Scuba Diving club,
Southern California
Sea Sabres
Racing Pigeon Headed
for Britain from Britain Found 3000 miles off Course
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Lost Racing Pigeon Flies Home on Plane British Airways Flies Racing Pigeon That Lost Its Way and
Ended Up in New York Back to Home Soil
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A racing pigeon that lost its way while flying from France to Britain and
ended up in New York finally reached home soil Wednesday as a passenger
pigeon on British Airways. Billy the pigeon was feared dead after he failed to complete a 425-mile
flight from northern France to Liverpool, England, a trip begun three weeks
ago and which should have taken seven or eight hours at a speed of about 50
mph. Eleven days ago, Billy turned up some 3,000 miles off course at the New
York home of a pigeon racer who identified the bird from a plastic racing tag
on his leg. British Airways flew him free of charge to Manchester Airport,
where he was briefly reunited with his owner John Warren before beginning a
31-day quarantine. Joseph Ida, who spotted Billy among his flock of 100 racing pigeons in
Staten Island, New York, said the bird had looked thin and tired after
completing the trip from France to the United States. "You could see that he had been out," Ida said. Ida's friend and fellow pigeon owner John Lucchese said it was unlikely
Billy flew all the way across the Atlantic. He said pigeons can fly up to 600
miles a day but need a place to rest at night. "My guess," Lucchese said, "is he landed on a ship that was
headed for New York." The pigeon seemed to like New York and Ida during his visit to America, eating
pigeon feed out of Ida's hand. He even got a girlfriend: Ida said Billy
"calmed down" after mating with one of his pigeons. "He was on a honeymoon for a week and a half," Lucchese said. |
Posted July 2, 2003