Pigeons For Trampers

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 106, 29 January 1935, Page 11

Pigeons For Trampers

Sir, —"Tramper” says homing pigeons were not satisfactory for bringing out messages from trampers owing to sparrow hawks. Having had pigeons for 35 years and being president of a elub at present, 1 wish to say that, providing a pigeon is kept in form, hawks will never get it, unless at the end of a long, hard flight when exhausted. I hare liberated dozens of hampers of birds for clubs from all over New Zealand, and hate at times seen sparrow, hawks give chase, but never once have I seen a. pigeon caught, as tiiese birds are trained and kept to racing pitch. I myself flew five birds to-day from Oknihau, a distance of 375 miles, in nine hours and a half. Ail the birds came home, and any clubs flying from above Kaetihi south would have to fly through sparrow hawk infested country. Hawks are up there in large numbers, and yet how is it that these pigeons put up the speeds that they do? Perhaps the birds used by “Tramper” had not been trained or raced, or perhaps they were borrowed from an unreliable loft. I maintain that any old tiling will not do. “Tramper” also says that the container, etc., is too bulky. Weil, if it is any nows to him I have used pigeons almost nt his own door in the bush nt Orongorongo, and also in from the Western Lake. I presume “Tramper” knows the nature of this country and bush, so there is no need for me to toll him. As to the bulkiness, I have seen several of these tramping parties and have noticed that quite a number carried gear flint was of no earthly use in the case of getting lost or meeting with an accident. So why say a pigeon is too bulky? “Tramper” cannot convince mo that good homers, well trained, are not his best friends. I remember, years ago, some of the daily papers used to keep pigeons for bringing in messages, before the telephone and telegraph were up to the standard of to-day. Up north pigeons are in use carrying messages between the mainland and an island. Our pets acted as message carriers in the war. They were true and faithful soldiers.—l am, etc., B.L.P.H. Ilunterville, January 24.