David Swain

Difficult Dorset Fed race from Yelverton into a cold east wind that has been blowing along the south coast all day. Quite a few Dorchester members reporting around 50 per cent returns only at strike-off.

Just read the RPRA press release on the lifting of the ban on continental racing and the restrictions that go with it. If all birds returning from continental racing have to be isolated immediately (even if they take just a couple of hours from liberation and clearly haven't touched down anywhere) and kept away from all other birds (including their mates and widow hens etc) for a week isn't it ging to make life very difficult ! We won't be able to race the same birds each week, it will make widowhood and roundabout racing practically impossible because you won't be able to let the returning race birds in with their mates when they return and getting natural birds back on their eggs will be right out of the question, not to mention the need for a couple of spare lofts for isolation purposes. Or maybe I'm reading it all wrong. What do others think ? :-/

Lovely day yesterday so decided to give 8 yearling widowhood cocks a first toss from near Lulworth Cove (about 10 miles) - big mistake ! One came back in around half an hour looking very jumpy and over the next four hours four more returned. Three had tail feathers missing - one had only three left and a couple also had secondaries gone. Still no sign of the other three which had all been raced as YBs. Peregrines are a big problem around the coast in Dorset so I guess it's probably wiser to wait until more people start training and racing and they've got a bigger choice on the menu !

Like Marvin we once had a bird return after SEVEN years. She was lost in a YB race from Burton-on-Trent and arrived back almost seven years to the day later. From the look of her she had probably spent most of the time as a streeter !

Anyone got any good ideas for racing spare hens ? We have quite a few more young hens than we need to pair with widowhood cocks next season and all have raced to about 90 miles as YBs. No problems with loft space but we just don't have the time next year to try roundabout which would probably be the best solution. Thinking about racing them celibate and using the odd cock or two to motivate them before basketing. Your thoughts and previous experiences please !

Here in Dorset we lost quite a few to sparrowhawks in the Spring - they seem to be in killing mood until about the end of April and then leave the birds alone - and recently we've been having problems with peregrines which nest on the electricity pylons and cliffs nearby. Keeping everything in at the moment while they're heavy in the moult with the exception of a kit of 15 latebreds which need to get plenty of exercise while they're still growing and learning. These are being attacked most days and we've already lost a couple to Percy, but we've decided to see if they become peregrine-savvy, as some fanciers have suggested they might, or if it will just be a case of slaughter of the innocents.

That may be true - but that can happen at any time of the season if we have a spell of iffy weather. Surely the test is whether the eventual races been good or bad. Holdovers shouldn't really be a problem if the birds are well cared for on the transporters.

Who thinks we need to look at our racing calendar ? Do we start racing a couple of weeks too early and stop a couple of weeks before we should ? Back in April we were training/racing in the cold and wet and wondering why we were dropping yearlings that had raced well as YBs. Today the weather is just about perfect here in Dorset with sun/blue skies and a warm south easterly wind and if we were over the Channel (wishful thinking ?)we'd be looking at an excellent race. Perhaps with the climate changing it's time to have a re-think and not just continue to stick to the old timings simply because that's the way we've done it for years.

Don't agree that north road racing is any harder than south. We used to race north road with the West of England NR Combine going back to the 1950's and we had some super racing even though we had to fly between 60 and 20 miles further than most of the other fliers. Returns were much better both as regards numbers lost and the consistency with which they came. It could have been because we were able to train on a line and the birds were able to fly a straighter route whereas on the south we are too close to the coast for that and can only really train east or west. Unfortunately with all the big races from the south most people have been more or less forced to desert the north road for the chance of some glory. However this season we have had a few North Road training races for YBs on Sunday mornings with Dorchester and Weymouth/Portland fanciers taking part and they have been excellent. We were quite happy to fly north with the CSCFC and BBC earlier in the year when racing from abroad was banned and if racing is only from the north next season I reckon quite a few down here would be quite happy.

Eastbourne is just under 120 miles due east of us. By dark we've had just 6 out of 12 and six out of eight with the Central Southern Classic from Truro with the first just before 3 from a noon liberation. The sun never really came through here all day although you could see blue sky through the thin cloud cover and it has remained pretty hazy.

Timed from Eastbourne with Dorset Fed in three hours - but then had to wait 45 minutes for a second bird out of 12 sent so the weather can't be that special.

