Mid Cheshire
The weekend of the 13th May saw pigeons not returning when they should have, I know the birds liberated on the previous weekend had a tough day but this weekend saw more losses. I did say and stick by what I said about that previous weekends racing and that was it was a good 1200/1300ypm racing day. This is probably down to the fact that if I was sending to them they are the races that I like, where the birds must work a bit harder with the longer channel races in mind. We have Geoff & Rob Bebbington doing some work here and they were both saying that they had losses on the 13th when the same pigeons raced and returned well from the previous week. When Rob turned up on Monday morning he was still 5 missing which is not good as the bigger races are approaching. Was it the weather, well we never know what causes losses in some lofts and not others. There are of course times when lofts of birds are not healthy and in that case, they are never going to put up their best performances. However, there is the other point and that is this race was from the dreaded Portland race point. I have spoken to fanciers in that area and they cannot understand why organisations from the North West go to that part of the country. There are so many BOP down there the pigeons are always going to suffer. The BOP must sit there looking at the transporters thinking “Meals on wheels have arrived” There is a stretch of coastline that is infested with BOP so why go there in the first place. Yes, they could go a bit further along the coast but we are aware that fanciers in the East don’t like it because their distance is reduced so less overfly that’s why they keep saying “The wise man lives in the East”. In most cases the pigeons come out of the east anyway so moving over a bit is just evening things up a bit. Even so as we all know there are good fanciers in all areas of any organisation who win.
The Middlewich FC was at Portland with the Mid Cheshire Fed being liberated at 11.45am in a South West wind. 7 members sent 89 birds that saw club secretary Alan Groom top the list with a 4yo blue cock on 1731ypm. Mark & Heather Smith missed the first two weeks but are now going strong and collect 2nd and first share of the pools with a blue cock on 1730ypm. Mr & Mrs Dave Healey are 3rd on 1727ypm after clocking a 3yo blue hen who also collects the second share of the pools. I was talking to Dave and he was saying how well his hens are flying around home. W Wilson & Son are 4th with a yearling red hen on 1714ypm. The Fed saw 67 members send 1186 birds with E Simpson from the Earlstown club being the fed winner ahead of fellow club members W & P Brown 2nd 3rd 4th 5th fed.
In the Acton Bridge Club race from Portland 7 members sent 162 birds lib in a south wind a fast race was on the cards. 1st 2nd 3rd 4th are Curtis-Wall-Lunt timing two birds on same second. Their 1st a yearling cock a g-grandson of their “Box 9 Pair” and is a cock that topped the fed as a young bird last year. 2nd is one of the best cocks they have being a direct son of their top stock cock "Eurovision". This cock would have had 8x1st fed if not for loft mates beating him on the trap. He is sire to their top hen "Countess" winner of 1st Open Three Counties Combine 4,929birds and 3 RPRA awards 2016. 3rd in the clock is a yearling cock again a son of the “Box 9 Pair” this cock was 2nd fed last year as a young bird to loft mate. 4th bird in clock is a blue cock that has also topped the fed previously.
The other local club the Middlewich 5B race their pigeons with the SWCF who were at Yeovil when 71 members entered 1000 birds liberated at 10.45am in a south west wind. In the 5B 11 sent 136 birds that saw Mr & Mrs Dudley Niblett take the red card on 1735ypm with a 2yo chequer cock that also ends up 10th fed. 2nd went to W Wilson & Son on 1735ypm ahead of Ron Woodward 1731ypm and Mark & Heather Smith 1729ypm for 4th. Dave & Baz Mellor are having a good season and in this race the topped the list on 1785ypm.
Westlands
