It Seems Like Yesterday

[Bill Birdseed]

IT SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY

Story by
Bill Burnside





It seems like such a short time ago when one day my father brought home in a wooden lettuce crate a couple of feral pigeons. They were caught by him on the sidewalk in front of the Produce Company where he was employed.

I remember him telling me if I would shake salt on a pigeon tail, the bird would be easy to catch. Oh Yes, I tried that, and it did not work. I didn’t know why it failed, but I believed my father and continued to use salt in an attempt to catch these elusive birds.

For sure he must have had inward joy watching me sprinkle the salt, but I think he felt he must help me out just a little. That is why he brought the bird’s home to me that day

I was overjoyed; my first pigeons and they was all mine. Dad helped me build inside a coal shed the perches and boxes needed to make it a loft. It looked to me like a real pigeon home. I was only about 8 years old, so what could one expect. I had my birds and it felt good to me.

When not in school (I did skip a little) I would sit for hours in that dungy shed and watch these birds. I was fascinated by their actions and noises they made. I was really taken in by these feral pigeons.

To feed them I spent 25 cents for a large bag of chicken scratch. I didn’t know they needed grit. I had no one to tell me otherwise. I always made sure of the feed and clean water.

I told everyone who would listen about my birds, which was not a smart thing to do, now that I look back on it. One night someone broke into my coal shed loft and took my pigeons. We later found out it was a classmate who stole my birds. He had released them at his home because he had no place to keep them.

My family later broke up, and I was in a home where there were wide open spaces of tilled fields. They ploughed the fields and one crop was corn. After the harvest of the corn, and the stalks used for fodder, the fields were tilled. It was then I noticed there was an abundance of pigeons eating the scattered corn. They were in all colors. I was very excited about this, and located another coal shed. I was allowed to use the shed as my loft. I nailed wooden apple crates for nest boxes to the wall. I used long flat lumber as perches from one side of the loft to the other.

I located some adult roller fanciers who had “Fireball Rollers”. I use to watch them fly. They were super rollers as they were deep performing rollers. When I had a dollar, I would buy one. ($1.00 for me was a lot of money and it did not come easy)

I always had my eyes on the birds in the field. After learning how to do it, I made a drop trap to set up in the field. It was just a large wood square, secured with chicken wire. I would prop it up with a short broom handle, with at least 50 yards of string tied to it. I placed the scratch on the ground in the center of the trap and waited. It took a few days for these pigeons to venture under the trap to eat. When one did, I would wait for more. When it was full of birds pecking the grain, I pulled the string, the trap fell and I had a bunch of flapping around pigeons.
I ran as fast as I could with a vegetable crate to the trap. I would reach under it and take out one bird at a time. It was exciting!! I did this several times throughout the year, and caught many birds, some of which were banded. I had a mixture of birds, but to me they were all pigeons of equal value. I loved all of my birds.

What I am describing are the very earliest years of my having pigeons as a hobby. I was a Junior Fancier which no one knew.

In the early years, it was so much fun not knowing what I was doing. Now I know a little about the fancy, it is not the same as being a young fancier.
Maybe you have had a similar experience, and look back on it with a good feeling in the heart.
I enjoyed every day with my birds. It does not take much for me to realize they were the very best years for me to have pigeons.

It seems like yesterday when I was a youngster with my birds.


Bill Burnside
Florida NPA Representative

[mr squeaks]

Thank you for sharing your story, Bill!

I'm sure a lot of young pigeon fanciers started out with all that wide-eyed excitement and enthusiasm!

What a shame that not all people have the same feeling towards pigeons!

Fortunately, more are finding out the joys of having a pigeon to love and care for, especially those who "find" a sick or injured bird and just "can't" let it die without trying to help...

Also, thank goodness, they find this site to help!

Shi &
Squeaks (my most lucky "find!")

[Bill Birdseed]

Yes, many in our society are not aware of the pigeon in a good way. To many fanciers are afraid to tell people they have pigeons. I am not one of them. Every chance I get I speak to anyone who will listen. I have found the majority of people are interested in your hobby when presented as a good thing for adults and kids.
I will do whatever it takes to change one mind at a time. The Dove/Pigeon is a bird of peace and love and many don't even know this. Educate and educate...talk and talk to change the minds of those who really don't know of the pigeon world.
Birdseed

[loft_king]

When I was 9 years old I use to trap my neighbor pigeons and hide it into our house but my mother always released them when I'm sleeping or sometimes when I'm in the school. hhehehhehe I love pigeons, We have pigeons when I was 5 years old I saw my father feed them, I just don't remember why our pigeons disappeared.

[Vasp]

The first thing I drew was a duck, at about 2 years of age.
Afterwards, I was always finding pigeon eggs on the ground in between our house and our neighbor's, as we had a little 'pigeon infestation', and I'd always hold them in my hands, cradle them in my lap and stare at them longingly. I so wanted to hatch and raise my own little pigeons! Unfortunately, without an incubator, I was none the wiser that hatching them would be a difficult endeavor, and raising them, even more so.

Lucky for me, I soon learned a lot about hatching and raising birds, and no longer have to stare longingly... What beautiful creatures they are...

Vasp

[k-will]

bill,thats a similiar story to mine.my grandfather was a farmer in southeast pa and i was always in the barn trying to catch the pigeons that made a home there.when i would catch them i would take them to a "birdman" who lived close by.at about that same time my cousin who lived in the city nearby was getting into homers,and might i say the rest is history.ive had pigeons pretty much ever since.your story brought back alot of fond memories.

[Feather]

That was a great story Bill. Thank you for sharing it with us.