18 739349.2 2 8:24:24 – 17:28:24 SARPC-13-3422 BB C 705.2167 42.3130 3:59:32
12 Mac Armstrong 8 752294.6 2 8:49:49 1 17:53:50 MKU-13-3325 BC H 700.5692 42.0342 4:10:48
13 Camray Lofts 8 770156.0 2 9:19:55 2 18:23:57 HARB-13-3429 BB C 697.6367 41.8582 4:21:23
14 J and G Lofts 8 727962.7 2 8:44:40 1 17:48:41 SARPC-13-3105 BBP H 681.1772 40.8706 4:32:16
15 Race Duranski 11 760528.7 2 9:57:02 1 19:01:03 HARB-13-3381 BC H 666.5165 39.9910 5:09:01
16 K Frazer 33 722880.0 2 9:01:17 2 18:05:19 ARPF-13-3457 BC H 666.0545 39.9633 4:54:28
17 K Frazer 33 722880.0 2 9:01:39 2 18:05:41 PUKE-13-3182 BB H 665.8295 39.9498 4:54:50
18 K Frazer 33 722880.0 2 9:12:37 2 18:16:39 PUK-11-1239 BB H 659.1711 39.5503 5:05:48
19 S and M Archer 6 753277.5 2 10:21:43 1 19:25:44 PHAK-13-0012 BB C 646.1834 38.7710 5:41:38
20 Tui Lofts 18 739349.2 2 10:04:40 – 19:08:40 SARPC-13-3275 SLT H 643.6586 38.6195 5:39:48
21 Craig Gray 23 714048.1 2 9:36:45 – 18:40:45 MKU-11-1494 BC C 637.1163 38.2270 5:39:34
22 K Frazer 33 722880.0 2 10:11:30 2 19:15:32 PUKE-13-3341 BBP H 625.5813 37.5349 6:04:41
23 Craig Gray 23 714048.1 2 10:00:47 – 19:04:47 MKU-11-1294 BC C 623.7408 37.4244 6:03:36
24 Paul Millar 10 741214.5 2 10:55:18 1 19:59:19 SARPC-11-2053 RC C 618.0307 37.0818 6:28:24
25 Paul Millar 10 741214.5 2 12:10:20 1 21:14:21 SARPC-12-2009 BCWF H 581.6412 34.8985 7:43:26
26 Sterling Lofts 13 739740.4 2 12:07:52 1 21:11:53 SARPC-13-3161 DC H 581.6103 34.8966 7:42:35
27 K Frazer 33 722880.0 2 11:47:52 2 20:51:54 ARPF-13-3436 BCP H 577.4263 34.6456 7:41:03
28 Dave Brough 6 749830.9 2 12:42:13 -3 21:46:10 PHAK-12-2152 BB H 574.0698 34.4442 8:05:50
29 Craig Gray 23 714048.1 2 14:09:18 – 23:13:18 MKU-12-2767 BC H 512.4870 30.7492 10:12:07
30 S and M Archer 6 753277.5 2 15:34:49 1 24:38:50 ARPF-12-2461 SLT H 509.3728 30.5624 10:54:44
31 T Thum 10 754726.7 2 16:15:49 -1 25:19:48 PHAK-12-2042 SLT H 496.5961 29.7958 11:34:07
32 J and G Lofts 8 727962.7 2 16:47:58 1 25:51:59 SARPC-12-2425 BC C 469.0532 28.1432 12:35:34
33 S and M Archer 6 753277.5 3 9:35:19 1 34:14:20 PHAK-12-2194 BC H 366.6773 22.0006 20:30:14
34 Dave Brough 6 749830.9 3 13:16:28 -4 37:55:24 PHAK-13-0120 BC C 329.5381 19.7723 24:15:04
So what do we learn about pigeon liberations from last weekend’s racing in the ARPF? Firstly, we need to breed more pigeons off the lines of pigeons which returned from these races in race time and their parents and close relatives. The hen I got around 8.40am Sunday from Timaru scored 3rd Federation Timaru and had she not flown into the Rimu tree next to the loft, sitting there for a good three minutes, then she would have been second. However, the winning pigeon from Tui Lofts was on the day, good pigeon, good fly, well done pigeon and owner Alan Smith. My hen 301 will be paired to the cock which won the hard Timaru on the day in 2011 in 14 hours and six minutes. 301 was off a love mating; only two bred off them in the race loft and she flew Christchurch fairly well last year as a yearling.
