St Finnan Loft

The folly of pigeon racing. ( My opinion ) Race distance is measured from race point to each individuals loft this is a fact. It is a well known that birds do not fly in a straight line from liberation to any loft. You only need to be in the fancy a short time to realize this, and we all know that race results do not tell the whole story ie who had the best pigeon in a particular race. The recent article by Joe Murphy only highlights this, Fife pigeons mostly enter the Kingdom via the east side of the country, in our first race Berwick on Tweed. A pigeon entering Fife may be alongside one heading for Valleyfield both measured on the same mileage from the race point but the Valleyfield bird having a dog leg of approximtely 20 miles plus, this is normal in most races. A loft in Bo'ness will fly the same mileage from Reims as one in Lumphinnans even if Lumphinnans is 15 miles further north the measurment to both is correct and yes we all know that pigeon racing is unfair.However we all love the sport and its as good as we can have it. The strongest or best pigeons in a race will not always appear at the top of the result a race that covers a large area will usually be heavily influenced by external factors, weather, location, wind, and flight lines. In other words, a national winner or a fed winner is not necessarily the best pigeon of the day. It is always possible but it will not definitely be the case. To what extent is a pigeon from one side of the country influenced by these external factors compared to its opponents from the other side of the country What makes it so difficult to compare two pigeons is the fact that every pigeon covers a different route or distance, except pigeons from the same loft, every race has a number of pigeons with virtually no chance of winning a prize simply because the racing conditions (location of the loft, wind, weather) are not to their advantage. They face an unfair competition with no chance of winning. This is especially the case for the national races, and it basically means that quite a few of the better pigeons will not get the recognition they deserve. Pigeons that have to cover a shorter distance to their loft will likely have an advantage as those flying a greater distance have to endure growing fatigue, approaching nightfall etc. Also, if the wind blows from the west, we know the eastern part of Scotland will have a big advantage over fanciers from the western part of the country. Very occasionally the opposite applies when the wind blows from the east. The only time you hear fanciers complain is when they perceive that their distance from the race point is unjust, however this cannot be the case as all lofts are meassured in a straight line from the race point to each individual loft. No one has a perfect loft location all the time although, some have most of the time. Lets just enjoy the sport as it is, envisage our favourite wings-folded posture approaching the loft from a channel race.

Eddie is always there on a hard day always a top distance man.

Dundee - Sunday 1pm; Section B - Sunday 2pm to 3pm; Section E - Sunday 11am to 12:30; Kilmarnock - Sunday 1pm to 2pm; Fife - Sunday 6pm to 7pm; Bo'ness - Sunday 2pm to 3 pm

Well done lads.

Thanks fancier informed.

Have liberated bird at Edinburgh but has returned twice.

http://www.pigeondb.com/share/231853/pedigree

Best to email Mary if your bird is not ready you need ring number etc for pen also when bird will be ready.

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R.I.P. John.

John only the deluded would disagree that the lads up North are up against it from Liege, the section C winner St Finnan Grace was the pigeon you refer to and was actually flying into the west of Fife. Yes pigeon racing is not a fair sport and yes some lads pat themselves on the back and blow their trumpet even when they are aware they live in an area with a great advantage. However we all love the feeling of elation in our own backyard when timing from the S.N.F.C. races regardless of distance or location that's how it should be. These pigeons display qualities evolved over the years from recent ancestors who have raced and passed down better overall physical features etc than average, features which we are unable to see, yes the characteristics of the champion pigeon evades the human eye. Even in the hand there are certain features we are unable to grasp or agree on. This of course is a big attraction to the sport nothing is simple if it was we would lose interest. Most would agree a superior immune system, the ability of accuracy in navigation a must have for long distance pigeons, This is where Genetics come into play, top distance racers are never ill a day in their lives, if this transpires we then should have a long hard look in the mirror. The genetic package that these birds have is thanks to generation upon generation of pigeons raced from 500 to 775 miles. We have had gruelling races in the past but this is the pruning of the rose as it were,pigeons have to tough it out. A racing pigeon with the ideal body contours is described as pear shaped not too deep or shallow and should taper down gradually towards the tail attachment which looks like one tail feather whilst in flight. When a pigeon is in motion, the air should pass over it with the least resistance possible,hence the importance of feather quality, try flicking a piece of paper along a dull table then one highly polished. The pigeons ability to control the body during motion, through wind and rain is what helps to define the elite birds, particularly at national level. The ability to maintain postural stability and orientation while the body is in motion for long hours a test only the elite will regularly accomplish.This I think of as akin to a swimmer swimming upstream and navigating between obstacles how courageous are those who fly like this all day and then the next if need be and still do good velocities. Year after year we see pigeons with those advantageous traits derived from genetic predisposition survive and procreate, passing along those genes, as a form of evolutionary natural selection. Within the SNFC we have these families of distance pigeons let us not endanger their progression by curtailing real distance racing in Scotland rather embrace the challenge as the greats of the past. The Scottish National Flying Club has been a great platform to enable the creation of distance birds evolved over the years and we must not consider any trend that would endanger this. Things like advances in nutrition, environment are all to the benefit of our pigeons,if we truly want long distance racing in the future we can't afford to lose years of hard work by the stalwarts of long distance racing into Scotland. Oslo why not.

Yes Dave agree with that.

G SMITH ELGIN

IN GOOD CONDITION.