By SUE DICKENS, QMI AGENCY

CASTLETON - Unbeknownst to many, except those directly involved, there is a silent flock of feathered athletes in the skies overhead on any given weekend these days as racing pigeon fanciers test the mettle of their new batch of young birds.

"Pigeon racing is the sport of one starting line and a thousand finish lines," said Naomi Armstrong, special event co-ordinator with the Canadian Racing Pigeon Union.

For some owners of racing pigeons, it is all about the competition, for others it is about the fun of having a hobby that can be done from the comfort of one's home (and loft).

Al Wilson of Castleton is one of those pigeon fanciers and he has been involved with these birds for 34 years. He is well known for releasing 21 of his pigeons at each repatriation ceremony for Canadian soldiers (in keeping with the 21-gun salute) as the cavalcade travels along the Highway of Heroes past the Little Lake Road overpass.

He talked with Northumberland Today about how he got started with pigeon racing.

"I took a pair of barn pigeons out of a friend's barn one day and raised a pair and they followed me around the yard. I decided when I was older and on my own I wanted to raise homing pigeons."

His loft, which he designed and built himself, houses close to 150 of these winged athletes, and includes about 50 stock birds, 50 young birds and 50 older birds.

"When I fly my birds I am quite competitive," said Wilson, "but I enjoy going to the loft in the morning looking at the babies, watching the pigeons fly.... It's soothing," he added.

The older birds had their turn at racing earlier this year and were taken as far north as Englehart and Cochrane or LongLac. The latter is a designated 600-mile station.

Now it's the young birds, those born after January of this year, that are out there proving what they can do. Some of the clubs are having their birds trailered to places like Kingston, where they are released and their trip home is timed. They will be out every weekend until the last week of September. They can be released up to 350 miles away from home and so conditioning and training are an important part of raising these birds.

The sport itself, in Canada, is made up of clubs, combines, concourses, associations, federations and national organizations.

As a member of the Tri-County Flyers, Wilson's birds often race with those of other clubs nearby such as the Quinte Racing Pigeon Club.

They are part of what is known as the Eastern Ontario Combine which has 13 different clubs and they are in turn part of the national organization known as the "CU" (Canadian Racing Pigeon Union) founded in 1929.

The CU issues club charters to groups who have a minimum of five members. The national organization sets uniform rules of conduct and where necessary, national race rules.

Wilson explained how the electronic age has become a part of pigeon racing.

"When I started out you had a clock, eight inches square, and you would take the rubber band off the bird's leg and put it into the hole at the top of the clock and turn the striker so it punched the day, hour and second the bird arrived back at the loft," he said.

Now most pigeon fanciers have an electronic system and the birds wear a band with a sensor that is set off when it goes into the loft.

"They hit the landing board and the band sends a signal to the main timer inside the loft. You open it later at the clubhouse on the master timer to record the information. You can clock six birds in the same one-hundredth of a second," he said.

Because Wilson is competitive he, like some other pigeon fanciers, buys imported birds from Belgium and Holland, where modern day pigeon racing had its beginning in the early-1800s.

"It's no different than horse racing. You try to improve your bloodline and breed winners. I've paid $1,000, even $1,400 for a bird and there are birds with pedigrees as long as your arm that you can buy for $60,000," he said.

Wilson likes to race the one-loft race out of Brighton organized by pigeon fancier and breeder, Jim McInnes, who is well known to other pigeon racing enthusiasts in the area for his commitment and passion to the sport and the birds.

He has about 30 pairs of breeders as well as 50 older birds and 50 of the young birds that he is racing now.

"Most breeders and racers will keep detailed records of the lineage of their bird," he told Northumberland Today.

"In my case, since a lot of my pigeons go throughout the country to other pigeon owners, my records have to be impeccable. I have pedigrees on birds that go back many, many generations. Some can be traced back 100 years," he added, noting that homing pigeons can be traced back as far as the Romans, and Alexander the Great.

"That's what our pigeons have evolved from."

McInnes talked about the different races a pigeon fancier can enter such as the one-loft race in South Africa where fanciers from all over the world take their young pigeons where they are looked after as babies so they know where to home.

This is known as the Sun City Million Dollar Pigeon Race which pits as many as 4,300 birds from 25 countries against each other for a share of $1.3 million in prize money.

"To race the birds yourself is satisfying but it can require a lot of time and money -so some people breed birds to send to one-loft races," McInnes said.

One of the most important races in the world is flown from Barcelona with birds from a number of countries including France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany.

"It is the most prestigious race and the winning bird of that usually sells for somewhere in the area of $300,000," he explained.

But for McInnes (and other pigeon fanciers) it's all about their fascination with pigeons.

