WARWICKSHIRE WITTERINGS
DREW CALLAN
April 2012
Hello and welcome to the first of the Warickshire Witterings. My aim is to bring a bit of publicity to the performances put up on a weekly basis by the members of Warwickshire and District Federation, and along the way to do loft visits and write ups on some of the unsung flyers within the federation.
Breeder/Buyer sale
The federation recently held its breeder/buyer sale and a very good turn out on the night saw just under 70 young birds sold and a tidy wedge raised to be competed for from Carentan in September. The federation committee would like to thank everyone who put up or bought a youngster and special thanks to John Dodds who did the honours of auctioning the birds and believe me when I say he was very good, in fact he even managed to get a bid out of my mate Pete.. and I can tell you that people have been given medals for less than that.
Gold Ring and Y/bird Championship
It was also decided by the delegates of the federation to run the gold ring race and Young Bird championship at the same time as the breeder/buyer race so they will also be competed for from Carentan. The Gold rings are being run on a nomination basis with the money having to be in the hands of the club or federation secretaries no later than 31st May with a list of nominated rings to be with secretary by basketing night of the first young bird race in July. The decision to compete from the channel for the breeder/buyer seems to have been a popular one given the support shown at the sale and it is hoped that this support is shown in the number ofgold rings sold as well. So its up to the members to create a pot of prize money worth flying for and with the rae being across the water it will be a more level playing field and I think it is this which has enticed more members out of hiding.
Bath
Kicking off the 2012 season saw the federation at Bath, which is about 84 miles to the middle of the fed. Basketing was put back 24 hours as the weather for Saturday meant it was too close to call and the committee decided that a hold over wasn’t in the best interests of the birds so the decision was made. A couple of phone calls I had on Saturday morning suggested that we had made a mistake in postponing but the way I look at it if the birds are sat safe and sound at home then it wasn’t a poor decision.
Sunday morning dawned clear but very cold and Keith the convoyer had to scrape the ice off the inside of the lorry to see whether it was day light. Having checked the line of flight - which was made much easier by the unfortunate events in Wales - we just had to sit tight and wait for the air to warm up. Strings were eventually cut and the 843 birds in the air at 9.45 clearing well and heading for home into a fresh North /North East wind. Given the wind at release and enroute the smart money would have bee on the birds in west side of the fed but thankfully no one told the birds that and it was east side members who dominated. Or rather should I say it was an east side member, as 8 of the first 10 positions in the fed were taken by S O’Rourke & Son of Monsell club tucked away out on the eastern edge of the federation. What a team performance at 96 miles with the wind on their snout all the way, with the loft securing 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th federation with the winning velocity being 1377.150, dropping down to 1372.510ypm, working velocities on a proper flying day.
This was an incredible performance from a loft who have been flying consistently in the fed for a few years now. At look at any fed result will show that the O’Rourke loft never just have one bird on the result, but rather have them lining up to run over the pads on a race day. On a day when the shorter flyers should have dominated it was indeed a result out of the top drawer… well done gentlemen.
Keeping the O’Rourke birds company was a bird belonging to club mate M. Slater who recorded 1375.086ypm to secure 5th Fed to stop the demolition job. In 10th Federation is another loft out on the eastern end, J AVince and son flying out to Clifton near the M1 and flying the flag for The Boat HS, again another good bird against the wind.
Looking down the result there is a definite lack of yearlings due mostly I would have thought to fanciers deciding to leave them at home given the threat of the cold north east winds and the casualties these can bring with them. It was definitely a day for wise heads and experience.
Club Round up
Barras Green HS
R Lee 1295.714
W Gair, Son & Grandson 1281.607
W Gair, Son & Grandson 1281.607
East Leake SR FC
D Kemp 1206.883
D Kemp 1181.304
Thompson & Daughter 1173.161
Hinkley FC
I Burnett 1296.816
I Burnett 1296.276
I Burnett 1276.456
Monsell SR FC
S O Rourke 1377.150
S O Rourke 1376.034
S O Rourke 1375.290
Nuneaton NR HS
Lloyd Bros 1301.653
Lloyd Bros 1297.084
Lloyd Bros 1295.000
Southam and District
L Babey 1180.249
R Williams 1177.866
L Babey 1177.324
The Boat HS
J A Vince & Son 1311.617
T Young 1271.016
Mr & Mrs J Clay 1232.422
Right folks, that’s the first week put to bed and I’m off to mine. Any info, advice or complaints to my email address which is
Cheers, Bogtrotter.
