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Welcome to the
2011 AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT REPORT
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This
is the first website report on the 2011 Australian
Pigeon Punt. All participants in the race should
have received by
now the codes of the Electronic Rings that are on
their birds. If you have not received them
please let me know.
A total of 688 Birds were
entered in the Loft this year comprising of 348 Paid
Birds and 340 Spares.
This year started a little
differently from previous years as almost from the
time of the first birds
arriving Pigeon
Pox also arrived. At first I quarantined the few
with Pox but as more and more developed the Pox I
had no spare pens to use so the birds with Pox were
left with all the other entries.
I should point
out that I actually sent pigeons back to their
owners (at my cost) because they had just
been inoculated
prior to being sent to the A.P.P. and also declined
to accept birds that belonged to fanciers who
acknowledged that they had Pox in their lofts.
The
Pox that developed on the birds was
unlike any Pox I have seen previously. The Pox lesions in some cases were
as large as small grapes
and they
appeared on many unusual places on the birds. For
example, the middle of the forehead,
inside the
nostrils, on the very end of the toes, and in one
case the middle of the wing.
Another
unusual feature
was that the lesions stayed on the birds for as long
as three months. I had to cull 4 birds that
developed the Pox lesions inside the mouth. They
were unable to eat freely and were more
likely to pass
on the virus to others. It was very obvious that the
birds that developed the large lesions
struggled health
wise when they contracted any other problem like
canker or respiratory.
A total of
28 birds ended
up being culled this year, more than I would have
liked but none of them was going to win a
prize and to leave them in the loft would simply
have dragged down the others health wise.
The birds were inoculated on
March 31st. I did not think that the
overall health in the A.P.P. Loft was
acceptable
to risk infecting all the birds with a live virus
prior to March 31st. Historically pigeons
in Melbourne are inoculated for Pigeon Pox in early
May. In fact at one time you could not purchase the
vaccine prior to early May. After inoculating, no
more birds developed Pox and no birds now show any
lesions.
I started force flying the
birds in mid-March and by the end of March they were
all flying for an hour a day – a few did choose to
land in the trees at first and even now the odd bird
will still land in them.
Between January 1st and
May 1st I lost 40 birds breaking in, etc.
– some I saw being taken by falcons, a
couple I picked up dead in the yard and some I
culled due to being smashed up too badly to recover.
I have one bird in the loft today that only has half
of a wing on one side. I saw the falcon hit this
bird
and
the bone at the middle wing joint has been broken
clean off. The Electronic Rings were placed on
the birds on May 3rd and at that time there were 620 birds still in the
loft (40 lost, 28 culled).
At the time of writing this
report the number has gone down to 602.1 have tossed
the birds 10 times
now,
starting at 7 klms. They were then tossed 4 times
from 15 klms. , twice from 22 klms. and 3 times
from 35 klms. The birds have beaten me back to the
loft every time which means they have never
taken
more than 30 minutes at the most. All the tosses
were straight forward bar the eighth toss.
When I arrived back to the loft
approximately 30 minutes from liberation they were
walking the yard
etc. and all appeared to be there. However when I
called them in I could see that they were not all
there. I
had set the electronic clock and when I checked it
showed 470 birds home — I had tossed
approximately
610. 1 waited for 90 minutes before any more birds
came and then approximately 100
birds arrived and
within another 20 — 30 minutes a few more dropped
in. Why 470 birds could be home in 30 minutes and
140 birds take over 120 minutes I do not know. They
did bring W.P.F. birds with them ( W.P.F. is
the other side of Melbourne ).
I should take this moment to
say that of the 58 birds that have actually got
lost, not a single one has
been
reported. At the same time I have reported at least
25 strays.
The birds look very, very well
at the present time and I continue to loft fly them
for an hour a day
every day that they are not tossed. They do not fly
the roof as well as I would like as I have
approximately 30 birds that will not leave the area
and will only do as much as they have to stay in
the air. Believe it or not those 30 birds can bring
600 birds down very quickly. When I let them out of
the loft for loft flying, within 5 minutes these 30
odd birds have broken out of the main mob and are
down
circling the loft. The main mob generally will
disappear for 20 — 30 minutes. If I leave the loft
those 30 birds will be down immediately.
Hence I
stay standing in front of the loft for the whole 60
minutes — all the doors are shut while they are
flying. When the 60 minutes is up and I start to
open
the
doors (ten) the birds are down before I have opened
half of them. You may think upon reading
this
that I have them on the tooth, NOT SO. 610 birds are
or have been eating 900 ounces per day and
there
is no barley in my food mix.
