I had show pigeons and a few racing pigeons as a teen. Like a lot of teens I got out of pigeons when I entered high school, but always wanted to get birds again. Four years ago as a single man I bought an half acre with a small house on it out in the country and one of the first things I did was build a pigeon loft. When I started racing I had a lot of help from my club mates and took Champion Loft Young Birds in my first year. Linda is from England and raced birds there for 7 years before coming to America. She loves Young Bird racing and the long races in Old Birds. One of her greatest pleasures has been clocking 500 mile birds coming home from France across the English Channel. The "Brook" as she calls it.

We fly with the North Sound Racing Pigeon Club, based out of Stanwood, WA. In the great Pacific North West. This year we have several new members and are now at 19 members flying out of 12 lofts. Our club is a very active club with a lot of fun social activities besides just the pigeons. Our club Belongs to the Evergreen Concourse. Which has about 60 members from Everett WA. North to the Canadian border. Our concourse is about 70 miles long and we are about at the 40 mile range and slightly off the flight line. I don’t think this is of any real disadvantage. We have been in two different clubs. Short end with one club and now long end with the other. We have been successful in both clubs. I think it’s more how hard you are willing to work. And how well you train your birds.

Our race course is a very hard course. All of our races are flown from the south from southern WA. Then OR. And Northern CA. The birds tend to hug the foot hills of the Cascade Mountains on their way home. We get a lot of weather fronts that blow in from the Pacific Ocean and dumps when it hits the foot hills. On any giving race our birds can go through several different kinds of weather. I want to add there’s a lot of good flyers in the Pacific North West that over the years have developed tough all weather birds that can also fly fast. Our races can be any where from 900 to 1600 YPM.

No, all our birds are from other breeders families. We have several Van Reets from Frank McLaughlin, Bekaerts from Freddie Rivera, Walter Zebrowski, and some of the last original Clarence Morris Bekaerts, Fabrys from Frank McLaughlin’s 554 family and from Alex Cornella. Leen Boers from Zdzislaw Chala, And a Crazy Al hen that has bred a winner in every nest. Two families of Janssens, One out of Daryl Honey’s "Patriot Cock" and the other Merckx Janssens including two grandsons of Janssen Brothers’ "019". And this year Linda imported two long distance Barkers from her old loft in England. We go more for indyeaividual birds that we know are good than strains or families.

Last year we decided to try and get some breeders that were a notch above what we had. We already had our Van Reets that were flying well for us but we felt we needed more in the middle and long distance races. The Fabrys and Bekaerts have always done well on our race course so that’s where we concentrated. We tried to get the best Bekaerts and Fabrys we could from the best breeders we knew of.

We had a great Young bird season this year. On the club level we won 10 out of 12 club races, had Champion Bird and High Average speed. On the concourse level out of over 1000 birds we won 3 out of 11 races with several other diploma placings, and had 1^st, 3^rd, 7^th, 8^th, 13^th, 19^th Champion Birds. Our Concourse Champion Bird, AU 01 REDROSE 1024 "Motown Missile" is out of a Janssen Cock giving to Linda as a gift from Dick Newman of Detroit, paired with one of our "Patriot" Janssen daughters. He won 3 club races with a 2^nd and a 5^th. And he won 2 concourse races and a 11^th. He also won his class in our annual show. Our 3^rd Champion Bird concourse is also out of one of our "Patriot" daughters paired with a Chala Leen Boer cock. And our "Patriot" son bred the Canuck Classic One Loft Winner. But our Van Reets and our Bekaerts also did well for us. On one race we took the first 6 places concourse with 4 of the 6 being Van Reets. On another race we also took the first 6 places concourse with 4 of the 6 being Bekaerts.

No, we have 5 import breeders but only race their offspring.

We have 24 nest boxes for our Old Bird Team but have 20 pairs this year. This year we are going to race dual Widowhood at the start of the season and switch to Natural at the end for the long races. We don’t want our hens to go to waste. For Young Birds we like to start out at around 60 birds. This year we weaned 65 to our YB Team. At the first race we sent 59, at the end of the season we had 47 left. I might add at our last YB race we sent all 47-325 miles and all 47 were home on the day. Over the season we had very few losses, I think due to a lot of road training.

