Pigeon Racing

Not that many years ago, the pigeon held an important place in the feathered world. For many, many years, the pigeon, with its highly developed homing instinct and its ability to cover long journeys at speed, was a sort of flying telegraph and as such was invaluable. Even in today's electronic world, the pigeon is often used for this purpose, but in the main they are bred for the sport of pigeon racing. We took this series of pix as members of the Nelson Pigeon Club prepared for a race from Invercargill to Nelson.

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Pigeons from the loft of Mr Ron Hill take off for an evening training flight

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There's tons of stamina in these small birds

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After ringing at the club headquarters, the birds are crated in special boxes ready for the long trip by rail to Invercargill.

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The crated birds off on the first stage of their trip south.

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Pigeons in flight over Nelson