All Activity

By Mary Thomson Scottish National Flying Club Brighton Inland National On Saturday the 13th of June the SNFC flew the second race of the season. A total of 276 members sent 1875 birds. The convoy were liberated at 0530 hours into a west, south west wind. First open was C. Buchanan from Dunfermline with his yearling blue hen flying 389 miles and 754 yards with a velocity of 1248. Race Controllers report by R. White, J. Pryde and F. Jamieson The convoy were liberated at 0530 hours into a west, south west wind. They cleared the liberation site immediately heading north. The visibility is very good, the temperature is 13 degrees and no rain expected. Crawley is on the line of flight 0600 hours visibility very good temperature 13 degrees and light west wind. Moving on to the Home Counties, Brentwood 0900 hours visibility good, 17 degrees and wind speed 13 mph. Cambridge 1000 visibility very good, 15 degrees and west north west wind 14 mph. Peterborough 1100 visibility very good, 16 degrees and 16 mph west wind. Ripon, Newark north and south Yorkshire 1200 visibility very good, 15 degrees and 16 mph west wind. Darlington 1230 visibility very good, 16 degrees and fresh breeze at 19 mph. On the west side of the Pennines South Cumbria visibility very good, 16 degrees and 16 mph. Newcastle 1300 visibility very good, 16 degrees with west wind. Scottish Borders showing same weather, winds are 16 to 18 mph west. Lanarkshire has good visibility with odd showers, west 16 to 18 mph winds. Edinburgh similarly the same only winds showing to reach 20 mph. Over the Forth and Dundee light rain showers however visibility very good and west to north west winds and 16 degrees. Aberdeen light rain showers, north to north west winds at 17 mph, visibility very good and 14 degrees. Over the full journey a good race is expected. Convoyers report by J. Gillon Brighton 11th June Lorry loaded at Newmains travel south to Gretna Springfield at 2100 hours. Solway section A birds loaded all pigeons watered 2100 hours, lights on till 2300 hours. Feeding loaded on the lorry for journey. 12th of June fresh tank water Springfield prior to departure. Depart at 0730. Birmingham services water on 1230 to 1330 hours. Arrive Brighton water on birds fresh tank, fed all pigeons and informed of possible early liberation. Watered up again at 1930. Fresh water 0430 on 13th of June. Spoke to race Controller and prepared for a 0530 liberation. Liberated 0530 hours into blue skies, west, south west wind and all birds cleared north immediately. Section A 404 birds 1st Section A, G. Turnbull Gordon Turnbull from Eastriggs 1st South Section. Gordon was reared in the community of Kirkby Thore in Cumbria, with pigeons being part of his childhood as his father was a fancier before him. He subsequently moved to Skelton, where he formed his own loft and competed in Penrith Club. Whilst he only participated in our hobby for a relatively short time at Skelton he retained a keen interest in the sport. He is employed as a Car Salesman at Carlisle and when the opportunity arose, he chose to move across the Border to Eastriggs, residing in a former farmhouse, which has a large garden. In 2015 he was 1st Section 23rd Open from the Inland National from Billericay and in 2019, he was 1st, 5th and 9th Section from Buckingham and during the same season he won the Section also from Ypres. Three year later he continued on the winning way winning the Section from Brighton. It should be noted also that he is also a previous winner of The Hens National. The winning pigeon from the recent Brighton race is a two year old dark chequer cock that went though the programme as youngster and went to the Reading National as a yearling being 18th Section 126th Open. Due to time constraints the team wasn’t coupled until the first week in April 2026. The Dark cock reared a pair of youngsters and was then put on the loft’s Celibate/Roundabout method. After several weeks, however, all pigeons were allowed to run together, because of time constraints due to Gordon’s work commitments. The cock went through the federation programme to Wollaston but unfortunately, his mate was lost. After several weeks he took on with another hen and actually went to the National ‘chasing the hen’. Several years ago, a pigeon was reported to Gordon and he arranged its return. When it arrived, he realised there had been a mistake and on checking, learned that it actually belonged to Tom McEwan and his son, Scott, from Elphinstone. Gordon arranged return of the pigeon to Tom and Scott and was kindly gifted two stock birds, which bred the recent Section winner. Breeding is Tom and Scott’s old lines that won 1st Open S.N.F.C. Tours and Mark Gilbert De Weerdt’s. The De Weerdt’s bred the partners Silver Award winner, 5th Open Gold Cup, 7th Open Roye and many others. 