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RACE REPORT HOTSPOT 4

Hotspot 4 was held on Wednesday 21st June from Shangani, 435 km. There was a strong southeast wind at 100 metres above ground level. The sky was clear and the temperature was 13 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius, which is measured in the shade. With the clear, unpolluted direct sun the temperature is higher.

Pigeons were basketed on Tuesday morning with water in the troughs and there were only 12 pigeons per basket. When the truck stopped to water the birds, the fans were switched on, which is standard procedure. We have previously modified the transporter and replaced every second full panel on the sides and along the full length above the baskets with mesh, to make the trailer cooler. The transporter stopped twice to water on the 12 hour journey to liberation and the water troughs were filled in the evening and remained full overnight for the next morning liberation.

The pigeons appeared in good condition at basketing and were well watered but the first returning pigeons were fatigued and dehydrated despite good care in conveying them to the race. Pigeons that came late stopped to drink enroute and although they arrived late, were in fairly good condition. At the time of writing this report there have been a further 55 pigeons which have returned after the clock was stopped. A late bird list will be posted later.

We did not expect such a difficult race and certainly expected far better returns. We are extremely disappointed in this performance and are very sorry for the losses. We do not know for sure what may be the cause. We have flown in a specialist pigeon Veterinarian, Dr. Piet Van Zyl from South Africa who arrives today. We have asked him to look to see if there is anything he can find which we may have missed.

The GPS Tracking results from birds carrying tracker rings showed that the first pigeon flew straight without stopping. The second pigeon flew straight but stopped at a dam for 3 hours before continuing home. We received a late returning tracker for last week’s HS 3 which showed that it went 97 km past the loft into the neighbouring country and stopped at a water point. The battery power ran out at that point, so we don’t know where it was before finally returning to the loft. The next training toss is planned for Monday 26th June from 52km.

There was a pack of 6 pigeons in the first drop closely followed by groups of other birds. The 1st pigeon recorded a velocity of 1533 m/min and the 10 prizes were won by fanciers from 6 different countries.

Of the 2412 pigeons basketed the following was recorded;

28 birds in 5 min  (1.2%)        

67 birds in 10 min  (3%)

287 birds in 30 min  (12%)

347 birds in 1 hr  (14%)

513 birds on day 1 (21%)

When the clock was stopped on the second day the total returns were 1043 birds. 43% returned in race time.

In consultation with our largest sending agents, we have decided to shorten Hotspot 5 planned for Saturday 1st July in the best interest of the pigeons. We don’t intend to change the final race date and want to try and ensure we have better numbers to compete in the final race, which will be a challenge.

Congratulations to the prize winners for Hotspot 4!

Your accounts have already been credited with the prize money. Certificates have been emailed to you and are also available to download from your login.

PLATINUM QUALITY ONE LOFT RACE