Pigeon Racing

Mention the word pigeon and many people will think of feeding the birds in city parks. But to hundreds of Michigan residents, pigeons are pets, athletes, and racing champions prized for their unique homing instinct.

More than 700 people in Michigan practice the traditional sport of raising and racing pigeons. To compete with each other, pigeon flyers belong to a local pigeon racing club and the national American Pigeon Racing Union. Although associated with Belgians, who probably introduced the sport to the Detroit area, pigeon racing also attracts other ethnic groups including Poles, Italians, Germans, and others.

Pigeon flyers raise their own birds in backyard lofts, and care for them year round. Winter is a time for breeding the birds. In early spring, flyers begin training their flocks for the racing season. First the pigeons are taken in crates or baskets to nearby locations and released. They return to the loft within minutes. Gradually the pigeons are taken farther and farther away and their times calculated.

Races are held every weekend from April until October, starting with shorter contests of 150 miles and leading up to the 500 mile races. Flyers bring their birds to the clubhouse to enter the race. Each pigeon is banded. A driver brings all the racing pigeon contestants to the point of liberation. Back at the loft, pigeon flyers wait for their birds to return. When a bird enters the loft, the owner removes the race band and drops it into a racing clock, which accurately records the pigeon's time. Winners are determined at the clubhouse by adjusting for exact location of each pigeon flyers' loft.

Photo: Lee Wernet of St. Clair Shores releases pigeons on an early morning training.

Courtesy of Michigan Traditional Arts Program, Michigan State University Museum.
Photo and text by LuAnne G. Kozma.