2nd Section A, C. Halbert Craig Halbert from Eastriggs, is 2nd Section. Craig was reared in a pigeon family with his father and brothers having kept pigeons before him in Annan and continuing the pigeon connection, he is the nephew of John and Matt Jamieson. Following his marriage, he entered the pigeon fancy in Eastriggs and gained his first S.N.F.C. Diploma in 2004. Two years later he won the South Section Average Trophy with the S.N.F.C. In 2007 he recorded his first Section win with the National with blue chequer hen, ‘Morning Joy’, which was initially recognised as a fine racer and in time proved to be a prepotent producer with all subsequent winners containing her bloodlines. Her Sire was a Jan Aarden x Janssen that was purchased from Tumley Lofts. Her Dam was a Jan Aarden that was introduced from Louella. In 2014 he won the Ancenis National with two year old B.C W.F. cock ‘Solway View Boy’ and two years later was 1st and 2nd Open from Ancenis, with the two pigeons being a mated pair, the winner being Blue hen ‘Solway View Queen’. In 2018 with the longest race was flown from Reims with Craig being 1st Section 3rd Open National. Move forward to 2019 with the race again being flown from Reims and he timed the only arrival on the day of liberation to win the National, the winning pigeon being three year old grizzle cock ‘Super Harry’, which from the equivalent event the year previous was 1st Section 3rd Open National. Step forward to 2023 and Craig won another National from Falaise with Dark cock ‘Daley Express’. His winning pigeon from the recent Brighton race is a two year old chequer W.F. cock, that was raced as a youngster and went to Wollaston as a yearling. He was paired during the first week in March 2026 and reared a pair of youngsters. He was then put on Roundabout and went through the programme to Kettering. Dam contains the lines of ‘Morning Joy’. Sire is the Falaise winner, Daley Express’. His Sire a Dark Chequer cock that was bred from a double grand-daughter of ‘Morning Joy’ when paired to a Jan Aarden cock introduced from Louella, Dam a Mosaic hen that Craig obtained from John Gilmour from Ecclefechan. Sire of the Mosaic hen is Dark Chequer cock ‘Gilly’ that was 1st Open S.N.F.C. Alencon 2017. Dam of ‘Gilly’ was a Theo Rutten, which John Gilmour obtained from friends Shaun and Linda Trodden from Springfield. Dam of the Mosaic hen was a Theo Rutten from the same source. 3rd Section A, D. Ritchie Dougie Ritchie is 3rd Section. Dougie is fast emerging as a real force in the local Fancy, scoring regularly in the Club, Fed, and with the National. In 2020 he obtained a batch of six youngsters from the very successful partnership of Armstrong, Shergold, Johnson and Moon from Plains Farm, Sunderland, who, when he acquired the pigeons, were four times winners of the UNC. In 2022 he was 6th Section Brighton with one of the acquisitions and in 2023 and he was again along with the leaders from S.N.F.C. Upper Heyford to be 6th Section 7th Open, the winning pigeon being a two year old blue hen that was home bred from a pair of the pigeons purchased from the Sunderland partnership. The success story continued and in 2024 he was 1st Section from the Y.B. National from Kettering with a Blue Chequer hen, Sire was purchased at the North East Show from Stuart Wilcox, being a grandson of Champion ‘Little Gem’, Dam was again one of the batch of birds that was bred by Armstrong, Shergold, Johnson and Moon. In 2025 he was 3rd Section from the Y.B. National from Huntingdon with a Blue hen that contains similar lines to the 2024 Section winner but next generation. The pigeon that was 3rd Section from the recent race from Brighton is a two year old blue hen that was lost as a youngster and returned during the winter months. He was worked celibate as a yearling and went through the federation Programme to Cheltenham. He was paired in February this term and reared a pair of youngsters after which he was separated from his mate and worked on Roundabout. Having gone through the federation programme he was re-paired and went to the National