News

RACE REPORT HOTSPOT 2

Hotspot 2 was held on 5^th June from 192km. The weather was cool in the morning with a maximum temperature of 32 degrees Celsius during the day. The wind was a mild headwind.

2495 pigeons were sent to the race. The first pigeons arrived at a velocity of 1442 m/m with 1300 birds arriving in the first hour. On the first day 1621 pigeons had clocked. By the close of the race on the second day 1818 pigeons were home being 73% of those sent. 27% did not return in race time. The pigeons were in fantastic condition and health, but losses were high.

Some pigeons returned with hawk injuries some of which will not take part in any more racing. Breeders will be notified of pigeons not able to continue. We are still receiving late birds most of which are in good condition but won’t take part in the next training toss.

Heavy losses in racing is devastating and disappointing for all of us and particularly our fanciers who have high expectations of their pigeons. There are many reasons why there are losses in One Loft Races but we believe that the main cause at Victoria Falls is the high number of old pigeons in the loft, and we have mentioned this on other posts. It is vital that fanciers take note that only young unraced pigeons should be sent to any one loft race. The tracker results and report below shows us clearly what we believe happen to most late and missing pigeons at this race. Some pigeons take evasive action from falcons but can still work it out and come back later in good condition. Others fly off in the wrong direction including trackers which follow them and return later.

TRACKER REPORT

We are gaining more and more valuable information from our tracker birds. We have information from 7 trackers carrying rings at Hotspot 2. On the first day one of the trackers flew North across the border into Zambia and then turned and flew West to the loft. 2 trackers that came on the second day flew a long way in Zambia before coming back to Zimbabwe, one of them was on the same track as the other that split and flew West to the loft on the first day. It is most likely that these trackers flew with other pigeons which were either disorientated or attempting to fly home to the lofts they matured in. The wind did not play a part.

We maintain our stand that sending young untrained pigeons is best. Older mature pigeons raced or unraced sent to our race will reduce the chance of success and result in heavy losses not only those pigeons are lost but they lead younger pigeons astray that follow the majority.

Congratulations to the prize winners for Hotspot 2!

Your accounts have already been credited with the prize money. Certificates have been emailed to you and are also available in your login.

Watch videos of the top 3 birds here!

1st Prize - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/56xSHsuTR7s?feature=share

2nd Prize - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sqWNcWp8Ffs?feature=share

3rd Prize - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bwt1YLYchDA?feature=share