The next tossing stage will be
50 klms and that will start tomorrow weather
permitting. For interstate
fanciers I have
to tell you that it is cold and wet in Melbourne at
present and I will not toss if the weather is
really bad.
The list of birds printed after this report is an
accurate account of what is in the loft today (it is
not a
Print Out of a toss ).The toss results will not be
printed until I have the birds tossing from at least
70
klms
and that should be within the next two weeks if all
goes well.
John van
Beers
Training Results for
June 11th 2011
Click the link below to view
2011 training result1
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AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT 20th
JUNE 2011
This is a report that I write
reluctantly. As I said in the last report, the birds were
due to go to the next tossing stage on 13`h June
2011. That toss took place and turned into a disaster in my
opinion. I tossed 602 birds from 50 klms. which is still
within the Melbourne Metropolitan area and on the night I
only had 335 birds in the loft. The first birds back to the
loft took just over an hour to fly the 50 klms. These six
birds would not land and were flying erratically and I
assumed that within a few minutes the mob
would arrive. Didn't happen! All
afternoon birds came in small batches of between 3 and 6
birds. In the whole six hours that I stood at the loft
waiting I never saw more than a dozen come together. They
came predominately on line with some coming from the North
and some from the South (on line is North West). The next
morning the same thing occurred ---very small groups of 3 &
4 still coming mostly on line. As I write this report I only
have 496 birds in the loft meaning I have lost 106 birds.
The day was a perfect day for a toss—Blue
sky with cloud, a very light southerly with just a hint of
East. When I liberated the birds they mobbed up well and
headed North rather than SouthEast and I did see them break
up and spiral down. In the distance from where I was , they
appeared to join up again and then I lost sight of them. I
thought no more of it and headed home. I have thought a lot
since then and I just do not have any answers. To see no
more than a dozen birds arrive together at the loft when I
liberated 870 altogether (270 of mine) just defies logic.
I had 10 birds reported by different
fanciers mostly within 10 klms. of where they were released.
I would like to thank all those fanciers for doing so.
Returning to Monday's and Tuesday's
returns, most of the birds returned looking as if nothing
untoward had happened. However there were some that looked
like they had flown 500 miles. I have five that have minor
injuries and a few with cover and tail feathers missing,
nothing serious. The loss percentage in the Punt Loft is
identical to my own loft. I have loft flown the birds every
day since Wednesday and they are still flying an hour a day.
It is noticeable that of the 30 odd birds that would not
roam with the mob a high percentage of them appear to be
gone. I know that I will have disappointed some of the
fanciers who have already lost birds but if 500 come home
and 100 do not I can only assume that the ones home are
better that the ones that are not.
I am acutely aware that this is an
atrocious outcome for a 50 klms. toss and I cannot explain
it. I would like to mention that I know of 6
local fanciers who all tossed the same day from locations
close to where I released and they all had big numbers out
on the night.
As a point of interest: Tullamarine
airport was closed on the day of the toss due to ash cloud
and New Zealand had two earthquakes the same day. Does it
mean anything? I will not toss the birds until late this
week and will go back to 35 klms. just to get their
confidence back.
The following Print Out is an accurate
list of all the birds in the loft today. It is not a Print
Out of the toss.
John Van Beers
Training Results for
June 20th 2011 Click Below
June 20th 2011 TRAINING
AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT 27th
JUNE 2011
This week the birds were tossed three
times. The first was from 35 klms. with no problems. The
birds were home when I arrived back. The second toss was
from 70 klms. No problem although I did see them get hit.
When I arrived back at the loft all bar 20 birds were home.
A few came within the next 30 minutes and 3 came the next
morning. I think 3 were lost from this toss. They took 50
minutes to fly the 70 klms. The third toss was from 75 klms.
It was a strong tail wind and the birds flew it in 46
minutes. Obviously they beat me back to the loft. There were
no losses but 6 came a good 30 minutes after I arrived back
which means they took 105 minutes compared to the main mob's
46 minutes.
Every day that I do not toss the birds
loft fly for one hour. The vigour and enthusiasm that they
display while loft flying indicates to me that the bad toss
on June 13ffi does not appear to have affected
them.
As a point of interest one bird from the
13th June toss has been reported 200 klms. due
west of the loft. It flew 150 klms. in the wrong direction.