covering 15-day eggs. Dam contains the well proven lines of Armstrong, Shergold, Johnson and Moon. Sire was obtained from John Short from Lanarkshire and is a Van den Buick. Section B 396 birds 1st Section B, 2nd open, J.B McNeil Firstly Mr McNeil would like to thank his good friends Steve and Barbara Goulding from Liverpool for the pair of birds who bred the blue hen SU 24 TR 753. This bird was the last offspring off her 2014 dam. The blue has flown consistently all season, especially in the club racing. She was sent to Kettering on the 30th May just finishing out of the result. Before her 373 mile trip home he named her Muirpark Cammur, after his two grandsons. Mr McNeil is absolutely elated on his win and sends his congratulations to Mr Buchanan. 2nd Section B, 4th open, B.W Kelly Brian timed in his three year old dark checker hen to win 1st club 1st section B 4th open Brighton. The hen reared a pair of youngsters in April then was put on roundabout. Her last race was from Decoy Lakes 239 miles the previous weekend being the first pigeon to the loft Brian commented that she was in great condition on arrival and decided to send her to Brighton. She is bred down through a hen called blackie who was the grand sire this cock scored four times in the SNFC best position being 4th open Falaise. 3rd Section B, J. Dowling Sire is from Jimmy McSeverney N Ireland from his direct Dirk van Echolpoels, Dam is from Tommy Chorrlton Manchester from his direct Wim Moens birds. This pigeon has been to most of the races for three years an has never shown till now. Section C 239 birds 1st and 2nd Section C, 1st and 5th open, C. Buchanan Colin was full of delight to see his eventual SNFC Brighton winner arriving from a south easterly direction. She is a yearling hen flown on roundabout and as a youngster was flown on the darkness system to Ackworth Moor 188miles. This year she has been 5th Club Darlington, 3rd Club Ackworth Moor, 2nd Club, 2nd west section Federation Harrogate, 4th Club Grantham and 28th Open Fife Federation Open Race, 4th Club Kettering two weeks prior to Brighton triumph. Sire and Dam were both purchased from the Oakley Racing and Breeding Stud and these are both bred from the GWP Macaloney pigeons. The Sire of the winner is a dark white flight cock and is bred out of Black Gold a direct son of Black Caviar an outstanding racer and breeder for the Macaloney partnership. Black Gold was mated to a daughter of Supermac 76 and was responsible for numerous winners in NIPA, MNFC and SNFC racing. The Dam of the winner is a blue hen inbred to the famous Supermac 76 - Supermac 76 is responsible for 5 first Fed winners in Lanarkshire Fed along with NIPA, MNFC and SNFC winning pigeons. The SNFC Brighton winner was mated up after Colin returned from the British Homing World Show in January - reared two times youngsters and was then separated and then flown on the roundabout system. The daily loft exercise consists of one hour morning and one hour late afternoon. On the basketing day for the Brighton National the hen was not shown her cock merely basketed and went to the marking station but after returning from the race was given her mate for approximately four hours which is the norm throughout the racing season. Colin is kindly donating a youngster to the SNFC Late Bred sale from his SNFC Brighton winner and she shall be mated to the first section C winner Kettering national. Colin's 2nd section C 5th Open SNFC Brighton is a four year old blue check hen bred by fellow clubmate and friend, Frank Mitchell, Comrie Fife. She was also raced on the roundabout system and mated after returning from the British Homing World Show at Blackpool. She reared two youngsters and was then separated and raced on the roundabout system. Her loft exercise is exactly the same as the 1st Open winner. She was not on the darkness as a young bird. Her full sister and nestmate was 1st Club, 2nd Open East of Scotland Amalgamation in 2023 from Ramsgate. Her racing performances to date are 9th Club Kettering in 2023. 10th Club Grantham, 4th Club Kettering, 4th Club Grantham all in 2024. In 2025 she was 2nd Club Reading then in 2026 8th Club Kettering two weeks prior to SNFC Brighton. The breeding of the above Chequer Hen is 100% M&D Evans Vandenabelle. The Dam of the 5th Open is a direct daughter of Woodface 1st Open MNFC for Andrew Lawley of Shropshire. 