RETURNING RACERS FROM THE FIELDS
Thousands of pigeons are working the fields into the autumn. Mine walked the fields for around 30 years,and on a regular basis out at Holtby. It is condusive to great condition for marathon events. Ybs will be returning home up to the spring,to the place of their birth. Welcome them home,if in good condition and race them again the following year,as everyone of our ybs has had a night out. Now they are experienced little birds ready to fly as yearlings. Give them some Vydex Supersix and keep an eye on them for the future. Most of my good birds had the experience of days and weeks away from home-cull and you will make a mistake. These birds know the meaning of sparrowhawks.
Jim Emerton.
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RECHARGING THE BATTERIES
Wise to rest up during the offseason ,forget being competitive and enjoy the elements and the quiet period. Meetings can be a pain,and i belong to no hierarchies these days,as they all turn into an egofest and a power game. Think about your pairings and future plans ,and sit outside watching the birds ,if retired or on holidays. I went walking in the rain ,twice today,and often reflect on my wildfowling adventures with Kenzie The Wild Goose Man. Barcelona this year was a stinker with our 5 birds homing late. Most fanciers will need respite from the cauldron of racing ,and it is best to maintain a gentle glow of enthusiasm at all times. With my books on Amazon,it is enough for me.
Jim Emerton.
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AN EYE ON THE NATURAL WORLD
Casting a perceptive eye from my garden i see many things. In the twilight flights of gabbling mallard zoom over with skeins of Canada geese. Swallows twitter in continuus chatter as they signal departure,whilst i sit in silent contemplation. Mesmerised by nature ,a shadowy bat flits overhead,as moths flutter in the gathering gloom. I am sharp enough to spot a hummingbird hawk moth on the red Centranthus flowers,as darkness lends magic to the image. It is a time for sensitives ,poets and those with delicate feelings for fellow creatures. The sound of nature is my orchestra,and i am the instrument.
Jim Emerton.
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WHAT PIGEONS MEAN TO ME?
It is simple,i have organised most of my life around them. Fascinating as pigeon racing is,i have studied it from every possible angle and perspective from the simple to the complex. My 3 books are a lasting and tangible tribute to knowledge,individual birds,the characters ,facts and ideas within the sport ,and expressed in my own personal way. It is the only sport to have inspired me to poetry and higher levels of consciousness and i hope you all enjoy my books with Xmas coming up soon. The natural world is a great source of beauty and inspiration,none more than to focus on a humble pigeon.
Jim Emerton.
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YOUNGBIRD LOSSES WORLDWIDE.
There are a multiplicity of complex reasons for the high frequency of global youngbird losses. In race reality i anticipate losses each year and plan my race practices with my partner to accomodate them. We work on Darwinian survival principles and value the birds in the loft at the end of the season. It is essential that the ybs are sent training and racing in optimal health and condition,since less able fanciers may fail to meet this criterion. Even so, many birds are not able to orientate and navigate out of the flock to find their way home,due to stress, poor health or lack of innate ability and/or preparation. Some are overtrained with yb sicknesses,or undertrained. Raptor predation,wires,shooting,weather,clashing and other natural hazards and dehydration are factors. The onus is on the fancier in the first instance to breed off properly tested stock,especially at marathon distances where stamina and navigation have been key variables-all our birds must fly Barcelona International races!. Loft management systems that conflict with nature are undermining the sport eg poorly executed darkness and lightness systems,with a trend towards fair-weather flying. Our birds are kept on their instincts-rugged and hard-due to the open loft system. We keep antibiotics down and aim at the immune system ,providing all the nutrients that the birds need. I feel that environmental control of temp and humiidity is required in transportation with probiotic/vitamin provision in the water supply. Having said this the race controllers are up against it,as perfect weather liberation conditions do not exist. On liberation birds are always at the mercy of the prevailing conditions-race reality kicks in. The atmosphere holds may factors such as moblie signals,thunderstorms,sunspots which may or may not interfere with pigeon navigation and avian migration. The truth is that young bird losses can be influenced by related or unrelated causes. In practical reality,optimise your management and be prepared.
Jim Emerton.
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ADDICTION TO MONEY
The beating heart of practical Capitalism,is the fact that millions of people are hooked on money. The psychology is complex with deep rooted personality needs as far as central belief systems. Money has emotional rewards,material gains and powerful implications to individuals,societies and civilisations. In my life money is quite low in my hierarchy of personal values,beneath artistic and intellectual factors. When assessing people material things are subsumed by any talents or gifts that i perceive they have. The whole world needs to inculcate some personal spiritual values and a period of self reflection,criticsm and analysis. Many worthy insights can be found in the wonders of the natural world,and in higher consciousness: if you can aspire to those levels of being.
Jim Emerton.
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