First of all I want to state this award is Linda’s. I manage the breeding and Old Birds; Linda manages the Young Bird Team. I like to claim I manage Linda but in actuality nobody manages an "English Woman".

I do the pairing with 24 pairs of breeders. We pair up usually around the 1^st of Dec. The first round of eggs all go under pumpers. Our 24 pair of breeders all come down on eggs again in about 10 days. This way our two rounds of babies all get weaned with in 10 days or so. Then from that point on no birds are ever added to the team. That would only slow down the team. This minus the usual empty eggs or lost babies gives us our 60 or so YBs. Our YB loft is 6 by 12 feet with a 4 by 12 foot aviary. The loft has 72 1x1 foot perches. The birds are from day one free to go in and out of the aviary at will. The hole to our aviary is also our trap so when we start flying the birds they don’t have anything new to learn. Just drop the aviary front and away they go. I say "we" a lot because I am doing the writing but it’s Linda that does most of the work with the Young Bird team. I just drive the training truck.

We feed on the floor and use a bell at feeding time. (I can’t whistle). We enjoy spending a lot of time just sitting on the floor with the birds while their eating. They’re such curious little creatures. With in only a few minutes the will be all over you picking at your buttons, finger nails, or what ever. We get our YBs as used to us as we can but make it a point to not handle them any more than necessary. We want them to be used to us, not afraid their going to get grabbed again. As soon as the YBs are trained to come to the bell we start letting them out, usually about 2 weeks after weaning. This is where Linda’s expertise comes in. The "Notorious Flag Lady". Our YBs are only allowed two places. In the air or in the loft. If they dare try to land on the ground they get whooped in the but by the Wicked Flag Lady. As long as the flag is up, they are up. Linda drops the flag and calls them in with the bell, and you better not be in their way or they will take your head off. There is always with out exception safflower on the floor for them when they trap. Because of Linda’s ruthless training our YBs never circle coming from a race. They just dive straight for the trap. We use the Benzing Atis Top electronic clock and on training tosses have trapped as many as 62 birds in 12 seconds. I know Linda’s hard training has as much to do with our success as our bird’s quality. As we have won several races by only seconds.

Once they are all flying good around the loft for an hour or so and when you see the molt start they go on darkness. I think it’s important to get them flying good before going on darkness. Our YBs see the sun come up and we close the shutters around 2 in the afternoon. I think it’s important for them to either see the sun come up or go down. I think they need this for their natural clock. And because of my work we like to loft fly or road train first thing in the morning. Any where from 7 to 9 AM. Once the birds are routing good they start going down the road. We start slow, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 20, 35, 45, 51, and 71 miles. Always several tosses from each release point. At first until they’re to 35 miles they only train by them selves, never with other birds. We want them to learn their way home the straightest and quickest. At 35 miles we start training them with other birds. Small groups at first. I want our birds to drag the others our way, not ours following a large flock. Once they are at 51 miles they start going on the Old Bird Training truck every Tue. And Thur. from 71 miles with about 300 to 400 birds. Once the races start we race on Sat. rest on Sun, 35 miles on Mon, 71 miles on Tue, 35 miles on Wed, 71 miles on Thur, and loft fly on Fri before feeding and basketing. The birds come off darkness 2 weeks before the first race and go onto 16 hours of light until the races are over. We start racing the last weekend of July and race into Sept. The only additives we use are John Curry’s BIO-MOS products, which we really believe in. We use Heritage Acres feeds and feed light to heavy. Being on the dark system we don’t cut or pull any flights. And because our club baskets sexes together for young birds we don’t fly YB widowhood, just to the perch.

Our loft is 14 by 64 feet. All the flying compartments are 6 feet wide and run along the front of the loft. There is a 4 foot hall way that runs almost the full length of the loft, with an 8 by 8 storage room at the end. And then 24 individual breeding pens all along the back wall, with a 4 by 8 foot utility room with hot and cold water. A real blessing here in the winter. The roof is very steeply sloped, 15/12 pitch. Two years ago we lost concourse races by 3 seconds and 8 seconds because of birds landing on shed roofs before they trapped. There’s no way a bird is going to sit on our new roof. The loft vents very well naturally but we also have several fans on the roof that come on automatically as needed.