Also congratulations to Kerry Frazer for his win in the National 1st OPEN and he also won the ARPF Invercargill. The West Section National being won by John Stavert i.e. Airforce One, he also was second Invercargill.
ARPF OPEN Race from Timaru on 6th December 2014. 6.30am liberation. 20 lofts. 89 pigeons.
Plc Loft No Distance Day Clock Var Flying Pigeon Metres/Min KM/Hour Needed
1 Tui Lofts 3 877978.1 1 20:04:55 – 13:34:55 SARPC-12-2323 GP C 1077.3839 64.6430 0:00:00
2 Craig Gray 15 854147.8 2 8:46:23 – 17:50:23 MKU-13-3150 BC H 797.9831 47.8790 4:37:35
3 Elley Family 3 848887.8 2 8:43:50 1 17:47:51 PUKE-12-0301 BB H 794.9504 47.6970 4:39:56
4 Craig Gray 15 854147.8 2 8:56:57 – 18:00:57 MKU-10-0227 BBP C 790.1825 47.4110 4:48:09
5 Tui Lofts 3 877978.1 2 9:46:04 – 18:50:04 SARPC-11-2317 BC C 776.9259 46.6156 5:15:09
6 Jim Cater 3 885600.2 2 10:46:14 – 19:50:14 HENAK-12-0115 BC C 744.0560 44.6434 6:08:15
7 K Frazer 4 862072.5 2 10:18:08 3 19:22:11 PUKE-13-3317 BCP C 741.7698 44.5062 6:02:02
8 T&M van Lier 2 887785.6 2 10:54:29 4 19:58:33 HENAK-12-0155 RC H 740.7164 44.4430 6:14:32
9 Colin Chang 5 895963.4 2 11:10:11 – 20:14:11 HENA-12-0227 BB H 737.9144 44.2749 6:22:34
10 Camray Lofts 8 906314.5 2 11:34:07 2 20:38:09 HARB-13-3408 BC C 731.9909 43.9195 6:36:56
11 B&F van Lier 8 885321.4 2 11:14:48 -7 20:18:41 PHAK-13-0265 BB H 726.4573 43.5874 6:36:57
12 B&F van Lier 8 885321.4 2 12:06:10 -7 21:10:03 WUAK-12-0284 BB H 697.0760 41.8246 7:28:19
13 Craig Gray 15 854147.8 2 11:22:46 – 20:26:46 MKU-11-1300 BC C 696.2594 41.7756 7:13:58
14 Camray Lofts 8 906314.5 2 14:40:01 2 23:44:03 HARB-13-3413 SLTW C 636.4345 38.1861 9:42:50
15 R & P Gramov 4 897283.9 2 17:19:03 -4 26:22:59 HARB-11-0787 BB C 566.8309 34.0099 12:30:09
16 Forest Hill Lofts 2 881936.0 2 17:55:28 3 26:59:31 WUAK-12-0211 DRC H 544.5674 32.6740 13:20:56
17 Craig Gray 15 854147.8 3 17:30:02 – 42:09:02 MKU-10-0226 BB H 337.7369 20.2642 28:56:14
West Section Results National. 10 lofts. 146 pigeons.
