Walter swanston

Steven you have really made my day I have this mental picture of you and Michael pedalling through Southern France while knocking back copious quantities of the vin rouge.Hilarious keep it up

Eejits

Lockerbie sent 135 to Lymn with Solway

Well I will be liberating strays that have come into my loft from Abington in the morning I no longer check numbers or notify anyone on account of the disappointments I have had with phone calls over the years,but I can state this will be about my sixth trip to Abington this year.All I am trying to do is to help dos up the road a wee bit, amateurish but there you are.

I bought a 23 day old young pigeon from a Durham fancier in April.It was fully trained and sent to he first young bird race from which it returned in a reasonable time.It then went to the second race and did not come home.I received a phone call today from the Durham fancier with the news that the bird had appeared in Durham.Amazing homing ability.

Yeah right excellent post best of luck to the guy.I will be 83 next birthday and I am gonnae keep and race pigeons until I shuffle off and f*** all the moaners,naysayers doom merchants.

225 away from Lockerbie to Shap (2) with the Solway

I have just spoken to Michael.This is hard to accept, here is a fancier who puts himself out each season to provide a safe haven for other fanciers birds and eventually sees them home. He then puts his own birds out to range and one pigeon returns with its ETS ring stolen.Would'nt it be ironic if the thief is a fancier Michael has helped in the past.

Sent ten young birds to Shap last night received favourable comments on how healthy and strong my pigeons looked,all extensively trained up to about 25 miles.Birds released at 10 am this morning it is now 1.15 and not a feather weather fine.Shap to Moffat is 64 miles.Could the non appearance of my birds have anything to do with the fact that the Cumbrian mountains possess the highest concentration of Peregrine Falcons in Europe?

Lockerbie only 3 members sent 74 pigeons the other 8 members had a variety of excellent reasons for not sending.

Sad news .Sincere condolences to Lofty's family.

Just out of curiosity has anyone got any idea of the weight of a basket with saw 20 pigeons

So far six tosses at 5 miles and two at 20 miles one down out of 25 fingers crossed.

The above pigeon was notified to me by the SHU as SU13s 6625 held by a non fancier in Arbroath.I duly paid for the bird to be returned here at a cost of £30 although I did not recognise by description, when it arrived I found it in good condition but slightly hawked on its left front.Anyway it's not my doo as the letters are GB and not SU as I was informed.Anyone recognise this number?

Very best of luck with your young pigeons they're looking great.

Yes I think young bird training is a necessity mainly for all the reasons mentioned here by experienced fanciers.However I only have a small young bird team (about 28) and I about to vaccinate, train and race them for maybe four races but I have to admit my hearts in my mouth while doing so as I hate to sit and look at an empty loft all winter

Page 17 of today's Scotland on Sunday has a feature about the 100 or so sparrow hawk nests in the city of Edinburgh And goes on to talk about the good fortune of the citizens I living in close proximity to these"charismatic birds of prey".what Edinburgh pigeon fanciers think is not recorded.

I hust love racing pigeons, over the years I have coped with peregrines, sparrow Hawks and the occasional cat.This morning while enjoying my early morning coffee and watching the young birds circling in the sky I was.amazed to see a large dog fox strolling nonchalantly across my lawn.By the time I got my young boxer unearthed from her bed and out on patrol the fox had gone but that is something else to keep an eye out for.

Happy Birthday from another 82 year old

As in every season for the last twenty years or so Iget stray racers from Ayrshire and other Feds in central Scotland I usually put them in a basket and drive them up to Abington or sometimes to the Douglas turn off on the M74.Hopefully most of them get home.I usually do this without any communication with the pigeon's owner.Sometimes however I am in contact with the fancier and mostly he is delighted to get his doo back.My problem is that now and again I get the distinct impression that some fanciers would rather not know and I feel that I am liberating a pigeon to a decidedly uncertain future and this annoys me.

Lockerbie sent 110 birds to Cheltenham with the Solway Fed.

Two pigeons back in Moffat at 7pm Su14A 3858 and SU14M 129. Any takers???

SU14A 3858 SU14A 2405 SU14M 129 Released at Abington at 3 pm I hope they make it home

Lockerbie sent 174 pigeons to Wollaston with the Solway.