Lewis (above and below) arrived in my garden today….lost, disorientated, hungry and very, very thirsty. Lewis is a Racing Pigeon! Probably attracted by the grain trough, this weary F1 avian speed-machine must have been released in a race either earlier today (Sunday) or sometime yesterday.etting lost isn’t an unusual thing for a Racing Pigeon and anyone might look out onto their garden one day and see such a bird sitting placidly on the lawn or pecking ineffectually at seed on the bird table.It might be in almost any condition physically, though it will most likely be close to total exhaustion. This will leave it confused and dehydrated meaning that it may well need your help to recover enough to continue on its journey.Lewis was obviously very tired and, after noticing the temporary rubber ring on one leg indicating he was currently taking part in a race, I picked him up and recorded the unique number displayed on the permanent metal ring on his other leg. This revealed him to be a four year-old bird of British origin.Physically, he was in good health, but I added glucose to a small bowl of water which he then drank enthusiastically. In view of the fact he didn’t appear to be either ill or injured, I provided him with a mixture of groats, chicken-corn and honey on the covered bird-table where he now appears to have taken up temporary residence! I wont cage him or constrain him in any way. He’ll probably hang around for a day or two and leave of his own accord when he’s feeling better. Had he been injured or if he’s still around three days from now, I’ll catch him (he’s very tame) and notify the Royal Pigeon Racing Association that he’s here. Racing Pigeons can be quite valuable, while some can be worth thousands or even tens of thousands of pounds. I could tell that Lewis was good specimen….sleek, strong and in the prime of his racing career so his owner might be quite pleased to get him back.
Oddly,he doesn’t have the usual stamped number on his wing that would identify the name of the actual club to which his owner belongs, but I dare-say that by tomorrow he will have recovered sufficiently to re-orientate himself and make his own way home!
As I expected, Lewis disappeared the following day….but he was back again the day after….and the day after that….and now he’s a regular to the bird-table and even happy to eat grain from my hand….I guess he’s decided to adopt me! Mmm….He obviously knows which side his bread is buttered on, but I would love to know what goes on inside their little minds….Is he genuinely lost and simply making the most of an otherwise bad situation or has he made a desperate bid for freedom?I don’t suppose we’ll ever know what it is that makes birds like Lewis turn feral….probably any one of a number of things, depending on the bird, but you only have to count the number of Pigeons hanging around your local town centre and which are still wearing leg rings, to realize just how many of them do actually go AWOL!
