Clashing

[swilcox]

The West of England Combine started the season with nearly 7000 young birds, i reckon we have as a combine lost at least 3000 plus birds. On the odd occasion we have avoided clashing returns have been 95 % plus even if the weather wasnt perfect. We have flown fareham and on each occasion we have had serious clashing, the first batches get through and then one hour after your first birds have arrived it all goes quiet.

 

How hard would it be for the RPRA to run a command centre on a race day, maybe you could even get volunteers to do it? it would cut loses considerably.

 

Stuart

[Guest strapper]

i think one of the problems stu is the ever increasing amount of cross flying.

here in the welsh north road fed s /east route,we race through to ramsgate..taking in swindon/newbury/reading/epsom/maidstone etc we have all sorts crossing us..this week the welsh combine is at maidstone,possible  12-15000 birdage..maybe more.

our combine has moved our national racing to sunday libs...which is maidstone /ramsgate/lilliers.

i think this was a brave but wise move by our combine.

 

[ChrisMaidment08]

the trouble with sun libs is everyone has same idea stuart as you know caerwent flys youer route they are on there knees wit loss.s to many little feds against big ones result losse.s now rpra are not intrested in that only in getting money for lib sites  this will never alter as noone wants it to

[ChrisMaidment08]

strapper youer veiw abrave move to sun is foolhardy on there part if held over then youer all going to lose out they have done this all before it never works for any route there is always an excuse why it never take last week why up in bad weather

[Guest]

The West of England Combine started the season with nearly 7000 young birds, i reckon we have as a combine lost at least 3000 plus birds. On the odd occasion we have avoided clashing returns have been 95 % plus even if the weather wasnt perfect. We have flown fareham and on each occasion we have had serious clashing, the first batches get through and then one hour after your first birds have arrived it all goes quiet.

 

How hard would it be for the RPRA to run a command centre on a race day, maybe you could even get volunteers to do it? it would cut loses considerably.

 

Stuart

 

Stuart, I've never understood why the RPRA does not control the skies on a Saturday,a) by coordinating race programs of English feds and communicating with the NEHU, Welsh and Scottish feds to help alleviate the problem for everyone ........co-ordinating the ferries seems to be lip service?

To me it is a key role, which in a stroke would reduce bird losses dramatically.

Then there's the question of repatriation of strays. I can't understandFeds refusing to carry strays to race points for liberation. I had one fed controller ring me last week to say he had my YB in some 100 miles from me and way off line. His fed was coming down to one of the south coast libsites the following Saturday and would arrange for it to be liberated from there about 90 mile to me. It was back on the saturday lunchtime!

My thanks to him! I don't want to mention the Fed just in case it may cause him problems.

Two ways to help reduce strays and costs!

 

[jimmy white]

 

Stuart, I've never understood why the RPRA does not control the skies on a Saturday,a) by coordinating race programs of English feds and communicating with the NEHU, Welsh and Scottish feds to help alleviate the problem for everyone ........co-ordinating the ferries seems to be lip service?

To me it is a key role, which in a stroke would reduce bird losses dramatically.

Then there's the question of repatriation of strays. I can't understandFeds refusing to carry strays to race points for liberation. I had one fed controller ring me last week to say he had my YB in some 100 miles from me and way off line. His fed was coming down to one of the south coast libsites the following Saturday and would arrange for it to be liberated from there about 90 mile to me. It was back on the saturday lunchtime!

My thanks to him! I don't want to mention the Fed just in case it may cause him problems.

Two ways to help reduce strays and costs!

 

i completely re-iterate the post above ,, but must say that this pattern of   "after the first hour or so " no more birds , this pattern has worsened in the last 10 to 15 years , even allthough there were bigger birdages then , and still clashing then,, ,, allthough clashing [especially with yb,s] is a bad thing, im not convinced all losses are   entirely due to this ,,but agree ,there should be more co-ordination in liberations [which,in reality would be a difficult task , due to the british weather ]

[THE FIFER]

I think the main cuase of losses is due to clashing, also training in large numbers IE, if you are training say 60-80 youngsters together, how much are homing and how much are following, and if you are going to train with a training trailer which is liberating say 200-300- birds for a 30ml toss all going to the same area, how many are using their own homing instinks, nothing wrong with mass tosses as long as they have been trained before hand in small groupes,

[jimmy white]

I think the main cuase of losses is due to clashing, also training in large numbers IE, if you are training say 60-80 youngsters together, how much are homing and how much are following, and if you are going to train with a training trailer which is liberating say 200-300- birds for a 30ml toss all going to the same area, how many are using their own homing instinks, nothing wrong with mass tosses as long as they have been trained before hand in small groupes,

 

yip,,fewer birds and more single ups ,, if these birds come through that ,,,,usually they  are more  difficult to loose[barring accidents ]  in later life ,,ob,s  

[Roland]

Didn't birds clash 40 - 50, 30, 20 years even 10 years ago!

Feel it is another lame clutch here. Was 127,000 fanciers in the 50's, if the average of 10 was sent via each that's 1,270,000 birds zig zagging all over the pale, and very few losses. Was norm that old birds had to make may for y/b's each each... if to keep a perch, let alone breed.

Most not back on the Night worked back over the next day or two... mostly were on loft top early  morning.

Yes we send nigh a million for starters I suppose with all this big time crap, breeding to compensate losses... or hoping one will be on song and score... rest can be fobbed off.

[Guest neil]

we had smashes in the "good old days" far worst than today,i remember the welsh north road having a smash from nantwich (100 miles) where very few birds were seen again,so it was the same then as now.

if there was one thing that has not changed is we are all liberating at will with not one organisation taking control so if the weather is overcast and you wait for sun on the basket to go then you can almost be certain that others will have done the same and it becomes a free for all in the skies.

What we need is someone in a paid capacity using all available information(dont confuse this with a weather service,that is a federations responsibility) and only on there say so would you be allowed to liberate,using a 40 mph average you could track a time line from liberation to destination and liberations cleared to go.

computers are capable of running packages that move in time and the controller would in effect act as an air-traffic controller.

you will still lose birds but  moaning and blaming the convoyer is what we do at present will go on and on and so will the clashing unless we change

[Guest Vic]

If our so called weather experts can't get it right, more often. What would be the point? lol