Pigeon fanciers baffled as 5,000 birds vanish into thin air mid-race
AROUND five thousand homing pigeons in a single race appear to have vanished into thin air.
Some 9,000 set off from Peterborough, Cambs, on Saturday on a journey to the North East that should take no more than three hours — but over half were still missing last night.
Pigeon fancier Richard Sayers said: “We’ve seen one of the very worst ever racing days in our history.
“Most of the breeders I’m talking to are blaming the atmospheric conditions — possibly a solar storm above the clouds that created static in the atmosphere — but no one really knows.”
Mr Sayers, of Skinningrove, North Yorks, said as many as 300 birds from his local club have gone. Each pigeon has an identification ring.
We’ve seen one of the very worst ever racing days in our history.
Richard Sayers
He added: “We’re asking anyone who comes across a racing pigeon to feed, water and let it rest.
“There’s an 80 per cent chance the birds will get on their way after a few days.
“But it’s the same story right across the country.”
Saturday saw up to 250,000 birds released in some 50 races across Britain — with just ten per cent returning in the expected time and tens of thousand remaining unaccounted for in a Bermuda Triangle-style mystery.
Homing pigeons normally navigate using the Earth’s magnetic field as a satnav.
But that can be distorted by strong activity on the Sun creating a geomagnetic storm.
Ian Evans, of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association, said: “We became aware quite quickly that something very unusual was happening.
“I have never heard of anything like this.
“On the face of it the weather conditions were good. But in the event, thousands of birds simply didn’t return.
“Something happened that disrupted their navigational abilities. We believe it may have had something to do with solar wind activity.”
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Mr Evans added: “It wasn’t just in this country either, we’ve had reports of heavy losses in Portugal and in Belgium as well.”
The Association is holding urgent talks with the Met Office to obtain reports on any unusual solar activity.
Mr Evans said: “We are obviously hoping that the majority of these birds find their way home given time.”