Out all night

Jack Prescott
(Internet Published) Oct 2000

Whenever one of my pigeons fails to return to my loft and enter my loft by nightfall, I am very very upset and very worried. I have said with monotonous regularity that such pigeons are at great risk and the very best of them and the most experienced specimens may never be seen again. Left out on the loft top all night is bad enough, but out all night roosting elsewhere, is a potential disaster. A kit of tipplers, especially, is mostly ruined if it fails to drop at it's own loft after a fly. It takes patience to re-train such defaulting kits or individuals and this is a subject for a later article.

High flying seems to be prone to several hazards - I mean high flying of pin head size or less. It certainly attracts Peregrine Falcons and most high flying pigeons have an inborn terror of anything that looks like a Hawk or a Falcon. The appearance of such a hawk or Falcon will often terrorise pigeons even though there is not an attack. In terror, such high flying pigeons will bolt out of the area and fail to return by nightfall. Where they end up is anybody's guess and it's a matter of luck if they manage to get to the loft on the next day.

I certainly have served my apprenticeship with this problem. I have had many a sleepless night thinking worrying about a kit that was "missed" and overflown into darkness, never to be seen again. I have been worried sick even at the loss of one bird. To me, loss means my failure and my own disgrace. Any man who ever flew Tipplers, Rollers, etc., and who also has a heart will know what I am talking about.

[Internet Published Oct 2000 at http://www.tipplers.com/jack/]