It’s proven to be a traumatic young bird season for West Cumbrian fanciers, coming right after a disappointing end to the old bird programme.
The latest race at the weekend was being compared to one of the worst experienced in West Cumbria nearly 50 years ago.
The West Cumbria Amalgamation decided to race from Cannock on Sunday because of the weather forecast.
They were liberated at 7.30am in a south wind which was said to be freshening in Lancashire.
In fact the wind significantly strengthened from Millom and both Walney and St Bees were recording gusts of 35mph to 45mph on Sunday morning. But the majority of birds would seem to have gone wrong before reaching Cumbria.
Whatever happened returns were spasmodic, and in the end, were very poor although the first birds were clocked doing 65mph over the 150-mile flight.
Which might indicate that a lot of birds overshot their lofts or were taken a different way.
Winning the Derwent Valley Federation and West Cumbria Amalgamation was Jason Dempsey, of Maryport.
It’s a poignant win, too, as Jason is having to quit the sport because of health issues.
He is allergic to feathers – be it pigeons, chickens, ducks – and it’s affecting his white blood cells.
Regretfully, following doctor’s advice, he is leaving the sport.
Jason, who has had pigeons for around 40 years, had a particularly bad training chuck with his youngsters in preparation for the race programme, and was 50 missing after 10 hours.
A good number returned home over a period of days.
It hasn’t harmed them because he has enjoyed a fine young bird campaign culminating in this Fed/Amal win, the second in his years of racing.
He topped the Cumbria Combine as well as well as his local triumphs in 2021 from Cheltenham young birds.
Winner this time is a blue pied cock off a Jos Cools blue cock he bought from a fancier in Doncaster who was packing up.
It actually got out on Jason in real stormy weather when the aviary roof was blown off, but found his way back to Doncaster.
It meant he had to pay £55 to get it sent back, but he’s now proved his worth.
The dam is a daughter of Mark Cauldwell’s champion Oliver and a nestmate to the latest winner has also won.
Jason has dominated the new Midweek Club result sheets, winning every race he has entered and sometimes filling all 20 places on the result sheet.
“It’s a brilliant set-up for sprint racing and learning young’uns up to 100 miles and I hope fanciers support it next year,” he says.
You can hear Jason talking about his health problem and his time in pigeons below:
Other than Jason’s winning performance in Fed and Amal, the most striking result was posted by Les Cape.
In winning both Workington club, Victoria and Social Limit he took all six tickets in one and the first four in the other.
He was also 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th in the Fed and Amal.
Les still flies as M and L Cape in memory of son Michael who died aged 35 in 2021.
Indeed there was some poignancy in his winning bird on Sunday, a blue cock that was bred off a son of David Harrison’s Double Amalgamation winner.
The Egremont fancier won Michael’s memorial watch when the bird won his first Amal.
He then gave Les a young bird off him before going on to win a second Amal with the same pigeon.
Les had paired the gift bird with a hen from another top Egremont loft of David ‘Sugar’ Wilson.
This season Les has had the assistance of young Sophie Bechelli as he needed someone to get-in the birds when he took them training.
She is really keen now and enjoys helping out around the loft with the birds.
His other birds to score this week were off pigeons sourced from Joe Smyth (Northerh Ireland), John and Liz Walters as well as Morris and Wayne McLuckie.
In Harrington Central the Carter family followed-up their win from Appleton 3 with another club win.
But there were contrasting returns for the loft, whose winner was the only one back in race-time.
Last week’s Appleton winner was a blue hen whose sire was from Leach brothers of Hebdon Bridge and is in the Carter’s stock loft.
The dam is out of Martindale and Lawman’s stock loft.
Sunday’s winner is also a blue hen and was bred by David and Sandra Wood for the club exchange. She was second from Appleton 3.
First club, 2nd Fed, 2nd Amal this week her sire was a gift bird to David and Sandra from Zac Whitman of Colwyn Bay.
The dam is a Hereman Cuester, also a gift bird from John Todd of Easington Colliery.
In Flimby there was a one-two for Bromley and co.
