superstar

Here, here Sammy! It is as Roland says better to die with your boots on than sat in your slippers doing nothing! Asha you may be lucky at the moment and living in an area that is a little less populated with these arial assasins but believe me they are out there and reproducing at an alarming rate near you now! The worst part being they were originally put there by a flawed organisation which seems quite publically to have lost its mind as it is showing no regard for any other living creature. In the area I live this year has seen an unbelievable increase in hawk attacks, not just ficticious but too many of the local fanciers have actually witnessed attacks so not all assumption and that includes myself, attacks on not only our beloved pigeons but wild birds also. Something needs saying and saying soon and loud! Good on Roland for trying, he has my full backing and many others so think about it. Once upon a time I heard about fanciers in Cornwall suffering and packing in the sport and didn't think it would affect me, not my problem, I was wrong, very wrong as I guess a lot more were and chose to sit back and let it happen instead of backing our fellow fanciers where we should have been on the ball, united and ready to have a voice then, now though we dont have a choice!

No. Whatever jewellery it comes with it takes back with it

Jeremy since when has it been ilegal to have an opinion in this country? You must have concerns yourself if this is the path you seek to tread from the off

All very interesting that Mike and something for plenty of people to digest on. Yes your right that pigeons have an inbuilt sence of direction, like many birds especially migrant species and there are plenty of them, Swifts as you mention, Swallows, to name but a couple and the good old Cuckoo, which to me is a real clever bugger as he has to make his own way in life from day one and could never be part of a pack! This is the same instinct that man has nurtured in pigeons for thousands of years for various reasons, beit message carrying, racing or whatever. It is still all about education of the bird though, it is no good thinking "well I will let the birds stay home and mature then try racing them as yearlings or two yr olds" as you will be left with very, very few birds if any and the people that trained well and educated their birds have stolen such a march on you that you will be playing catch up for sure. Your right about the Severn estury and Forest of Dean through to Ross-on-Wye being a night mare to fly through but that is another problem that needs addressing and something that we just have to except and put up with at the moment. I can understand for that reason you have kept your birds home as much as posible but that isn't the way for me. I will be back racing YB's this year and believe me they will be well trained to the point of being hammered and If there is only one or two left so beit but they will be one or two good 'uns thats for sure. Thats the way I did it and you know from old I can race a pigeon so it cant be wrong as I was taught how and why by far greater fanciers than ever I will be, people that had won things that most of us can only ever dream about. Rather than all this sniping at other organisations and people dont you think it would be better to address the more urgent maters like getting some protection of our birds from this hawk problem for example? Lets face it that is a problem that affects each and every one of us so why not channel a bit of your energy and enthusiasm along those lines, that way we might get heard eventually and perhaps some help will come our way, lets face it, its a bit over due! We all have different views and ways with our birds, thats pigeon racing, but this we are all in the same boat over and would be of more use than any debate over who's flying, what and where! Just my opinion and mines a Stella ta!

Hey Gooner yours is still here and 1 Vs 27 now lol

Come on you lot out there! This is in all our interests as the sport is suffering from this hawk problem. Lets be honest if WE the fanciers dont get and shout for help who the hell will????

Try telling that to some fanciers lol. Pigeon racing always has, and always will have advantages to where you live, how many you send etc, that is a fact and one we all have to except simple as that. If you race 30 pigeons for example you are 30 times more likely to win than a man that has 1 its a simple law of averages (providing they both have good birds and know how to fly a pigeon), then couple that with a favourable location and the small man is beat before its started. Admittedly there is always the odd exception to the rule but it really is the odd exception too! Mike do you fly with the Severn Valley Fed then?

Id just like to have a bird reported full stop! Would be over the moon to be honest. My own personal experience of reporting birds is usually met with "chuck it up" with old 'uns even if they have been told they are flown out which no way will a couple of days corn put right for perhaps hundereds of miles flying to get home in some cases and "would you like to keep it and try it" with YB's? Answer No! got my own thanks!! just thought I was doing you a favour!!! so as mentioned above, 60% at least, of the fancy needs a good kick up the backside as its due to them we all have a bad name! You can't appologise for other peoples doings and those that do it never will

Excuse me I'm a Hereford flyer, infact in the same club as mr Van Link and I aint got a jelous bone in my body so dont be thinking that thanks.

Ignore PM then. Sorry about that

Well Roland I would be more than willing to donate a pair of breeders to the cause should it be set up right and have a real voice in the right places. Couldn't agree more that the wild bird population, let alone pigeon racing, is under great and real threat. I for one only have to look out the window to see that, there used to be loads of house sparrows living under the roofs around here, now sadly there are none! Nest sites are still there, there's just no birds to use them! Used to listen to the song thrushes and even a mistle thrush singing from their favorite perches but sadly none of them left either. Now to the pigeons, I personally have never lost many birds but this year has been exceptional compared to any other I have had, last year never lost a single old bird, this year lost 8 of the 16 we race and of the 8 that are missing they, all baring one, fell one at a time from training tosses of between 10 and 30 miles, birds that were up to 4yr old that have come from those points many, many times, and way beyond, in fog and alsorts, let alone the good weather that all these have been lost in! Also one came slashed down the side and wing, obviously by a hawk. I wish you or whoever the very best of luck with this project but my own personal feeling is it will get nowhere, but maybe for once we might land up with a real voice that gets listened too? Thats all we can hope for, because if something isn't done the wild bird population and pigeon racing are just about doomed. GOOD LUCK we all need it!

I will take his place for you Chris. Have nice irish hen for sale to cover cost of keeping birds etc. Oh dont try and transfer it as its not mine lol

Borstal probably lol

Oops sent it you via PM

No I can honestly say I never have lol. Please enlighten me I may be missing something I shouldnt?

Take care out there Chris and remember, Always wear a Condom! Well you never know it might help!

Its no good trying to tempt him with a biscuit he likes poofty sandwiches cut into small triangles. I think its a Welsh thing lol

He has been trying but cant log on as any user. It tells him his passwords are invalid and that is on new accounts and it is then logging him out for 10 minutes at a time. Something very wrong here so Chris asks if it is possible to unblock his old account to see if that will work please.

Thank you grizzle hen I have him on the phone now so as soon as you say he will try to log in again

It wont even take his emails so seems something strange is going on with his account for this site

I got him on the phone now and thats what the problem is honestly. Numpty does not know who plod is

Clockman if he came here dressed like that he wouldnt see me for dust lol

He hasnt even logged out yet when he has turned the computer on this morning he finds it comes up as account disabled and redirected to plod (who appears as a member on the member list) but also asks for email validation but it wont allow him to do it as this plod is already logged in. seems there may be some sytem error going on here but all very strange I'm sure you will agree. Thanks for looking into it

Pete I just had a call from him now asking me to put the question up as on his computer it has come up account disabled and some redirect to something or someone called plod so he informs me