3rd Section C, C & G Cameron Congratulations to Colin Buchanan on a great race. The partnerships third section winner is a four year old late bred hen. As a yearling and two year old raced promisingly. As a three-year-old in 2025 was very badly injured in her first training toss of the year, the grooves of the tongue severely misshaped which she still has. Eventually gently raced but found her form late in the season scoring 52nd SNFC Billericay and 13th open SNFC Ypres. This year she been consistent and in the last 3 weeks scoring at the SNFC Kettering (300 miles) followed by 17th CESA Kettering and this week 3rd Section 20th Open Brighton 410 miles. While carrying a DF ring was actually bred by Charlie and Glen, she is a late bred from 2022 and is the last pigeon ever bred from Bobby. Bobby is one of the main pigeons in the loft a winner of two 1st North Section in 2015 when Glen lived in Aberdeen. A really good breeder he bred two pigeons who attained Bronze awards in 2024. He is also grandsire of a bronze award winner and including 12th open Alencon & 6th open Nort-Sur-Edre. He is also grandsire of two 1st and two 2nd North Section for their friends, Jim, Gary and Jim Coutts. Bobby is from a son of Tutso if Martin Raveligien and is from the old Flemish families (Van Der Esp, Pieren) when mated to a granddaughter of Euro Diamond of Brockamp. (Carteus lines) Dam is the main hen of the loft. Direct from the Malfait family from Jabbeke she is a daughter of Remco a winner of 1st National Agen in a very tough race. Incidentally also containing a lot of the Carteus bloodline. She is responsible for winners up to 1st SNFC . Section D 266 birds 1st Section D, 3rd open, Mr and Mrs Forrest The partnership timed their yearling blue hen to take first section. It was bred by Gordon Mackenzie, with the sire of the pigeon bred from a latebred of Gordon’s Macaloney cock that has bred three combine winners which was paired to the sister of second open SNFC hen in 2011. The dam of the section winner is a blue Gaby Vandenabeele bred by Stuart Knowles double granddaughter of Talisman number one stock cock. Which is responsible for hundreds of winners. He is a direct son of Bliksem (Gaby Vandenabeele) the sire of the hen is direct daughter of Talisman, paired to a direct daughter of Keon Minderhoud Geeloger. The dam of the hen is direct daughter of Talisman paired to a direct daughter of Rudy. The section winner is a full sister to SU 25 CA 2247 who has also been first federation. 2nd and 3rd Section D, D.H Ogilvie Second section is a two year old cheq hen has been a constant performer winning five federation certificates to date. Sire is a dark cock provided by Justin Rodgers of Bosliven Lofts and is from the lines of Bob De Batt off Vandenabeele blood lines. Dam is 1616 a direct daughter of Chieftan and Blue Thunder, she is the best performing daughter off this phenomenal pair. She is a winner of multiple first federations and is also a section national winner. An outstanding prouducer of many federation prize winners. One daughter won first section, second open at national level. Third section is a two year old blue hen achieved the following to date so far; 1st, 3rd, 12th twice, 14th, 17th, 25th, 35th federation. 24th section, 165th open SNFC Kettering this season. The hen is pure Herman-Ceuster bloodlines and again contains the blood of Chieftan and Blue Thunder. Over two hundred first prize winners reported down from Chieftan and Blue Thunder at every level of competition, definitely super pigeons! Section E 269 birds 1st Section E, T. Richardson Tam wins the section with his two year old blue hen named ‘Every Other Saturday’ certainly no stranger to winning a section in the national, this being his third winner over two seasons. Last season Tam won first section from Reading and Fontenay nationals. The hen is a Leo Herman x Lambrecht cross purchased from Robert Anderson. She was flown on the roundabout system, competing the full Strathclyde federation programme including SNFC Kettering. Last season she was 22nd open from Lanarkshire Federation Brighton. I’m sure this is not the last time we shall read about Tam’s winning success this season. 2nd Section E, D. Hay Derek Hay from Kirkintilloch, one of Scotland’s finest, timed his yearling blue pied hen at 4.19 pm to win 2nd sect E 100 th Ooen vel 1060 ypm. This hen, flown on the roundabout system, had five races including SNFC Kettering before entering the Brighton race. Her breeding is from Derek s tried and tested long distance family. Her grandmother is Kendall on both sides, coming from a half brother / sister mating. Kendall won 1 st West Region Gold cup and a SHU award. Her dam was Little Owl, Silver award winner at 3x 606 miles winner. Derek would like to congratulate Tam Richardson on winning the section. 