The following Print Out is an accurate
list of all birds in the loft today. It is not a Print Out
of a Toss.
On a separate note to the Training Report
I have a few entrants / fanciers who have requested the
electronic codes to their birds. If I have not received FULL
PAYMENT I will not supply the codes. I appreciate that this
may seem mercenary but I have already advertised that I have
a Guaranteed Prize Pool of $139,200 -this includes the
payments that I have yet to receive . Last year I failed to
receive all monies owing and it left a bitter taste.
John van Beers
Training Results for June 27th 2011 Click Below
June 27th 2011 Training
AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT July 6th 2011
This week's report is a no news is good news report. The
birds were tossed twice from 75 klms. and on both days they
had tail/shoulder winds to assist them. Consequently they
were home well before I arrived back to the loft. On both
days they flew the 75 klms. in 45 minutes. No birds were
lost on the first toss but one was lost on the second toss
and two returned with minor hawk damage.
At this stage I am doing the tossing myself and the birds
are generally walking the yard when I return . Therefore I
have not been placing on the website the actual return of
the birds. This will change shortly.
The birds on the whole are loft flying quite reasonably
for an hour per day. Their health appears to be consistently
good.
The following Print Out is an accurate list of all the
birds in the loft today. My next tossing stage will be from
100 klms. providing weather, etc. permits.
John van Beers
Training Results for July 6th 2011 Click Below
6th july2011Training
AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT JULY July 12th
I wrote in last week's report that no
news is good news. This week I have news and it is not good.
The birds were only tossed once - on
Sunday the 10th from approx. 135km. The weather
conditions were not ideal: light rain in places and
occasional heavy showers with a tail shoulder wind W/SW.
On release at 12:30 they mobbed up very
well and I could see them for 8 minutes before they
disappeared. They never got hit in that time and when I last
saw them they were heading the opposite to home.
On the drive back I encountered light
misty rain for 15-20km and then patchy cloud cover with some
sun. I struck a very heavy downpour when I arrived in
Melbourne at 2:00pm. I got back to the loft at 2:30pm and
over half of the birds (Punt Birds and mine) were already
home. Over the next 15 rains, approx.. 20 odd birds came. At
3:15 a mob of almost 100 arrived meaning there were 395
birds in the Punt Loft (tossed 490).1 assumed they got split
up by the rain and the balance would arrive shortly -
unfortunately that did not happen. I had no more birds until
7pm. In the pitch dark 12 birds arrived: 8 for my loft and 4
to the Punt Loft, strangely they all went to their right
lofts. Again I assumed they would arrive early next morning.
Again it did not happen. They (30 birds) dribbled in all
day. Giving a total of 425, only 65 lost
Anyone who has lost a bird in this toss
is well entitled to feel hard done by and I deserve plenty
of criticism. It was a mistake on my behalf to have released
when and where I did. I should have come back to the
outskirts of Melbourne and liberated there.
However again I can only wonder why 490
birds flying to the one loft all up together can't fly back
to the loft together. 270 were home in under 2 hours. I can
only assume that the ones that are home are better than the
ones that are not home.
I realise only too well that I have burnt
more birds than was necessary and so have upset and
disappointed more fanciers. I apologise. However it is also
necessary to point out that the race is to be held on 18th
September and I do have to get the birds up the line. I can
loft fly the birds for longer than an hour a day, but they
do still need some hours on the wing from reasonable
distances.
I have come to the conclusion that I will
have to stop training from dead on the line of flight, and
start tossing from the north to try and take advantage of
all the tossing that occurs from the 130km toss point. A lot
of fanciers in Melbourne toss from this northern location
even though it is not remotely on line for our racing.
Going back to the toss on the 10th
July I have at least six birds that have been hit by falcons
etc and one bird was that bad that I had to cull it.
From now on I will not take any risks
whatsoever. If there is east in the wind or rain about I
simply will not toss from beyond the outskirts of Melbourne.
I have in the past stated that I would rather get birds to
the race slightly underdone than get a few birds to the race
overdone.
As you can imagine I am embarrassed and
disappointed, and I feel like I am walking on eggshells. But
nothing will be gained by giving up, better to try and learn
from my mistake and carry on.
The following print out is an accurate
list of all the birds in the loft on 12th July.
It is not the result of the toss.