Plc Loft No Distance Day Clock Var Flying Pigeon Metres/Min KM/Hour Needed
1 Air Force One 20 744416.7 2 6:59:52 -2 16:03:50 ARPF-13-3438 SLT C 772.3500 46.3410 0:00:00
2 BMW Lofts 22 747606.3 2 7:40:33 -2 16:44:31 WUAK-13-3590 RC C 744.2448 44.6547 0:36:33
3 Jim Cater 20 749712.1 2 8:01:18 – 17:05:18 WUAK-11-0518 BMLY H 731.2124 43.8727 0:54:37
4 T&M van Lier 11 752312.9 2 9:24:21 4 18:28:25 WUAK-13-3557 BB H 678.7275 40.7237 2:14:22
5 B&F van Lier 20 750141.8 2 9:23:42 -7 18:27:35 WUAK-13-3586 BC H 677.2780 40.6367 2:16:20
6 Colin Chang 16 762196.8 2 10:18:21 – 19:22:21 HENA-13-3243 BB H 655.7378 39.3443 2:55:30
7 Colin Chang 16 762196.8 2 10:26:30 – 19:30:30 HENA-13-3002 GRZ H 651.1720 39.0703 3:03:39
8 Colin Chang 16 762196.8 2 10:26:44 – 19:30:44 AAK-13-3127 BBP C 651.0422 39.0625 3:03:53
9 T&M van Lier 11 752312.9 2 10:30:36 4 19:34:40 HENAK-13-3228 BB H 640.4480 38.4269 3:20:37
10 Air Force One 20 744416.7 2 10:46:10 -2 19:50:08 WUAK-10-0211 BBP H 625.4902 37.5294 3:46:18
11 D&T Campbell 9 760147.9 2 12:07:10 – 21:11:10 WUAK-11-0274 BC H 597.9923 35.8795 4:46:58
12 Air Force One 20 744416.7 2 12:46:25 -2 21:50:23 PHAK-13-0289 M H 568.0908 34.0854 5:46:33
13 Forest Hill Lofts 7 746221.7 2 13:21:58 3 22:26:01 PHAK-13-0255 BBWF C 554.3926 33.2636 6:19:51
14 Jim Cater 20 749712.1 2 13:36:13 – 22:40:13 PHAK-13-0172 BC H 551.1711 33.0703 6:29:32
15 Colin Chang 16 762196.8 2 14:15:31 – 23:19:31 HENA-13-3012 BLK C 544.6143 32.6769 6:52:40
16 Eric Billington 19 754870.5 2 15:05:19 – 24:09:19 HENAK-11-1062 DC H 520.8458 31.2507 7:51:57
17 Eric Billington 19 754870.5 2 15:11:23 – 24:15:23 WUAK-10-0379 LBC C 518.6747 31.1205 7:58:01
18 BMW Lofts 22 747606.3 2 14:58:29 -2 24:02:27 WUAK-13-3589 RSLT C 518.2892 31.0974 7:54:29
19 B&F van Lier 20 750141.8 2 15:11:11 -7 24:15:04 ARPF-13-3509 RC C 515.5378 30.9323 8:03:49
20 Air Force One 20 744416.7 2 15:44:04 -2 24:48:02 ARPF-12-2311 SLT H 500.2688 30.0161 8:44:12
21 BMW Lofts 22 747606.3 2 16:06:08 -2 25:10:06 WUAK-13-3596 BC C 495.0707 29.7042 9:02:08
22 Jim Cater 20 749712.1 2 18:21:48 – 27:25:48 WUAK-13-3488 BC H 455.5305 27.3318 11:15:07
23 B&F van Lier 20 750141.8 2 18:23:02 -7 27:26:55 WUAK-10-0467 BB H 455.4825 27.3290 11:15:40
24 Colin Chang 16 762196.8 3 7:12:45 – 31:51:45 HENA-13-3010 BB H 398.6906 23.9214 15:24:54
25 Eric Billington 19 754870.5 3 8:00:11 – 32:39:11 PHAK-13-0248 BC H 385.2986 23.1179 16:21:49
So genetics is the key because we never know when these races are going to come along, a bit like a thief in the night! You shouldn’t worry if you are in Auckland and you didn’t get a pigeon home in either or both races. Who knows, perhaps a pigeon of yours was doing well on the day and came to grief on a power line etc. There is always an element of luck in pigeon racing, with racing it can be the bad luck that we never know about and in breeding it can be the good luck at conception when the egg is fertilised that produces the fantastic racing pigeon.