"Think about it. You go and put them in a box and take them 600 miles north to a place they've never been before and they will fly home non-stop the same day."

His commitment to pigeon racing was demonstrated many years ago when he and a small group of about 10 people brought the electronic clocking system to North America.

"We have always tried to encourage new people to get involved in the sport -once they get exposure to it they are like the rest of us -they are fascinated," he concluded.

For information on McInnes and his one-loft race which is held every year (this year it is taking place on Sept. 5) details can be found at www.eijerkampamerica.com/EMPIRE%20CLASSIC%20HOME%20 PAGE. htm . or he can be contacted at 613-475-6052.

For more information on pigeon racing go to www.crpu.ca.

Elimar Pigeon Services

National racing is keenly fought in Belgium no matter what the level of competition, they all count and are high priority. They too like the UK fanciers have hard races and that was the case in the Limoges yearlings 2005 that will always be remembered as one of the hardest Limoges races in recent years. The winning pigeon was racing to the lofts of Deno-Herbots in this 600KM race recording a velocity of 1242.62m/m, they don't work on yards in Belgium. The second pigeon was racing to the lofts of Luc, Bart and Jurgen Geerinckx, who were only a few seconds away from taking the much converted top spot their pigeon recording a velocity of 1242.26 m/m. In theory third position was won by Demey Remi from Booischoot, but everything was not right so the pigeon of Remi wasn't clocked on time and that's why this pigeon will only finish with 30 th National instead of 3 rd National. Now the famous loft of André Roodhooft wins 3 rd place, his pigeon recorded a velocity of 1225.17 m/m.

Their team is not only the combination Deno-Herbots but also incorporates a few people who help a lot to take care of these extensive racing and breeding lofts. They handle everything in a very professional way and try to leave no room for mistakes or in fact missing anything within the lofts. For example the famous Philip Herbots puts a considerable amount of work and time into these lofts, as does Jos, also Jean D'haeseleer is someone who is always ready to help out when and where necessary. He knows how to work with the computer, which is a great help in the modern days of pigeon racing, and he is also a pigeon-know-it-all. Someone else who helps a lot is Edward Van Herck. So you might ask what is left for Jos Deno, that's what you all think now? Jos is the 'racer' of the team. He knows everything about it and he has successfully raced pigeons for many, many years. To give you some idea of how much work there is and why so many are needed there is a total 1,000 pigeons in these lofts. They also send pigeons around the world so they do quarantine pigeons before they leave to some other countries so that is an area that takes time. Jos Deno raced for many years under his own name but then his results started to be noticed in Belgium by Philip Herbots who later held discussions with Jos that resulted in forming their partnership. This was when the present team of Deno-Herbots was born.

Their methods are the traditional widowhood system that so many fanciers now race and a system that much has been written about. The hens are also raced with the widowhood system and are always paired to the same partner who does not race. They generally start the season with about 80 widow cocks and about 30 widow hens. There are presently about 120 young birds in the race team that are trained twice each week with the point of liberation being Fleurs, which is about 50KM. The young pigeons do not have any exercise prior to being basketed for these training races but on all the other days they do go out around the lofts.

For the Limoges Yearling race there was a total of Yearlings basketed at the club of Local Unique in Waver. They participate in this club because like many UK clubs they can also double bank in the middle distance races of "Petit Club de Fleurus", which is a club that is well supported and has large numbers participating in each race, the main races are Toury and Orleans. The sire of the Limoges winner "Broer Stier" who was lost and later reported in Germany and returned to the lofts so he was a further 600KM from where he should have been. Because of the breeding they went to pick up the pigeon but later decided to sell it, that's why the parents aren't in the lofts anymore. Deno-Herbots do appreciate it when such good pigeons are and because the German fancier was so honest to report the pigeon Jos sent him a couple of youngsters. This loft doesn't only compete in the middle distance they like to compete in the entire programme so take an interest in the Barcelona race. In the 2005 Barcelona race the partnership finished 16 th National and 39 th International on the preliminary result with their "Dikke Witpen" strain Verbruggen/Florizoone/Hausoul.