J Van Beers
PS I should mention that some of the
missing birds had previously had minor injuries. And also
the loss ratio in my own loft is only a little better than
the Punt Loft. A further point of interest: The VHA flew
from 230km to my loft on the 9th July in similar conditions
to the 10th but without rain and returns were
better than 95% so my theory on tossing long only on Sundays
has some merit as there would have been very few tired late
birds for the falcons to get on the 10th July.
Training Results for July 12th 2011
Click Below
July 13th Training
AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT JULY 19th 2011
REPORT
This week's report is short and sweet. The birds only had
one toss from 75km on Sunday 17th. The day was
reasonable in Melbourne but the further north you went the
worse the weather was: light misty rain with low cloud. I
actually drove over 360kms hoping to get a decent toss but
had to come back to Melbourne's outskirts.
The first 280 birds arrived back at the loft in just on
45 mins. After 90 mins flying time there were 370 birds in
the loft and on the night there were 23 out. They came
reasonably early next morning.
I am aware that the loft is 2 birds down in number from
July 12th. One bird arrived on the 20th
with no life ring and no electronic ring — A blue bar. The
other missing bird may have gone from the toss or gone
missing during the week. The falcons still visit regularly.
I have persisted with the loft flying, increasing the
flying time to 1 and 1/4 hours per day. They do not fly as
well as I would like, so I will more than likely start
midweek tossing weather permitting. The weather in Melbourne
the last two weeks has been pretty miserable — lots of rain
and low cloud. The following list in an accurate list of all
birds in the loft on 19.7.11. My thanks to all the
supportive calls and emails and my acknowledgement of the
negative one.
John Van Beers
P.S . Nearly all the tosses on Sunday the 17th
had the same results with the late birds coming out of the
south. The wind at the release point was a brisk northerly
(straight tailwind).
Training Results for July 19th
2011 Click Below
July 19th Training
AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT REPORT July 26th
2011
There is very little to report this week
as the birds were only tossed once – on Monday 25th
July. The normal Sunday toss did not go ahead due to
poor weather conditions – ( 10 mm Rain ).
The toss on July 25th was from
approximately 75-80 klms. and turned out a little
differently than anticipated. I expected a 70 minute fly
allowing for some misty rain etc. The first birds back to
the loft took 114 minutes and the majority ( 400 ) were home
in 134 minutes. They had been through some rain and returned
to the loft predominately from the North and North East.(
Tossed from the North West ) All the birds were in the loft
on the night. NO LOSSES !!
If I could somehow manage a 2 hour fly
from 80 klms. regularly I would not have to toss any
further.
The birds' loft flying has been increased
to 1 1/2 hours per day and they are flying
reasonably well. The weather here in Melbourne continues to
be cold, wet and miserable so tossing is risky.
The list of birds that follows is the
actual Print Out of the toss and the birds are listed as
they returned.
John van Beers
Training Results for July 19th
2011 Click Below
July 26th Training
AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT REPORT August 2nd 2011
The birds were tossed from 180 klms. on Monday August 1".
The weather for once was glorious– blue skies with plenty of
sunshine. They were tossed on Monday rather than Sunday due
to the fact that the V.H.A. birds were held over until
Sunday and I cannot manage a toss with the Punt Birds and
clock my own Race birds on the same day.
Upon release the birds mobbed up very well and were out
of sight in 5 minutes. They had a direct tail wind,N/W. The
first birds back to the loft took only one hour and forty
minutes which gives a velocity of 1800 m.p.m. Within 10
minutes 275 birds were home and in the following 35 minutes
another 100 odd birds were home. By 5 p.m. there were 414
birds back in the loft. I tossed 425 birds and they were
released at 12.20 p.m. By 10 a.m. the next morning six of
the eleven missing birds were home. The late birds that were
home on the day were all coming out of the Sth.East.
The Print Out is unfortunately not a record of how they,
the birds, returned. I had been looking at the ETS Clock
every 5-10 minutes to see how many were home and I know that
at 2.45 p.m. the clock showed 380 birds. I looked again 10
minutes later and the clock showed nothing. The power had
gone off and in my haste I pushed the wrong keys and
wiped the memory so that is why I had to run them through
the trap at 5 p.m. (We have a back – up system on Race day)
The birds listed 415, 416, 417, 418, 419 and 420 are the
six that came next morning. Numbers 421 and 422 were not
tossed as they returned late last week from the toss of July
12th. They will go back into training. The last
bird home on the night, number 414, has been lightly hawked
across the rump.