Should the pigeons have gone up at Christchurch, that is the question some are asking and others are wondering i.e. exactly what has caused these very poor returns? It certainly seems to be that significant nor-east winds and easterly winds in Christchurch at liberation and to the north along the expected flight path of the flock can lead to poor race results/returns in the ARPF, but not always, hence the dilemma. Further, when a head wind race is anticipated, one of the liberation criteria is to get them released as early as possible or to hold them over. It is possible that the lower light intensity on overcast mornings can influence the pigeon’s navigation system and lead to a reduced confidence of the race convoy to clear the race point or head off in the right direction. A good start in a distance race or even short and middle distance race is essential, but as most of us fanciers know it does not guarantee a good race e.g. heavy widespread rain for many miles or even a ‘weather bomb’ can force pigeons down, thus delaying the return to their lofts.
The nor-east is the most common wind down there in Christchurch and then there’s all the Kaikoura ranges and foothills heading west towards the Southern Alps with blind ends and likely misty with possibly low cloud, these can be treacherous, just ask the pigeon fanciers in Nelson and Blenheim. Some years they abandon racing early due to difficult races through those areas from the south line resulting in the decimation of their race teams. Of course native falcons can upset a pigeon liberation too.
Sun spots are sometimes labelled as a factor also causing poor race returns and are said to affect racing pigeon orientation. However, the Waikato Federations three good races the day before (with the Invercargill not clocked till Sunday morning) may well rule this one out in this instance and their good Stewart Island race was liberated on Saturday too. In that race, as you can see by the results, six pigeons returned in race time from nine released! There were two pigeons on the second day and four on the third, truly tremendous results given the distance is almost 1200km!
The pigeons from the ARPF Christchurch liberation convoy, which made it to the top of the South Island and decided to cross the Cook Strait on the day, could very well have had their work cut out. I think even the earliest crossers had a fair bit of gusting nor-west wind to fly into and it would have been very hard to keep a straight course, as my reported pigeon found out.
These things aren’t planned for when you are responsible for a racing pigeon liberation. So I’m hoping there is a Special General Meeting to discuss this race in the future and perhaps a non Federation Executive working Committee elected to reduce the chances that it could ever happen again. Perhaps a couple of other Old Bird races can be discussed at the same time, such as the wet finish Ward and the very wet Mahunui, both involving weather bombs, a term that Jim Hickey our TV1 weather man likes to use.
I think that its great that we can share with ‘the world’ the proper functioning of a body of pigeon fanciers who are dedicated to their pigeons and at the same time have the privilege of being able to test the genetic potential of what they have bred each year through a fair racing programme with intelligently thought out racing protocols for very well looked after racing pigeons.
I’ll keep you posted with what happens. Thanks for reading. Like I said, if you have some knowledge of the Waikato pigeons and fanciers then please share with us on the site or if you are an Auckland fancier and would like to share something from last weekend, please feel free to do so. They say that ‘iron sharpens iron’ and this is what we do when we debate pigeon welfare concerns in any domain, be it a physical fanciers meeting, a small closed Facebook pigeon chat group or the internet. All are good forums, although I believe some beg to differ and of course that is their human right. However, seeing that the pigeons are not able to speak for themselves the likes of myself are given the onerous task of being their representative and of course I do that gladly and with much passion, after all, perhaps the ‘mighty pigeon’ has saved my life! Thanks to all that support me in this task including my dear wife Helen!
Next part coming soon…….
Please click on the 4 links below for the Waikato Federation great recent racing results from the South Island.
ferguspigeonman 