By Patty Huston-Holm
History buffs might know that pigeons were used to carry military messages during World Wars I and II.
Pigeons might be associated with evolution theorist Charles Darwin (1809-1882), who studied how the species changed.
Prize fighter Mike Tyson and his YouTube videos may come to mind in connection to the racing or homing pigeons that he fancies.
Then there’s Steve Brook, a contractor who recently moved to Ocracoke and brought along his flock of racing pigeons.
Pigeon racing is the sport of releasing homing pigeons to return to their homes. Release locations can be from 100 to 600 miles away.
Timing is done through specially designed clocks, which read the electronic band on the birds’ ankles when they enter their home “loft.”
Racing pigeons is something Brook has been doing since age six with his father – first in his native England, then Canada and now here.
He is a member of the American Racing Pigeon Association and enters his birds in races in other states.
Pigeon racing, which goes back as far as 220 A.D., typically has two seasons: one for birds over age one (old birds) in the spring and another for young birds in the late summer and fall.
The first race for Brook’s birds born on Ocracoke Island will be in early September.
He is unsure how it will go.
Having a pigeon released on the mainland and finding its way back home on an island is a bit more of a gamble than a land-to-land release.
But they previously found their way home to the Outer Banks and Colington Island from up to 500 miles away.
“I’m betting they’ll return,” Brook said, nodding at the caged lofts behind his Back Road home.
On one side of the wooden, elevated enclosures are 40 young birds, racing-speak for pigeons born/banded this calendar year.
On the other side are 20 male and female pigeons with mating and birthing roles.
Pigeons can live up to 15 years. Most pigeons mate for life and share responsibility for incubating eggs and nurturing chicks.
A pair of pigeons can have up to 12 chicks a year.
Brook nurtures his group with a mix of corn, barley oats and peas. He vaccinates them and watches for illnesses. Avian influenza, so far, has not been a pigeon problem.
Before Steve and his wife Jeanne moved full-time to Ocracoke last year, his pigeons were housed in the Brooks former home in Colington, Dare County.
“I wanted them here with us,” said Brook, who is building two homes near his residence. In addition to the pigeons, the Brooks live with a dog, a cat, two goats, chickens and several guinea fowl. Their adult sons visit from their homes in Manhattan, New York, and Raleigh.
“People are curious about the pigeons,” Brook said about his hobby. “I might have to set up some additional chairs for neighbors wanting to join me as I watch and wait for the first group to return home from a race.”
The American Racing Pigeon Union has 1.8 million birds, 6,955 members and 15,000 registered lofts in its database with one estimate of 400 million racing and non-racing pigeons worldwide. Homing pigeon owners usually enter up to 20 pigeons per race.
Getting the birds to a race starting point requires planning.
In Brook’s case the birds are taken to Elizabeth City on Friday afternoon before a Saturday race.
Other members meet at the club and birds are logged and loaded on the shipping trailer. The trailer picks up birds from other club locations before heading to the race release location.
The birds are released together at first light to head to their respective homes.
Rarely do birds get lost. If they end up in another pigeon loft, that owner notifies the bird owner.
Pigeons, like other birds, deal with the threat of hawks, farm pits and the more modern-day impact of electrical wires and potentially 5G digital transmission.
“Some of the large pig farms have big ponds that the birds mistake for clean water,” Brook said. “If it’s super hot they stop to drink and then they get home with black legs and sickness. Some die from it.”
While he rarely loses birds, Brook lost many when a raccoon got into the Colington young-bird loft. Pigeons with no teeth and soft, weak beaks are defenseless to predators.
“It wiped out my young-bird season in one night,” he recalled.
Brook would like to help others see their extraordinary homing skills.
Speeds are calculated at feet per second and sometimes, as they fly 50 mph just above treetops, the pigeons find their way back from a 7 a.m. release 200 miles away before noon.
No research has been conclusive as to how they do it. While monetary prizes may be awarded in a race, it is less about the cash and more about the experience.
“You’re sitting with tea and a nice chair and watching the sky and all of a sudden you spot them circling and coming home,” he said. “That is the payback!”