We use Heritage Acres Feeds. And pretty much feed by their plan. Using their race mix and depurative. We feed once a day just after training. The birds are fed on the floor and always trap to a course of safflower, then Ace Pellets, then either depurative, race mix, or a combination. We feed straight safflower and then pellets on race return. Depurative on Mon., Tue., and on Wed. start mixing in the race mix. Depending on how long the race will be. We use Barley and Green Tea as needed.

We treat the breeders for the normal things before we pair them up. During the race season we do preventive medicating for two days every week for Canker and Respiratory, alternating the treatment and the medication, so the birds don’t build up immunity for the medications. For the most part we have very little illness. I owe this to good ventilation and John Curry’s BIO MOS.

Every race for young birds. How else are you going to find out who’s doing what. Our concourse Champion, "Motown Missile" went to every YB race as did the rest.

Last year I paired our breeders mostly by gut feeling. This year we are also using eye sign as a tool for pairing. Advise for new flyers? Find a good flyer that is really willing to help you and follow their advice to the letter, for a year. Do what ever they say and don’t try to mix other peoples ideas or methods. That will only mess you up. After the year if you’re not happy with the results change methods or mentors. Start with only good birds. Don’t take every ones cast offs. A lot of flyers like to help new club members but be careful; usually you won’t get their best birds. But if you can get sons and daughters of their best birds then take them, as these are from winners all ready conditioned to your race course. I think it’s better to have only a few really good breeders than a bunch of hopefuls. I also think you can get some of your best birds locally. But offer a fair price. Any bird worth buying is worth a fair price, I don’t care who bred it. Be careful if you buy birds from out of the area. Try to get strains that historically have done well on your race course.

When I started flying Zdzislaw Chala, one of the top flyers in WA. State took me under his wing. He taught me a lot, but I asked a lot of questions. My first year flying he gave me 9 or 10 young birds to fly saying, "now you have birds out of my best, no excuses, the rest is up to you". That year I won Champion Loft, with his help and birds. Linda had a dear friend and flyer in England, Gordon Roscoe, who passed away this year that was instrumental in her learning. Gordon was one of the club’s old timers who took Linda under his wing and taught her a lot of what she knows.

1999, Champion loft, Young Birds, Club. First year flying for Steve.

2000, 2^nd Champion Loft both Young Birds and Old Birds, Club. Racing Pigeon Bulletin "2nd Little All American Loft, Young Birds". First year for Steve and Linda as a team.

In 2001 we did not finish the Old Bird Season as we changed clubs but for 2001 Young Birds, 10 out of 12 club wins, Champion Loft, Champion Bird, and High Average Speed, Club. 2^nd Champion Loft and Champion Bird, Concourse. 1^st place NCI Live Bird Auction Race, 3^rd Place NCI Kit Bird Auction Race, 1^st Place Canuck Classic One Loft Futurity, 3^rd place Lou McElroy Futurity, 9^th place Colorado Gold Rush Futurity, 25^th place Spirit of Colorado One Loft Futurity, and now the best, I.F. Champion Loft 2001 Young Birds.

We would like to see more flyers get involved in more activities and sport promotion. Linda and I have hosted auctions and shows, open to the public. We have had articles in the local newspaper telling of our great sport. We had an open house for our small community with loft tours and then watched the birds come back from a race. The town’s folk loved this. Even if none of them start flying, they will tell others of their fun and our sport will grow. We are in a super club that due to it’s activities and promotion has gained several new members. And we have several functions planned for the coming year involving the public. Last year we mentored new flyers Don and Liz VanSickle who had a great time, won their first race, and now are actively promoting our sport. This year we are mentoring Pete King, from New York. Never pass up the opportunity to talk about pigeon racing. If more people would get involved they would have more fun and we would all gain new members.