I am not midweek tossing as the birds are loft flying for
1 Y2hours per day almost willingly.
It is amazing how much better the birds look with a bit
of sun on their backs. I am writing this report as the birds
are out free lofting and bathing, and they do look sweet.
For the fanatics out there who are keen on detail, the
425 birds are eating 700-725 ozs. per day and the baths have
thick bloom over them. Again for the fanatics the A.P.P.
website, believe it or not, is being accessed in numbers I
cannot believe and from places like U.S.A., France, India,
Morocco, New Zealand, Belgium, Germany, Bangladesh and even
Russia, over 3000 hits in 14 days! Obviously these people
have not got 1400 perches to scrape!
John van Beers
Training Results for August 2nd
2011
August 2nd
Training
AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT REPORT AUGUST 9th
2011
I have no pleasure in writing this report
as again I have had a very bad toss. The birds were tossed
from 180 klms. on Sunday August 7th.
The weather was good with plenty of blue sky and sun. A few
very minor drops of rain were encountered on the way up and
the wind was a very light northerly. The birds were released
at 11.05 a.m. with 900 other birds , resulting in a
liberation of just over 1300 birds with all the birds flying
to within 10 klms. of the A.P.P. loft. Upon release it was
obvious that some birds did not want to clear and it took
over 10 minutes before they appeared to be leaving. At this
time the two convoyers left.
The first birds returned to the A.P.P.
loft at 3.30 p.m. giving a flying time of 4 1/2 hours. They
should have flown it in 2 1/2 hours. As can be seen by the
following Print Out there were only 170 Punt birds in the
loft on the night with the last of the birds on the night
arriving in the pitch dark. (Dark at 6.10 p.m.) These late
birds had obviously been flying as they showed a bit of
fatigue, 7 1/2 hours on the wing. Next morning they started
coming early, nearly all on line and by midday there were
only 270 home. By nightfall on Monday August 8th
there were 330 birds in the loft. Tuesday the 9th
August another ten came giving a total of 340 birds. This is
at midday on August 9th. At the time
of the previous report there were 422 birds in the loft.
Approximately 20 birds have been hawked: 3 quite badly and
the others have cover flights, tail feathers etc. missing.
The birds that came after midday on the 8th
August have done a lot of flying.
WHY THE BAD RETURNS?
The answer is that I do not know. After
30 years of pigeon racing at a fairly successful level, I
thought I had a few clues (Falcons have something to do with
it). I have to point out that of the birds that were tossed
with the Punt birds, just over 50% were home on the night
and the follow- on the next day was much better than the
Punt birds. WHY? Without trying to make excuses for the
losses in the Punt loft it is pertinent to point out that
the non – Punt birds are all being raced in the V.H.A. and
G.M.P.F. and so have had possibly more experience. Also
there was a percentage of 2 or 3 year olds in these teams –
for example, I tossed 10 two- year- olds and they were all
home on the night. I am more than prepared to concede that
there must be something wrong in the Punt loft, but I cannot
see or work out what is not right.
As most of the readers of this report
would know, my birds and the Punt birds are trained
identically, fed identically and medicated identically. The
lofts are almost the same, yet the losses in the Punt loft
are atrocious. I tossed 144 birds of my own and lost 10.1
tossed 422 Punt birds and lost 82.1 am not trying to promote
my birds nor am I canning the Punt birds but I just cannot
explain the difference. Obviously with the earliest birds
home having had a 4 1/2 hour fly and the rest between 4 1/2-
9 hours they will not need any more long tosses in the short
term. I will just observe the loft flying before I make the
next decision re training. I dare say that there will be a
few more unhappy participants in the 2011 Australian Pigeon
Punt and I truly do sympathise with those who have lost
birds again. I can assure everyone that I am trying.
Taking into account that I have now had 3
tosses in 2011 which can only be termed as disasters, and
having only been as far as 180 klms., I am more than a
little worried about the actual race. The only upside of the
situation is that the birds have had hours on the wing.
The birds listed at 334, 335, 336, and
337 were not tossed due to injuries etc.
A FINAL WORD
There will not be an A.P.P. Race in 2012.
With all the work involved with the Race I can just about
cope , BUT the losses have become so bad that I need to have
a break.
John van Beers
Training Results for
August 9th
2011
AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT REPORT August 16th
2011
There is fortunately little to report
this week. The birds were not tossed at all. They free
lofted Tuesday and loft flying started again on Wednesday.
