HARNESSING INSTINCTS
by Jim Emerton
Pigeons and their fanciers have inbuilt, innate survival drives and instincts: to breed, avoid predation, find nourishment and keep alive in a sheltered home environment. Nic Harvey and I are part of nature - we aim to work with it and take our place with the birds in harmony with it.
I was observing the wild birds in my garden and was drawn to the brilliant intensity of the life that they generated, and how each individual life becomes part of the pulse of nature itself, a vibrant, beautiful whole.
We like the birds to be aware, pin sharp and on the cutting edge of experience before their long, migratory journeys from France and Spain back to the waiting security of the home loft and the local environment. If sent super fit and street sharp, we feel they are better prepared and able to cope with risk factors such as variable weather patterns and the need to forage and avoid predation when flying home to us.
It is so pleasing to see the future race candidates radiating vitality and health as they wheel about the sky, free and in the elements. Good birds returning from far away places often benefit by their experiences and bring joy to the eye of the fancier.
February 2013
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