3rd Section E, J. McLelland John timed his two year old blue pied hen to take third section. Sire is grandson of J. Benvie’s double national winner from the SNRPC Kingdom Boy. Dam is granddaughter from John Proctor’s SNRPC national winner from 620 miles, being the only bird on the day. John’s hen flew majority races as a young bird, as a yearling flew up to first inland national. This season she flew all federation races including the SNFC Kettering. Always flown on the roundabout system. Section F 162 birds 1st Section F, R. Reid Robert’s hen 4768 is bred from a Cock gifted by Ian Ross. The dam of 4768 was Robert’s stock hen 5561. 5561 bred several S.N.F.C. Winning pigeons including three section winners. 5561 was, in turn bred from 1st Section Billericay. Before going to Brighton 4768 had three 3 federation races. Her mate was sent to and lost racing from Leicester. When he was sent to Leicester 4768 had just laid her first egg. After laying her second egg she continued to incubate and was joined by a spare yearling cock. She very seldom left the nest in the run up to the Brighton race and was highly motivated. 2nd Section F, R. Young Ricky timed his cheq cock to take second section. The sire is from Dave Delea off his Barcelona winner three times a lady 700 miles. Dam from G. Veitch off his Nort Sur Edre national winner. The cock has flown every race. He was sitting on fresh eggs, his first of the season and never left the loft after Leicester. 3rd Section F, A. McKenna Andrew’s hen was bred by the late Stephen Miller of Kilmarnock and brought to Andy’s when Stephen sadly passed away- dam is a direct daughter of hisfirst section winner from Ypres in 2019 big Ian. When big Ian was paired to a full sister to his Maidstone section winner it’s sire was a direct son of big Smithy when paired Aurora. Andrew would like to congratulate Robert Ried and Ricky Young on a super performance flying into the west of Scotland and also thank Tom and Scott McEwen for the quality bloodstock they have given. Section G 139 birds 1st and 2nd Section G, A.R Rae SU23 AB1307 D/CHEQ COCK, 1st North Section Bred from a bird that was first north section from a Brighton race and was the only bird on the day in Aberdeen, and a brother was 27th open in 2021 Maidstone, also a sister from Yeovil 2021 and it was 70th open. All these birds were bred off of his stock pair, The Bridesmaid and The Fifer, a gift bird from Jocky Scott. All thanks to Alec’s granddaughter and wife for taking care of my pigeons this year as he is recovering from my hip operation. SU24 AB402 L/CHEQ COCK, 2nd North Section Directly off of his stock pair, The Bridesmaid and The Fifer, he is qualifying for bronze award this year, as he has five prizes from the inland national races. 3rd Section G, A.A Williamson Timing his blue hen to take third section, she was raced every week on the roundabout system. The hen was at the SNFC Kettering national and was his third pigeon to clock in, finishing fifth and 18th section. The hen was mated to the fifth section bred by Charlie Thomson (cove) Aberdeen. Congratulations to C. Buchanan and his national winner and all the other winners on what I can say was a very stiff race. My sincerest appreciation goes to my fellow team that collect the information from around Scotland to make this report possible. Thanks to the following; Section A President M. Currie and B. Wortley, section B, F. Robertson and R. Walker, section C, K. Cochrane and D. Liddle, section D, S. Russell, section E, J. Lawrie and D. Hay, section F, B. Nicol and section G the fanciers themselves. Convoyers report for Kettering race, departed Newmains with convoy 2130 hours, arrived Springfield 2300. Loaded with feeding. Birds watered from 2300 to 0030 lights out. New fresh tank of water in the morning all birds watered prior to departure at 0900 hours. 1200 service area all pigeons watered depart by 1300. Arrive at Kettering just after 1600 hours, fresh water. Birds then fed and fresh water. Fresh water again at 0430. Spoke to race Controller and instructed to liberate at 0545 hours. Liberated into blue skies all birds cleared site immediately in northerly direction. Mary Thomson SNFC PRO