They did one hour on Wednesday and then one and a half hours
on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and today.
At this time all bar the birds listed
340, 341, and 342 are back flying. I shall start short
tossing as soon as the weather settles. The short tosses are
aimed at restoring the birds and my confidence.
The birds still look well, are eating
well and show good signs of health. I still intend to
endeavour to have one more long toss from 260 klms., again
weather permitting.
The following print out is not the result
of a toss, it is a accurate list of all the birds in the
loft on the 16th August 2011
John van Beers
List of all birds in loft for
August 16th
AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT REPORT August 21st
- 22nd - 23rd
2011
| The birds have
continued loft flying for 1
1/2 hours per
day up until Sunday. On Sunday 21st August they were
tossed from 75 klms. into a light S/W wind,
head/shoulder, with plenty of sunshine in
other words a PERFECT DAY.
The Print Out for the 21st August is an accurate
list of how the birds returned. The first birds flew
the 75 klms. in 65 minutes and they basically all
came together. The only late birds are those listed
338, 339, and 340. They did not trap all that well
on Sunday.
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| They were tossed
again from the same point on Monday and Tuesday and
the Print Outs are again a true indication of how
they returned. The Monday toss was into a light East
wind with again plenty of sunshine. The first birds
took 60 minutes and they came slightly broken up.
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| Tuesday's toss was
into a straight tailwind and the first birds flew
the 75 klms. in 57 minutes (They should have gone
quicker). The only late bird is listed 337.1
closed the doors at 12.45 p.m. The 9 birds listed
after 12.45 came with the main mob but for some
reason did not register. It happens when large
numbers go through in a short time. At this time, 3
p.m., two birds are missing. The birds listed 338
and
339 on Tuesday 23rd August's Print Out need new
electronic rings and the birds listed 340, 341, and
342 are not being tossed due to falcon damage. |
| John van Beers |
Training Results for
August 21st - 22nd - 23rd
AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT REPORT AUGUST 30"
2011
The birds' training regime for this week
consisted of loft flying for 1 1/2 hours per day on
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. On Saturday they did not go
out at all and on Sunday they were tossed from 130 klms. The
first birds back to the loft flew the 130 klms. in 80
minutes and as can be seen by the Print Out 220 birds had
trapped within 10 minutes and within another 10 minutes
approximately 300 were home. There were 334 birds in the
loft on the night with 7 coming the next day. Five of the
seven have been hit either by falcons or by going through
wires. The first bird listed on the Print Out was not tossed
as it has just returned after being gone for a month. It is
a Q.P.F. bird. Also the birds listed 340 and 341 have also
just returned after being missing for some time. One is a
Melb. bird and the other a Warrn. bird. The birds listed 336
and 342 were not tossed due to injuries and the birds listed
343 and 344 have not had new electronic rings placed on them
as yet. They were both home from the toss with the main mob.
The weather conditions for Sunday's toss were perfect —
bright blue sky with a West to North-West wind (Tail
shoulder). The birds are leaving the liberation point very
well at present and there are no stragglers.
On Monday they free lofted and bathed for
a couple of hours. They only flew for 40 minutes.
On Tuesday they were tossed from 50 klms.
and again were out of sight within two minutes. They arrived
back at the loft in 35 minutes and all were back within 5
minutes. The weather conditions were again perfect — bright
blue sky with a light to moderate S/W wind (Head shoulder).
The birds will be fed and watered in the
unit every Saturday from now until the Race, and left in the
unit overnight.
I would like to ask everyone who has
received invitations to the Race Day to please fill in the
form and return as soon as possible.
John van Beers
Training Results for August 28th
2011
AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT REPORT September 6th
2011
The first thing to report is that the 2011 A.P.P. Race is
at this stage going ahead as scheduled on September 18th
2011.
The Paramyxovirus outbreak here in Victoria is at this
stage confined to 8 lofts, 7 of which have Fancy birds (
Persian High Flyers ). There is no confirmed racing loft
infected. The Department of Primary Industries which is the
government body responsible for overseeing situations of
this kind has not banned the racing or training of pigeons
at this time. The Victorian Homing Association has however
decided not to conduct any race for 14 days. This is a
precautionary measure as the Paramyxovirus has a 14 day
incubation period, and so if any V.H.A. loft was unknowingly
infected the disease would be apparent prior to commencing
racing.