Dorset Fed up at 10.15 at Eastbourne in light NE

CSCFC held at Truro at the moment because of heavy cloud from Bristol eastwards. Guess it's clear down there in Cornwall judging from a webcam picture at Sennon Cove. Cloud still quite thick here in Dorset but the sun is trying to come through (10.30am) and the sky has a hint of blue now so fingers crossed for a lib later as the wind is just right for us for a change. However sods law says they will be held and with rain threatening for the west tomorrow and the wind forecast to go round to south west chances of a decent race tomorrow don't look good. Dorset Fed also held at Eastbourne for the moment but it's clearing along the coast apparently so there is a chance they will go around 11.

Difficult race into South Dorset with only four out of 11 members of the Weydor Specialist club, which duplicates into NFC, BBC and CSCFC races, timing in. Only 11 birds were recorded on the day out of around 60 sent which isn't good. We took first place doing just over 30mph and then waited for an hour before getting another from 12 sent and our second took fourth place with Jim and Lyn Peters taking 3rd and 4th. We finally got six on the day but only one since and missing several which scored in the CSCFC from Ramsgate couple of weeks ago. Down here we're hoping for some north in the wind this Saturday when we're at Truro with the CSCFC (North East would probably suit us best !) but from the forecast it looks like a due south so they will probably steam up into Bristol again and fly a dog-leg to get back to us.

That's what I expected from the forecast, Mick. But I'm only 15 miles north of Portland and there isn't even enough breeze here to move the leaves on the trees !

How strong is the wind down there in Cornwall ? Here in Dorchester (Dorset) it's dead calm at the moment.

How strong is the wind down there in Cornwall ?

Looks like another interesting weekend ahead with a complete change in the wind direction from last week's NFC Chale race. Forecasts suggest it is going to blusterly easterly over the south of England so those racing from the West Country ie British Barcelona Club at Sennen Cove, are in for a toughie. Still at least ours which had to fly into the westerly from Chale will be used to it, just hope they don't head out over the Atlantic this time !

Agree entirely with Pompey Mick on the bizarre choice of racepoint. It was hardly surprising that Section E dominated the race given the wind direction and that is something you can do nothing about. Who knows in a strong westerly it may well have been the same if the race had been held from Sennen Cove - but at least the South and West fanciers would have felt they stood a better chance of having a reasonable race while giving the YBs a better education than teaching them to fly halfway to London and back. Out of interest we sent ten and eventually had five back, albeit slowly, on the day which was better than it might have been. Still missing are several that were in the CSCFC result from Ramsgate but hopefully they will have picked up enough experience by now to get back on track today.

What do you make of this ? Dorset Fed birds were at Littlehampton, held over Saturday which was fair enough because the weather was atrocious. But on Sunday everyone knew from the forecast that it would clear around lunchtime and as it is only a 70 mile fly along the coast we expected a pm lib. So what do they do - bring them back. We were told they were going to be liberated at 3 pm at Poole - where the majority of Fed members live -although ours have another 20 miles to fly home. Some time before 3 we get nine of our ten together and the other one returns about an hour later. Surely questions must be asked as to why there was no race. I suppose at least we got them all back to race another day unlike the unfortunate Scottish lads.

Spare a thought please for the poor birds which didn't have the benefit of a blow home. Ours were asked to pull away from the drag and go in the opposite direction straight into the strong wind. Consequently after more than three hours we're still waiting for our first arrival and we only fly 48 miles !!! I guess the majority of them are now flying around Cambridgeshire somewhere. Times like this you really wonder why you bother.

Lots of ripe elderberries about at the moment. Wild birds obviously go for them (you can tell by the colour of their droppings) but does anyone use them for their birds, if so what are the benefits and how do you prepare/store/adminster them?

Don't think it was an east wind which caused problems at the Sennen Cove old bird national, more likely a strong southerly combined with liberation of Irish national birds at Bude on the north coast of Cornwall the same day. We had one three-year-old cock reported in Ireland the same night. Still think Sennen Cove would have been a much better bet given the west/south west/ north west predomininance of the wind at the moment. If it suddenly turned strong east/south east and there were concerns of a repeat of the old bird race, what's wrong with holding them ?

Thanks for that ribble ! Read the other thread and most points seemed to have been covered.

Surprised nobodies made any comment yet about the strange NFC Committee decision to switch YB National to Chale (Isle of Wight) from Sennen Cove. Can't see the point of it myself although I suppose it's more attractive to the Midlands and Northern fanciers for whom the NFC seem to be catering these days. There must be loads of staunch NFC flyers in the South who barely fly 50 miles from Chale. I know quite a few in this area (Dorset) are already planning to resign from this once great club and I wonder if many will bother to send to this one? Just one other point - it will be interesting to see what kind of race evolves when the birds have to split through 180 degrees from liberation point.