Copied from Facebook 25th June 2026 Catterick 27/6/26 due to weather conditions the Pigeons will be liberated EAP with 20 Pigeons per Crate .

bump

Copied from Facebook 25th June 2026 No, you cannot sell birds on Facebook. According to ⁠Facebook's commerce content policy, the buying, selling, or trading of live animals—including pets and livestock—is strictly prohibited on both Marketplace and standard profiles. [1, 2] Important Details: No Rehoming Fees: You cannot bypass the rules by calling it "rehoming" or charging an "adoption fee". Repercussions: Posting animals for sale can result in your posts being deleted, your account being banned, or the groups you post in being permanently shut down by Facebook. Allowed Items: You are allowed to sell bird-related accessories such as cages, toys, and food.

Good morning folks

It has come to my attention that Facebook are now enforcing their policy of no sales of livestock are permitted on any of their pages/groups or forums. Please feel free to request via the Administration Team on pigeonbasics.com to sell pigeons, many individuals, clubs, Federations and organisations, have used this platform in the past to hold sales. Only condition is that all sales must be authorised by Administration before appearing on site. Good luck folks Pigeonbasics.com

Morning folks

Yes I agree, unfortunately the Webmaster was unable to work on this issue as planned, but I have been in touch and he will get to it Sorry for any inconvenience caused folks

Worse today, taking absolute age to load anything

Looking after racing pigeons in hot weather requires strict management of hydration, loft temperature, and exercise to prevent severe dehydration and hyperthermia. Pigeons lack sweat glands and cool themselves by panting, which drains fluid rapidly. Always release birds early in the morning and provide shaded, well-ventilated lofts with fresh water. [1, 2] 1. Hydration & Supplements Refill frequently: Pigeons drink significantly more on hot days. Replenish water supplies at least twice a day to ensure it stays fresh and cool. Electrolytes: Add avian-specific electrolytes to their drinking water to help prevent severe dehydration during high-heat conditions. [1, 2] 2. Loft Management Provide shade and ventilation: Keep your aviary shaded and ensure lofts are well-ventilated to avoid stagnant, hot air. Cooling tricks: Painting your loft white will reflect the sun's heat. [1] 3. Training & Racing Fly early or rest: Never force your pigeons to fly in extreme heat. On very hot days, restrict releases to the early morning (before the temperature spikes) or let them rest completely. Avoid hot transport: Reconsider racing or long transport in a heatwave, as the lack of airflow and high temperatures can be fatal. [1, 2, 3] 4. Baths Provide bathing water: Offer your birds a shallow bath so they can cool themselves down. You can also add natural products to the bathwater, such as laundry detergent-free options (e.g., 20 Mule Team Borax), to help clean their feathers without stripping their natural shine. [1, 2] If you'd like, let me know: Is your loft currently painted white or made of a specific material? Are you looking for information regarding racing/basketing or just everyday loft management?

Good luck all

Bump

Copied from Facebook 23rd June

Almond Valley Fed result from Alnwick 2 ob Alnwick 2.pdf

Well done ALL timers

BILLERICAY___1st_10s (1).pdf

Well done ALL timers

FED Billericay result (1).pdf

AF Billericay 20.06.26.pdf

1, T&G Steele 1071.0 2, D Morrison and son, 1053.0 3, D Morrison and son, 1037.1 4, D frame 5, D frame 6, W Mitchell and son 7, J callan 8, D Murray 9, D mathieson and son 10, A, suckle 11, W Davidson and son Well done tucker and hazel yous have had a fantastic season 👌