As the A.P.P. loft does not transport nor liberate with
any Federation etc. and all the A.P.P. birds are homing to
the one loft, there is no reason to cancel or postpone the
A.P.P. Race.l must caution that this is a very fluid
situation and things could change overnight. I have no
control over what may or may not happen in the next day or
weeks ahead. On all the advice that I have sought and been
given by relevant parties on the situation, the best
decision was to go ahead with the Race as planned. The only
thing that will change as far as the A.P.P. loft is
concerned is that I will not toss long again. All the
remaining tosses will be at the most 75 klms. in distance.
This is to try to ensure that they do not come fragmented or
go into any other lofts.
As to this weeks training report the birds were tossed on
Wednesday from 50 klms. and arrived back at the loft
virtually as one. They flew the 50 klms. in 34 minutes. On
Thursday and Friday they loft flew for one hour. On Saturday
the birds did not go out and were fed and watered in the
training unit. They stayed in overnight and were tossed from
130 klms. on Sunday. The following Print-Out is an accurate
result as to how the birds returned. Two birds on the list,
nos. 333 and 334 were home on the day of the toss but for
some reason had not registered. The first birds back to the
loft on Sundays toss took 85 minutes and as can be seen by
the Print-Out 300 birds were back in the loft within 15
minutes. The weather conditions were quite good–slightly
hazy with quite strong North to Northwest winds (tail
shoulder). The birds listed 335, 336, 337, 338, 339 and 340
were not tossed due to injuries etc. Four birds have gone
missing this week. On Monday and Tuesday they loft flew for
one hour.
Training Results September 2011
AUSTRALIAN PIGEON PUNT REPORT SEPTEMBER 13th
2011
THE RACE IS GOING AHEAD AS PLANNED.
The Paramyxovirus outbreak here in Victoria has now been
confirmed as being present in racing lofts as well as in
fancy birds. It has not affected the Punt birds' training as
they are all confined to the one loft. The only restriction
that has been imposed on the A.P.P. Race is the closure of
the South Australian border which means that the Race will
be from a maximum distance of 540 kims.
The birds' training this week consisted of two training
tosses from 50 klms. on Wednesday and Thursday. On both days
they flew the 50 klms. in under 40 minutes and basically all
homed within 2 – 3 minutes. On Friday they loft flew for 1 %
hours and Saturday the birds were fed and watered in the
unit. On Sunday they were tossed from 75 klms. I took the
birds myself so there is no Print-Out as to their return. I
arrived back at the loft in 1 % hours and the birds were
already home. The wind was very strong – southerly which
gave a shoulder head wind, so in other words a good toss. No
late birds came after I arrived back to the loft. That was
the last toss for 2011. On Monday and Tuesday they loft flew
for 1 1/Y4 hours and will do so again on Wednesday
and Thursday. On Friday they will not go out.
Basketing takes place for the Race on Friday from 7.30
p.m. Due to the Paramyxovirus outbreak owners/entrants to
the Race may not be able to handle their birds as in
previous years. I do need to get some more advice in regards
to transmission. I have acquired cotton throwaway overalls
which I hope the designated handlers will agree to wear.
Additionally Dr. R. Marshall from Sydney will be in
attendance who should be able to provide some expert advice.
There are approximately 53 Spare birds left in the loft
and the majority of owners that I have spoken to have
indicated that they will pay to enter them. I would like to
make it absolutely clear that no one should feel obligated
to enter Spares if they do not wish to. The guaranteed Prize
Pool is $139,200 and I think that approximately 40 Spares
will be entered which will add $16,000, giving a probable
total Prize Pool of $155,000.
Finally as there is no racing occurring on the weekend of
the A.P.P. Race many non-entrants have expressed a desire to
attend Sunday's imminent arrival of the Race birds. In past
years I have turned a blind eye to people arriving
unannounced but this year I will not and non-entrants and
uninvited guests will be asked to leave. We have limited
room and we are catering for 250 people on Sunday which
means we will have a full house.
The following Print-Out is an accurate list of all the
birds in the loft. The last four on the list cannot go to
the Race due to injuries.
John van Beers
Final
Training Result September 13th 2011
Australian Pigeon Race Liberation Details Sunday 18th
October 2011
Good Luck to all Entrants of the
Australian Pigeon Punt 2011
John van Beers
Official Race Date for The APP 2011 One Loft Race
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John Van Beers will be soley responsible for training, cleaning, feeding and medicating the birds.