Alan and Stan have had many successes over the years with their consistent Busschaert family and this blue cock is another bred in the stock loft.
In the Werst Cumberland Federation there was a first win for Leonard Pears who flies in the Lowca club with his seven year-old son Riley.
They have only been flying since the young bird season last year.
Leonard said: “The sire is a Leo Van Rijn I bought direct and the dam is an A ring pigeon which won money in the race Danny Rodgers organises.
“Her mother and father were bought off Stephen Chambers when he finished racing.”
“I would like to say a big thank you to Barry Irving for giving me his tips and advice over the last few weeks.”
John Wilson and Neil Buchanan won in Egremont Rangers, but not with one of their excellent Frans Zwol family which has served them so well.
It’s a blue cock bred by David Lofthouse and Barry Irving.
The sire was bred by Steve Chambers and the dam by the McLuckie brothers.
Meanwhile leading Egremont fancier David Harrison, who enjoyed such a fine old bird season, has offered his thoughts on Sunday’s poor race.
He told Cumbria Crack: “Shell-shocked might be the term used for fanciers’ feelings. I think it’s probably the worst losses I have experienced in nearly 60 years.
“I remember the Penkridge disaster in about 1977 but i think this may top that.
“I think they have most likely gone up through Shap and ended up in Scotland with strong winds and rain keeping most of them up there.
“I got 4 back out of 24 with another 16 kept at home so all is not lost but one hell of a knock.”
WEST CUMBRIA AMALGAMATION (809 birds): 1, 3, 4, 5, Dempsey, son and Reay (Dearham Utd) 1912.6, 1911, 1910, 1909; 2, Mr and Mrs Carters and sons (Harrington Central) 1912.3; 6, M. and L. Cape (Workington Victoria) 1905.
DERWENT VALLEY FEDERATION (480 birds): 1, 3, 4, 5, Dempsey, son and Reay (Dearham Utd) 1912.6, 1911, 1910, 1909; 2, Mr and Mrs Carters and sons (Harrington Central) 1912.3; 6, M. and L. Cape (Workington Victoria) 1905.
WEST CUMBERLAND FEDERATION (329 birds): 1, Pears and son (Lowca) 1859; 2, 5, Wilson and Buchanan (Egremont) 1834, 1791; 3, D. Lofthouse (Lowca) 1833; 4, Bewsher, sons and Park (Egremont) 1811; 6, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle (Cleator Moor) 1778.
WORKINGTON VICTORIA (8 sent 272): 1, 2, 3, 4, M. and L. Cape 1918.7.1918.4, 1898, 1897; 5, 6, Varty, son and grandson 1872.8, 1872.3.
WORKINGTON SOCIAL LIMIT (5 sent 162): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, M. and L. Cape 1905.9, 1905.7, 1885, 1884, 1864, 1838.
HARRINGTON CENTRAL (5 sent 115): 1, Mr and Mrs Carter and sons 1912; 2, 3, 4, 5, N. Semple 1832.5, 1832.1, 1826, 1821; 6, Telford and Pooley 1750.
FLIMBY HS (5 sent 110): 1, 2, A. Bromley and co 1904, 1903; 3, 4, 5, 6, M. Varty, son and grandson 1873, 1872, 1869.8, 1869.6.
CUMBERLAND SOCIAL CIRCLE (9 sent 18): 1, Mr and Mrs Carter and sons 1912 – only bird in race time. VJ Day Special: 1, Varty, son and grandson 1746, winning RPRA Medallion and £50; 2, Berwick, Watson and co 484, winning £30 special.
CLEATOR MOOR CENTRAL (4 sent 135): 1, 3, Dobson, sons, grandson and Lyle 1783,1303; 2, 4, Nolan, Hetherington, Coultas and Easdon 1529, 1299.
EGREMONT (135 birds): 1, 3, 5, Wilson and Buchanan 1834, 1791, 1754; 2, 4, 6, Bewsher, sons and Park 1811, 1774, 1712.
LOWCA (3 sent 47): 1, Pears and son 1859; 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, D. Lofthouse 1833, 1709, 1597, 1525, 1441.