Some of their results from 2005 are as follows. Toury 1191 Yearlings. 14 th 16 th 55 th 88 th 97 th . Etc. Old birds in the Toury race saw 1877 pigeons where they finished 11 th 40 th 89 th etc. It was then on to Orléans 2310 Old Pigeons. 2 nd 10 th 12 th 46 th etc. Bourges 5877 Yearlings. 211 th 280 th etc. followed by another race from Bourges for the yearlings, 8 th 23 rd 30 th 40 th 61 st 67 th 98 th etc. Brive 3163 pigeons. 306th 490th etc. Montélimar 1207 pigeons. 19th 26th 33rd etc. Groupement : 623 pigeons. 11 th 15 th 17 th 72 nd 73 rd etc. Toury 235 Yearlings 1 st 3 rd 13 th 14 th 16 th 19 th 22 nd 29 th etc. Petit Club: 1492 pigeons 22 nd 37 th etc. Toury 1966 Yearlings 14 th 61 st 62 nd 74 th 96 th etc. Toury 1332 Old pigeons. 15 th 32 nd 44 th 72 nd 81 st 83 rd 99 th 100 th etc. Barcelona 1881 pigeons 3 rd 25 th etc. Orléans 158 young pigeons 2 nd 4 th 5 th 6 th 7 th 8 th 9 th 10 th etc. This is only a limited list of their results.

By CHARLES BOOTHE - Staff Writer

Wirtz woman's pigeons have an unusual talent

Carrier pigeons may be the most famous variety of the bird, but those who attend this year's Festival on the Crooked Road will see "rolling" pigeons.

As the name implies, these pigeons roll rather than fly.

Connie Marsh of Wirtz raises these "parlor rollers," birds bred in the mid-1850s in England and in this country, she said.

"There is a breed that rolls in mid-flight, and these were bred from that variety," she said, explaining that the flying rollers will, while in the air, suddenly start tumbling backwards, dropping a distance before taking flight again.

The parlor rollers probably received that name because they could provide entertainment in people's living rooms, she said.

Marsh demonstrated the distinctive talent outside her house on the grass. Pigeon in hand facing her, with a little nudge the bird did a sort of back-flip and rolled, or tumbled, on the grass backwards, making quite a few turns before stopping.

In fact, according a website on parlor rollers, the world record distance for a roll stands at 662 feet. The average roll is between 20 and 30 feet, and competitions are often held with prizes for the longest rollers.

Marsh, a Pennsylvania native who moved to Franklin County nine years ago, is not after a world record. Rather, she said she breeds them because she loves pigeons and enjoys showing them to people.

"I like to take the various breeds to festivals to let people know about the hobby," she said.

That's why she will have her parlor rollers at the Franklin Street Festival on the Crooked Road, set for Saturday, Aug. 29 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

With 13 varieties and about 100 pigeons, she has plenty to show besides the parlor rollers.

One of the most unusual breeds is the "frillback" pigeon, which has curly feathers, giving it the appearance of a curly-haired bird.

"These are hard to find," she said. "I have two males but no females, so I need to find a female."

That will mean a trip to Louisville, Ky., where she found the males.

Marsh said she took an interest in pigeons when she was teenager mainly because she has always been a bird lover.

A member of the Roanoke Valley Bird Club and the Richmond Pigeon Club, she travels to quite a few shows, she said, and won best in show with one of her pigeons, an Egyptian Swift, at the Virginia State Fair three years ago.

Although Marsh doesn't have any carrier pigeons, she does keep homing pigeons, which will find their way back to their roost, even from hundreds of miles away.

But they have to be trained, she said, by starting out at very short distances from the roost and increasing the distance.

Marsh also raises pheasants and has a Himalayan Monal and a Peacock pheasant.

Raising pigeons and other birds is a great hobby, she said.

"It's fun taking care of them, and I go to a lot of (pigeon show) events," she said.

Marsh said her birds are relatively easy to take care of and require many of the same vaccinations and treatments that most pets need.

"The babies get tame very quickly," she said. "And they don't bite (like some other pets). They're not dangerous."

Although a visitor may first notice all the pigeons in their fenced-in pen beside her house, an item on her front porch will also draw some interest.

A small yellow airplane, without the wings, is parked there like a grounded canary.

"I flew it all over the place," she said of her plane, one she built with the help of a mechanic friend. "It took five years to build it."

With a lifelong interest in birds, maybe it should not be surprising that she loves to fly.

But she did more than just fly. Her in-air antics may have rivaled the flying rolling pigeons.

"I did aerobatics," she said, referring to stunts pilots do at air shows. "I also raced."

Marsh said that was back in the 1960s and up until the mid-80s, when she chose a bit more sedate lifestyle.

It also would eventually lead to a move to Franklin County, the motivation for which was part a love of the area and part financial.

"I checked the region and Franklin County had the lowest (real estate) tax rate," she said, adding that she was also surprised at the difference in the cost of housing here compared to where she lived in New Jersey.

"I saw the price of this (her house and land) and I couldn't believe it," she said.

Regardless of the financial reasons, Marsh said this is her home now and she's not going anywhere.

"I love Franklin County," she said.

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