[MASSBIRD] A Homing Pigeon in Concord, Mass.

[Madeleine Linck]

My daughter works at a farm in Concord where recently there has been a very tame Homing Pigeon walking around the farm buildings. It has a bright green band on its left tarsus. Does anyone know someone in the area who might keep these birds? Thanks,

Madeleine Linck

Rehoboth, Mass

[phaw...@comcast.net]

Madeline,

There are more people keeping homing pigeons in Massachusetts than you might expect. It has been my experience that very few (if any) people who keep homing pigeons are interested in recovering ones who didn't find their way home, even when you can identify the person flying the bird.

Best,

Paul

 

Paul M. Roberts
Medford, MA 
phaw...@comcast.net

[CJ Coppersmith]

Well there’s always this:

Lost homing pigeon Bob back in the UK after American adventure https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-62362307

CJ Coppersmith

Concord, MA

[Paul Kouyoumjian]

A few years ago, I saw a racing pigeon in among the everyday flock around here. I managed a photo of the band and tracked it down to a local club. I can’t remember the club name. I called someone there and he said he could easily find the owner from the band number, but if it’s not an easy capture – like already captured or allowing people to approach – the owner would likely not be interested, mostly because they wouldn’t be able to catch the bird anyway. The person I spoke to thought this bird might have become lost on its way home from a race that started in Ohio. He said often birds can just wander off, in addition to all the other threats to birds, but sometimes they will eventually return home. This bird hung around for a few days and then was gone.