Hundreds of pigeons vanish in 'Bermuda triangle' of birds

[Evildweeb Profile]

Hundreds of racing pigeons vanish in 'Bermuda triangle' of birds


Pigeon racers are mystified after hundreds of birds disappeared in an area they have now dubbed the Bermuda Triangle.





Pigeon racers are mystified after hundreds birds disappeared Photo: Andrew Crowley



8:53AM BST 24 Aug 2012

Pigeon racers are mystified after hundreds birds disappeared in an area dubbed they have now dubbed the Bermuda Triangle.

Only 13 out of 232 birds released in Thirsk , North Yorkshire, on Saturday by a Scottish pigeon racing club made it back to Galashiels, Selkirkshire.

It follows a summer on which hundred more have vanished in the same area.

Keith Simpson, of the East Cleveland Federation, said pigeon racers across the region had all suffered massive losses since the season started in April - with many losing more than half of their birds.

Some fanciers are considering stopping flying the birds until they establish why so many failed to return.





Experts say recent bad weather may have pushed the birds off course




The loss of homing pigeons, which can be worth up to £200,000, has baffled experts, but the most popular theory is the abnormal number of summer showers, sending birds off course as they attempt to fly around the downpours.

Unusually high levels of solar activity distorting magnetic fields and even signals from Menwith Hill spy base, near Harrogate , an electronic monitoring station, have also been blamed.

Wendy Jeffries, president of the Thirsk Social Flying Club, said: "I just don't know what it is down to.

"The weather wasn't too bad around here on Saturday. It has been an atrocious year. I am down to ten young birds out of 29 and the people I have talked to are the same."

The high numbers of birds going missing in the region have also been linked to the high numbers of pigeons being released within minutes of each other at weekends, meaning different groups of pigeons send each other off course.

Darlington pigeon racer Stuart Fawcett, who has been racing pigeons for more than 30 years, said: "It is the worst year in the memory of people who have been racing for 60 years.

"The area being talked about is very heavily congested with pigeons because the raptor problem became so great elsewhere that races have moved to east England."



STORY @ THE TELEGRAPH UK

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... birds.html

[Muchtyman Profile]

I wish the flocks of pigeons that shit on my roof would bloody vanish .

[Evildweeb Profile]

I wish the flocks of pigeons that shit on my roof would bloody vanish .

LOL.


Indeed.