They’re fed a special diet, receive veterinary care, and get pampered compared to street pigeons. Baptista also got to know his father better in the process. “I’d ride with him during training and talk with him all the way up and back for the last three years of his life. I’m so glad I had that time with him,” Baptista said. Baptista has added a separate family of black pigeons to the dovecote. And his brother snuck in a family of red ones, that also are also kept separate.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER
White Racing Homers aren’t usually flown in the U.S. because they’re more visible to predators like Cooper’s hawks, says Baptista. They were developed in Spain,
Each bird is banded with a unique AU identification number soon after it’s born which also carries the owner’s’ information and club name in case it gets lost. A second band carries a microchip that is scanned in at the start of the race. Chip technology has replaced time clocks, where every fraction of a second counts. At the start of a race, the birds are scanned in on a device much like a grocery scanner. As the pigeon returns to its loft, it walks over a pad that scans its time and location. Winspeed, a software program developed for pigeon racing, calculates the pigeon’s time in yards per minute – a holdover from the sport’s European roots. All of which is entered into a national database maintained by the AU. “Converting distance and time to velocity
MAY EVENTS Cherry Blossom Festival
Sunday, May 7, 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. Cooke Memorial Park Cherry St. & Pilgrim Ave. Tickets (limited number) are $20 for adult, $10 for child under 12. Sponsored by the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society & Fairhaven Colonial Club. For resevations, call 508-995-1219 or email Gerry@WMFriendshipHouse.org.
Riverside Cemetery Tour
Sunday, May 21, 2 p.m. Riverside Cemetery, 274 Main St. Tour this lovely rural-style cemetery created in 1850 by Warren Delano II, grandfather of F.D.R. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Free.
Fort Phoenix Historical Encampment
Sat. & Sun., May 27 - 28 9 a.m. Sat. to 3:00 p.m. Sun. Cannon Firing Sat. 7:45 p.m.
one of the countries where the sport originated. The hawks disappear at some point in May, he says, as other prey becomes available. Meanwhile, Baptista has to head home to scare off the hawks that circle his loft in Dartmouth while waiting for his birds to return. The official 10-series races for the Northeast Concourse start April 18, with a 160-mile flight from Albany sponsored by the American Racing Pigeon Union (AU). Races are structured by area with clubs joining to form “combines,” and combines joining to form “concourses.” The New Bedford Racing Club is part of the New England Combine and Northeast Concourse.
allows for comparison between birds,” said Deone Roberts, AU spokesperson. “Speeds can be 35 to 90 miles per hour. But if it’s 90, you know it had help with a tailwind.” Speeds over the course of several races will determine whether a bird is the fastest, she said. The AU database keeps the birds’ race history, and owners can check on it to see where it places locally and nationally. There are national awards for the fastest birds. But racing Homer pigeons is about more than just owning the fastest bird. “It’s the satisfaction you get when the bird comes back to your house, your home,” said Baptista. “That’s why I do it.”
Fairhaven Village Militia and the Office of Tourism present a two-day program on life during the 1770s, including camp cooking, musket demonstrations,children’s games, tin smithing and more.
Memorial Day Parade
Monday, May 29, 8:30 a.m.
Parade on Main Street from Center Street to Riverside Cemetery, where a brief ceremony will be held at the Civil War monument.
TOWN OF FAIRHAVEN
Office of Tourism
141 Main Street, Fairhaven, MA 508-979-4085 FairhavenTours@fairhaven-ma.gov M,T,Th,F, Sat. 8:30 - 4:30;
http://FairhavenTours.com
The South Coast Insider | May 2017
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